Psalm 67
7 verses · BSBPsalms book hub →
Speaks with:Psalms 4×2Psalms 98×2Psalms 67×22 Corinthians 4×1Titus 2×1Acts 18×1
Summary
Chapter summary
The Aaronic blessing widened to the world: 'God be merciful unto us, and bless us, and cause his face to shine upon us, that thy way may be known upon earth, thy salvation among all nations.' Twice the refrain: 'Let the peoples praise thee, O God; let all the peoples praise thee.' The nations sing for joy, for he judges the peoples with equity. The earth hath yielded its increase; 'God, even our own God, will bless us… and all the ends of the earth shall fear him.'
Context
Poetry · David, Asaph, Sons of Korah, others — Psalms overview
The world behind this chapter
Psalms 67The history
The opening line is the priestly blessing of Numbers 6 turned into a song. The LORD bless thee and keep thee, and make his face to shine upon thee — those were the words the priests spoke over Israel, and this psalm hands them to the whole congregation to sing back.
That blessing has been dug out of the ground. Two tiny rolled silver strips found in a burial cave at Ketef Hinnom, just outside Jerusalem's Old City, carry the words of the priestly blessing and were made before the exile. They are the oldest pieces of biblical text yet recovered, and they show this was not a text kept only by specialists — someone wore it.
The harvest is the evidence the psalm points to: the earth has yielded her increase, and God has blessed us. In a rain-fed country a full threshing floor was the visible answer to a year of prayer.
And the blessing is aimed outward. God's way is to be known upon earth, his saving health among all nations, and the nations are told to be glad and sing for joy. Israel's founding promise to Abraham was that all families of the earth would be blessed through him; this psalm sings that promise at harvest time.
What it meant to them
A small farming nation surrounded by empires sang that its own good year was a signal to everybody else.
That reframed the blessing. It was not a private possession to be guarded; it was evidence to be shown.
Sources cited
- The Ketef Hinnom silver amulets (Israel Museum, Jerusalem), inscribed with the priestly blessing of Numbers 6
- John H. Walton, Victor H. Matthews & Mark W. Chavalas, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament
The text of this chapter
This page carries no textual note on Psalms 67. Where this site has examined a place the manuscripts differ, the examination is in the manuscripts room. Every place this site examines →
This page draws on Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.