Embrace the Word for Friday, May 22, 2026

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Psalm 67 is a Psalm of praise that expresses the desire for God’s glory to be displayed to the end of the earth. It is often labeled a missionary Psalm. Psalm 67, like Psalm 66, does not indicate in the superscription who wrote it: “To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song.” However, it seems probable that Psalms 65 through 68, by virtue of the fact that they form a sub collection within the Psalter, share a Davidic connection. All four Psalms state in their superscriptions that they are “A Song.” Psalm 65 and Psalm 68 explicitly are listed as being connected to David. All four Psalms also share the common themes of concern for the whole world and the desire for God to be praised globally (65:5,8; 66:1,4; 67:3,5,7; 68:32). Psalm 67 begins with a prayer for the LORD to bless His people so that all the peoples would be blessed (67:1-2), then it moves to a prayer, which includes a refrain, for all the peoples of the world to praise the LORD (67:3-5), before concluding with a prayer for the LORD to bless His people so that all the peoples would fear Him (67:6-7).

Psalm 67 opens with a prayer for the LORD’s blessings: “May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, Selah” (67:1). The wording of this opening prayer is deeply informed by the Aaronic blessing that the LORD instructed Moses to direct Aaron to speak over the Israelites: “The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace” (See Numbers 6:24-26). This prayer recognizes that the well-being of God’s people depends on God’s blessing upon them. A blessing that comes from God’s graciousness alone, and not any merit on the part of His people. But perhaps more importantly, this prayer recognizes that the gracious blessing of the LORD is ultimately found in the beautiful, smiling presence of God Himself. The real blessing is God’s presence. If we were to have everything but the glorious presence of the LORD in our lives, we would not be truly blessed. But knowing God and having His face to shine upon you, means that you are truly blessed for all eternity no matter where you live, what you do, who you know, or how much stuff you have. God Himself is our true joy, and thus, is to be our greatest desire.

The promise of the LORD’s blessing is highlighted in the words given to Abraham: “Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (See Genesis 12:1-3). The LORD promised to bless Abraham, but coupled with that promise is the LORD’s command for Abraham to bless, that is, be a blessing to all the nations. It is with this in mind that Psalm 67 continues its opening petition: “that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations” (67:2). The outcome of the LORD’s blessing His people with His presence is that all the peoples would see the joyful benefit of such blessing so that they too would see their need for the blessed presence of the LORD in their lives. God’s intentions were never for Israel alone to be the recipient of His blessings; but as a people blessed by the LORD, His people were to be an instrument for displaying the beauty of God’s way as well as the greatness of His saving power before all peoples.

God’s gracious blessings to Israel were to be the means through which His way and salvation were to be known among all the peoples, with the design that all the peoples would worship the LORD. Thus, a refrain: “Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!” (67:3,5). The notion of “praise” in these verses indicates a public acknowledgement of who God is in all His goodness and greatness. Praise is the apt response to seeing God as He is. The repetition of this request emphasizes the passion that is to be felt about God’s praise being offered up by all the peoples—all of them! These are no small thoughts pertaining to a mere localized, regional worship of God. No, the LORD’s aims are global: “for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea” (See Isaiah 11:9b). And as the beauty of the knowledge of God fills the earth, so would the praise of God fill the earth as His way and saving power are experienced: “It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, and many peoples shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths” (See Isaiah 2:2-3).

Placed in between this refrain for all the peoples to praise the LORD, the prayer expands to include the gladness of all peoples: “Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. Selah” (67:4). What the LORD desires is accurately captured in what is prayed for in verse 4. The LORD desired, not forced obedience and worship, but rather the glad submission to Him. The LORD’s aim is to create a gladness (as in: joy, delight, satisfaction, and/or happiness) in the hearts of His people that is sourced in the very presence of God Himself. There is no genuine and ultimate gladness apart from the presence of God. The desire to be happy is truly found only in the God who made us. In fact, the pathway to happiness is ironically found in abandoning the pursuit of happiness and embarking on the pursuit of God, for as we seek the LORD, happiness is a consequence. We praise what gladdens our hearts and our praises complete that gladness. Such gladness is experienced in relationship to God’s reign and rule in our lives. God’s reign is always just and God’s rule always leads us down good paths. Therefore, the prayer entails God’s governance and guidance to be brought to fruition among all the peoples.

God’s rule and reign over His people always culminates in blessing: “The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, shall bless us” (67:6). The imagery of “the earth has yielded its increase” not only reflects the covenant language of God’s blessings over His people (See Leviticus 26:4ff), but it is also reminiscent of Eden. The LORD’s blessing upon His people is essential, not only to our happiness, but to our very survival, for the yield from the harvest is crucial within an agricultural society. And while our times often feel far removed from an agricultural oriented society, we are still in need of the basic necessities of life, such as food. Our food still comes ultimately from the Hand of God. When we realize that the very existence of our lives are always contingent upon God’s blessing, we not only know to pray for such, but in doing so we can rightly cultivate a proper fear of the LORD in our lives: “God shall bless us; let all the ends of the earth fear him!” (67:7). May all the peoples come to learn the joy of such a fear of God.

As we reflect on Psalm 67, we can consider the Lord Jesus Christ and the mission that He imparted to His church: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (See Matthew 28:18-20). The church has till the end of the age to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth. This plan is not new, for Psalm 67 reveals that the heart of the Great Commission has been in play long before Jesus rose from the dead and gave instructions to His people. Certainly there are new details and elements not previously made evident, but God’s plans have always been global and universal. The calling given to Israel in Exodus 19:4-6, has now been given to the church: "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy” (See 1 Peter 2:9-10). The language of God’s “saving power among all nations” (67:2), is echoed by the Apostle Paul as he described his work in Rome: “Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen.” (See Acts 28:28). As the LORD’s people find their joy in Christ, our glad worship of Christ will fuel our witness for Christ until God’s designs become a reality: "After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (See Revelation 7:9-10).

That’s all for Embrace the Word for Friday, May 22, 2026. I look forward to being back with you for the Monday, May 25, 2026 episode of Embrace the Word as we take a look at Psalm 68.