A God blesses his people and shine His face on Israel (v1)

B That he will be made known on earth (v2)

C Let the people praise God (v3)

D All nation will be glad and rejoice (v4)

C’ Let the people praise God (v5)

B’ That the earth will yield its increase (v6)

A’ God bless his people and He is feared by all nations (v7)

There’s something beautiful about how Psalm 67 is written. It follows what’s called a chiastic structure, a pattern where the first idea mirrors the last, the second mirrors the second-to-last, and everything moves toward the very centre, which holds the main truth. In this psalm, the centre is verse 4, showing a radiant vision of all nations rejoicing under the just and gentle reign of God. Everything else flows toward that point, and then flows out again.

The psalm opens and ends with blessings! It begins with a prayer we all long to pray: “May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us.” It’s the language of deep closeness where the warmth of God’s smile resting on His people. But when we reach the end in verse 7, something has changed: “God shall bless us; let all the ends of the earth fear him!” Do you see the shift? What begins as a prayer for personal and communal blessing ends as a vision for the nations. If God’s blessing stays with us alone, we have missed His heart. His grace is always meant to flow outward.

Verse 2 gives us the “why” behind the blessing: “That your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations.” God blesses His people so that the world can see His character, experience His salvation, and be drawn to His ways. By verse 6, we glimpse the fruit of this: “The earth has yielded its increase.” When God’s ways are known and embraced, life flourishes, not just in souls, but in communities, in creation itself. Blessing begets more blessing.

Verses 3 and 5 repeat the same call: “Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!” It’s as if the psalmist is saying, “This is what we’re aiming for!” It is a world full of worship, with voices from every nation and every tongue giving praise to the same Lord. Praise is both the result of blessing and the way blessing keeps spreading.

And then we reach the centre in verse 4: “Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth.” This is the heartbeat of Psalm 67. The greatest blessing is not wealth, comfort, or even peace, it is being under the loving and righteous rule of God. He governs with perfect fairness. He leads with wisdom. And when the nations see this, they rejoice.

This isn’t a new idea. God told Abraham in Genesis 12:2: “I will bless you… so that you will be a blessing.” Abraham’s family was blessed so the whole world could be blessed through them. And now, as God’s people in Christ, we carry the same calling. We gather to receive God’s blessing in worship, in His Word, in fellowship and then we go out to give it away, through the gospel and through lives that reflect His kindness and truth.

Dear brothers and sisters, we have been richly blessed, far beyond what we deserve. Let’s not keep it to ourselves. Let’s allow God’s blessing to overflow from our lives, so that people near and far will see, believe, and join in the joy of worshiping our great and mighty King.

Prayer:

Lord, You have been so gracious to us. You have blessed us and let Your face shine upon us. Now send us out to be a blessing so that Your ways will be known, Your salvation will be embraced, and Your praise will rise from every corner of the earth. In Jesus name we