Psalm 67

Like Psalms 65 and 66, Psalm 67 is a universal psalm, that is, it shows Yahweh's concern and care for "all nations." Psalm 67 has a chiastic pattern, that is, it is inverted, as the following chart shows:

A--The psalmist prays the God's salvation may come to all nations--verses 1-2
B--The psalmist prays that all peoples will praise God--verse 3
C--The psalmist prays that the nations will rejoice because God maintains justice
among them--verse 4
B--The psalmist prays that all peoples will praise God--verse 5
A--The psalmist prays that God will continue to bless all nations and that they will
revere him--verses 6-7.

Psalm 67 says:

"May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face to shine upon us,
that your way may be known upon earth,
your saving power among all nations.
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.
Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you judge the peoples with equity
and guide the nations upon earth.
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.
The earth has yielded its increase;
God, our God, has blessed us.
May God continue to bless us;
let all the ends of the earth revere him."

1. This psalm is clearly universal, because it refers to "the nations" three times (verses 2b, 4a, c), "the peoples" five times (verses 3a, b, 4b, 5a, b), and "earth" in the sense of the nations twice (verses 2a, 7b). God created all peoples, and he sustains, loves, and cares for all peoples.
2. Verse 1 invokes God's execution of the Priestly Blessing in Numbers 6:24-25. "God's face shining upon" people is an idiomatic expression meaning "bless," as the parallelism in verse 1 shows.
3. The nations of the earth see what God does and thus who God is by observing how God works among his chosen people ("us"--verses 1-2, 6-7).
4. Verse 4 portrays Yahweh as king. The primary function of a king is to maintain justice in his kingdom. God's kingdom is the whole earth. He preserves "equity," that is, "justice," "fair dealing," among his subjects. Hence, he is a strong opponent of injustice and unrighteousness. See Amos 2:6-8; 8:4-6; Isaiah 1:21-26; 5:1-7; Jeremiah 22:13-19.
The only appropriate response to God's rule in human life is "praise"--verses 3, 5; and "reverence"--verse 7.

John Willis