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Illustration for Psalm 67: God Bless All Nations

Psalm 67

God Bless All Nations

Praise

This psalm is like a blessing over the whole world! It asks God to shine His face on us like the sun. The goal is that every nation on earth would know and praise God. When God blesses us, we share that blessing with the whole world.

  1. 1May God be gracious to us and bless us and make His face shine upon us—
  2. 2so that Your ways may be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations.
  3. 3May the peoples praise You, O God; may all the peoples praise You.
  4. 4May the nations be glad and sing for joy, for You rule the peoples with equity and guide the nations of the earth.
  5. 5May the peoples praise You, O God; may all the peoples praise You.
  6. 6Then the land will yield its harvest, and God, our God, will bless us.
  7. 7God will bless us, and all the ends of the earth will fear Him.

What it means

This little psalm is a blessing shaped like the sun: it asks God to shine His face on us. But look where it goes — the reason we want the blessing is so every nation on earth can know Him too. God fills us up so that we can pour out to other people.

A little prayer

God, please be kind to me and let Your face shine on me like sunshine. Help me share Your goodness with other people, so that everyone everywhere can know how wonderful You are. Amen.

Memory verse

“May God be gracious to us and bless us and make His face shine upon us—”

Psalm 67:1 (BSB)

It is a blessing you can say over somebody else, which is what the psalm is for.

Talk about it

Questions with no single right answer — for a family table or a Sunday-school circle.

  1. The psalm asks God to bless 'us' so that 'all nations' will know Him. What is the blessing for?
  2. It asks God to make His face shine on us. What does someone's face do when they are pleased to see you?
  3. The psalm mentions every nation on earth. Who is left out?
  4. Who could you be a blessing to this week?

Try this

Face to face

Take turns standing opposite someone and saying verse 1 to them by name, looking at them. It is harder than it sounds and it lands differently than reading it.

Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB)