January 31, 2017 (Tuesday)
The opening words of Psalm 67 reflect ancient Israel’s priestly blessing (Numbers 6:24-26 (KJV): “The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.” Knowing that they had been blessed, they prayed in this Psalm to be a blessing to the nations of the world. Their prayer could be our own prayer today. Throughout our history, we Americans have been blessed by God and have been a blessing to the entire world. Our desire as a nation, like Israel’s of old, is, “May the Lord bless us and make us a blessing.”
Psalm 67
New International Version (NIV)
1 May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face shine on us–
2 so that your ways may be known on earth,
your salvation among all nations.
3 May the peoples praise you, God;
may all the peoples praise you.
4 May the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you rule the peoples with equity
and guide the nations of the earth.
5 May the peoples praise you, God;
may all the peoples praise you.
6 The land yields its harvest;
God, our God, blesses us.
7 May God bless us still,
so that all the ends of the earth will fear him.
New International Version (NIV)
1 May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face shine on us–
2 so that your ways may be known on earth,
your salvation among all nations.
3 May the peoples praise you, God;
may all the peoples praise you.
4 May the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you rule the peoples with equity
and guide the nations of the earth.
5 May the peoples praise you, God;
may all the peoples praise you.
6 The land yields its harvest;
God, our God, blesses us.
7 May God bless us still,
so that all the ends of the earth will fear him.
Alas, Israel later abandoned her ideals. The land became inundated with immorality. The people and their leaders forsook God. They stopped thinking of influencing other peoples to serve their God. Because of her spiritual decay and lack of faith, eventually Jerusalem was destroyed and her people were dispersed throughout the world for nearly two thousand years until the rebirth of their nation in 1948. Let us not repeat her error; let us remain true to our ideals. May the Lord bless us and make us a blessing.