Blessed to Be a Blessing ~ Psalm 67
8:30 AMToday's Scriptures : Psalm 67 & Numbers 6:24-26
This Psalm of praise to the Lord speaks about the blessings of the Lord. It is amended from The High Priest’s prayer of blessing given to Aaron by the Lord to bless Israel. (Numbers 6:22-27). It is both a prayer and a song of praise which was given by the Lord in order to bless His people and I think it couldn't be more perfect for the last week of this semester's study!!
Psalm 67 recalls Aaron's blessing to Israel with its opening words: “May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us” (v. 1). But here in Psalm 67 is where we learn the reason that God is gracious to us, blesses us, and turns His face toward us.
Have you ever wondered about that? ... Why has God chosen to bless you?
The reason is "so that Your ways may be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations” (v. 2 emphasis mine). God blesses us so that we might be a blessing to the world and the world will take notice and begin to praise Him!
May the peoples praise you, God;
may all the peoples praise you.
May the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you rule the peoples with equity
and guide the nations of the earth.
May the peoples praise you, God;
may all the peoples praise you. (Psalm 67:3-5)
Have you ever thought of that? He blesses us to be a blessing to others! He also blesses us so that the world around us will see God, recognize Him, and begin to praise Him! But, here is the most amazing thing we find here in Psalm 67 that I don't want you to miss.
It is here in Psalm 67 that these two avenues (for lack of a better word) meet: God’s blessing to us (Numbers 6) and His promise to bless all nations through Abraham in Genesis 12. AND it is even more amazing that these two great avenues meet in an act of worship here in Psalm 67.
Did you know it is through worship that we can fully recognize who we truly are, and what it means for us to be blessed? We are blessed to be a blessing.
Beloved, our Father blesses us so that those who have not yet experienced the blessings of God might come to know Him and join in our growing circle of praise to Him. I've mentioned before that praise becomes contagious, like a fire that can spread! No wonder our enemy seeks to discourage us and rob us of our joy!
Which is why I think it would be awesome if we can turn verse 7 into our prayer today!
May God bless us still,
so that all the ends of the earth will fear him. (v.7)
O sisters, would you join me in praising and thanking our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ and pray He will "bless us still, so that all the ends of the earth will fear him."?
~ On a personal note, it's been a blessing to study with you this fall and I look forward to being back with you in January! Have an amazing Christmas season and a truly blessed 2023!
Til then,
Sue
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