Psalm 67:1

Context

Psalm 67 is a short communal hymn. Its superscription identifies it as a song for the chief musician, to be accompanied by stringed instruments. The Hebrew Bible counts the superscription as verse 1, so the verse numbered 1 in Korean Bibles corresponds to verse 2 in the Hebrew text. The speaker is a worshiping community that refers to itself as "us," and the psalm opens with a request for God's blessing: "God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us; Selah" (Psalm 67:1). The next verse states the purpose of that blessing: "That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations" (Psalm 67:2). Near the end of the psalm, the community acknowledges that the earth has yielded her increase. The word "Selah" at the end of the verse appears to be a musical or liturgical marker, but its precise meaning is unknown.

Interpretation

• An echo of the priestly blessing: Many commentators regard this verse as an almost verbatim echo of the blessing of Aaron in Numbers 6:22–27. That blessing contains all three of the verse's expressions: "be merciful" (or "be gracious"), "bless," and "cause his face to shine." In Numbers, however, the priest addresses the people in the second person ("thee"). Here the blessing has become a prayer in which the community petitions on its own behalf ("us").
• A missional reading: A number of evangelical preachers and scholars read verses 1 and 2 together. In this view, the blessing Israel receives is not meant to remain with Israel. Instead, it becomes a channel through which the nations come to know God. This reading links the psalm to the promise given to Abraham that through him all the families of the earth would be blessed.
• A psalm of thanksgiving: Verse 6 refers to the harvest, and some interpreters therefore regard the psalm as a song sung at a thanksgiving service after the harvest.

Questions of Application

The verse is not the subject of significant dispute among denominations. One translation issue concerns the Hebrew verbs, which are in a form that expresses a wish or request. In Korean translations, the Korean Revised Version tradition renders the verse in a way that reads like a statement. Some other translations, such as the New Korean Standard Version, render it as a petition ("…please bestow"). Some have also observed that quoting verse 1 in isolation as a wish for personal prosperity leaves out the purpose stated in verse 2, which is to make God known among the nations.

In Korean Churches

In Korean Protestant churches, the verse is quoted in prayers of blessing because it resembles the blessing in Numbers that underlies the benediction. Because the psalm mentions the harvest, it serves as a sermon text for Thanksgiving and for the early-harvest thanksgiving observance, Barley Harvest Thanksgiving (maekchu gamsajeol). It is also cited in sermons for missions Sunday.

In the Book of Common Prayer tradition of the Church of England, this psalm is reported to have been used as a canticle at Evening Prayer. There it bears the title Deus misereatur, taken from its opening words in Latin.

Related Passages

• Numbers 6:24–26
• Psalm 67:2
• Genesis 12:3
• Galatians 3:8
• Isaiah 49:6