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WHY GOD BLESSES US AND WHY WE PRAISE (Psalm 67)

Why does God bless us? We certainly do not deserve it.

Psalm 67 is a psalm of blessing, only seven verses long. Read it here and listen for the blessing.

“God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us; Selah. That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations. Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee. O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. Selah. Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee. Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God, shall bless us. God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him.”

The blessing is at the beginning as well as the end. But sometimes, it is too easy to get more enamored with the blessings than the Blesser. This psalm is more about Him than what He gives us.

I marked in my Bible the phrase in verse 6, “God, even our own God.” Can you say that? It is not enough to say that God blesses us. It is my God who blesses me.

But the original question remains: Why does God bless us?

Psalm 67 is connected to the “high priest” blessing in Numbers 6. It was the way Aaron was to bless the people. Read verses 24-27 of that chapter and see if it doesn’t sound familiar.

“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. And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel, and I will bless them.”

God wants to bless His people, but the reason is so that He can bless others through His people. I remember hearing Dr. Frank Sells years ago ask the question, “Have you ever prayed that God would make you a worldwide blessing?” When I first heard that, I knew I had never done what he asked, and I wondered if it was even possible. I have since found that it is possible.

God does not bless us just to bless us. He does it so we can bless Him and also be a means of blessing to other people. The ultimate goal is for many others to know the God of blessing.

The first verse of Psalm 67 introduces us to the triune God. Notice the three parts of verse 1:

“God be merciful to us,

and bless us;

and cause his face to shine upon us.”

There is a progression here. The blessing does not come first; the mercy comes first. You must know the God of mercy to know the God of blessing. We live in a world where everyone wants His blessing without His mercy. They want the good gifts without being right with the Giver.

Some Bible teachers have said that this may represent our triune God — the mercy of a Father, the blessing that comes through the Son, and the work of the Holy Spirit to cause His face to shine upon us. We have the blessing of all three in this single verse.

Verse 2: “That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations.” Immediately, God turns the blessing into a testimony and a witness. We learned from our study of Psalm 66 that when we truly praise the Lord, it leads to testimony and shows others what God has done in our lives. Psalm 67 continues that same theme that our praise is a powerful witness to others of the goodness and greatness of God.

Verse 3: “Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee.” There is a shift from personal praise to corporate praise. The great aim and desire of all our lives should be that everyone come to know our great God and praise Him forever. That is what will be happening one day. When the Lord rules and reigns on this earth, everyone will praise Him.

Verse 4: “O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. Selah.” My friend, that day is coming. Psalm 67 has been called the millennial psalm of Israel because it tells us something about His promised dominion. Someday, He will judge and govern the nations of the earth, and everyone will praise Him.

But it is also a great missionary psalm of Israel. It is not just about someday but also about His present desire. God wants to be known and deserves to be worshipped. God is worthy of all glory, and when we praise Him — when we bless the One who has so blessed us — it says to everyone around us that the Lord is worthy of being sought and known.

Let’s turn this psalm around on us for a moment. It is geared toward Israel, but it can also be applied individually.

What is God’s purpose in your own prayer life? Why do you pray? It should be so that answers will come not for your sake but for God’s sake. The goal should be that the Lord is glorified.

What is God’s purpose in your praise? Do you praise Him simply out of duty because you think you have to? Is there some kind of private, selfish motivation by which you think more of your prayers will be answered if you praise Him? You cannot manipulate God. Praise is for only one reason: that God would be known.

So, we come full circle back to the original question. Why does God bless us? The answer is this: we would know how good He is and make His goodness known to others. We pray to Him, praise Him, and bear witness about Him so the world will know that He is merciful, He blesses us, and He causes His face to shine upon us.

As we read in the concluding passage of Psalm 67, “God, even our own God, shall bless us. … and all the ends of the earth shall fear him.”

Ask God to use your praise to bring other souls to Christ.