Psalm 67: Blessed to Be a Window
Here is one of the shortest psalms in the book, and also one of the most generous. "God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us." A familiar line — until you notice the word that follows. "
That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations." The psalmist does not ask for blessing as a private possession. He asks for it as a window through which the rest of the world might see God. Be good to us, he prays, so that the nations may catch the reflection and come running. It is the opposite of the cramped instinct that hoards mercy and wonders why the room has gone stale. A blessing meant to be passed on is the only kind that keeps. And when the psalm imagines what follows — the peoples singing for joy, the earth yielding her increase, every end of the earth turning godward — it turns out the shortest psalm has been pointing, all along, at the widest possible horizon.
00:00 God Be Merciful Unto Us
00:12 That Thy Way May Be Known
00:24 Let the People Praise Thee
00:36 Let the Nations Be Glad
00:48 The Earth Shall Yield Her Increase
00:58 All the Ends of the Earth Shall Fear Him