From Aaron to Israel, From Israel to the Nations
What the Text Says
Psalm 67 opens with the Aaronic benediction (Numbers 6:24-26). "God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us." The psalmist takes the blessing given to Israel as his starting point. Yet that blessing does not end with Israel. In verse 2, the gaze opens immediately toward the nations — that God's way may be known upon earth, his saving health among all nations. God calls his people not to be a reservoir of blessing, but a channel. He said to Abraham, "thou shalt be a blessing" (Genesis 12:2), and to Israel he gave the calling of a kingdom of priests.
Yet before the psalmist moves toward the nations, he stops. In verses 3 and 5 he repeats the same refrain twice: "Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee." It is no accident that this refrain sounds twice at the very heart of the psalm. The structure of the psalm itself declares that before we pour out, we must first remain before God.
Verse 4 gives the reason the nations should rejoice. Because God shall judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. The joy of the nations is not mere emotion. It stands upon this theology.
In verse 6, the earth yields her increase. This is no mere agricultural observation. Within the covenant structure of Leviticus 26, the earth's increase is the evidence that God faithfully sustains the life of those who walk in his calling.
In verse 7, the psalm opens toward the horizon of eternity. "All the ends of the earth shall fear him." This is the final purpose of God, to be completed when Christ returns.
What I Have Received
God has been gracious to me.
To me, who had no qualification. To me, who had no merit of my own. The blessing to which the Aaronic benediction points has been given to me in Christ. This blessing does not rise from the earth. It comes down from above. That God has caused his face to shine upon me means this: he does not refuse my prayer. He does not turn away from my weakness. He receives me.
This is the starting point.
When I stand before this grace, something rises naturally within me. It feels too precious to keep to myself alone. The God who has received me like this — I want others to know him too. Yet I know that before I can pour out, I must first be filled. The one who does not praise God will try to fulfill his calling out of duty. He will grow weary and dry. Only the one who praises can pour out. Still water stagnates. It must flow to live.
I have been called as a royal priest. As Aaron stood before God on behalf of Israel, as Israel was called to be a kingdom of priests for the nations, so I too have been called as an intercessor between God and sinners. The calling to pour out his way and his salvation in the place where I live has been given to me.
Yet if I am honest, there is fear before this calling. If I live this way, what becomes of my daily needs? If I hold fast to this calling, who will take care of my life? This is not a question that can be dressed in the language of faith. It rises from the deep places within me. It is the reality of one who cannot yet fully entrust himself to God.
The psalm answers that very fear. This is not prosperity religion. Yet God will take responsibility for the life of the one who walks in his calling. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness" (Matthew 6:33) is not a new command of the New Testament. It is the ancient truth that Psalm 67 has already declared.
And I know this. The small act of pouring out that I carry today in my own place is connected to the purpose of God by which the fear of him shall spread to all the ends of the earth. Today's prayer, a small act of service, a word of the gospel given to one person — it may look very small. Yet it is connected to that day when all nations shall fear him. I am not the one who completes the result. I am one who participates in the kingdom that God himself will complete.
There is fear. The struggle of not being able to entrust myself is still within me. Yet faith is not the absence of fear. Faith is the act of placing oneself again upon the promises of God, even in the presence of fear. Today I take that place again.
Questions for Reflection
1. Am I living today as one who has received the grace of God, or am I living as one who has forgotten that grace?
2. Am I being filled before I pour out? What is the state of my worship, my meditation, and my prayer today?
3. If there is fear before my calling, can I bring that fear honestly before God?