Pray Thru the Bible

God Speaks

67 For the choir director: A song. A psalm, to be accompanied by stringed instruments.

¹ May God be merciful and bless us.
    May his face smile with favor on us. Interlude

² May your ways be known throughout the earth,
    your saving power among people everywhere.
³ May the nations praise you, O God.
    Yes, may all the nations praise you.
⁴ Let the whole world sing for joy,
    because you govern the nations with justice
    and guide the people of the whole world. Interlude

⁵ May the nations praise you, O God.
    Yes, may all the nations praise you.
⁶ Then the earth will yield its harvests,
    and God, our God, will richly bless us.
⁷ Yes, God will bless us,
    and people all over the world will fear him.

68 For the choir director: A song. A psalm of David.

¹ Rise up, O God, and scatter your enemies.
    Let those who hate God run for their lives.
² Blow them away like smoke.
    Melt them like wax in a fire.
    Let the wicked perish in the presence of God.
³ But let the godly rejoice.
    Let them be glad in God’s presence.
    Let them be filled with joy.
⁴ Sing praises to God and to his name!
    Sing loud praises to him who rides the clouds.
His name is the Lord—
    rejoice in his presence!

⁵ Father to the fatherless, defender of widows—
    this is God, whose dwelling is holy.
⁶ God places the lonely in families;
    he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy.
But he makes the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.

⁷ O God, when you led your people out from Egypt,
    when you marched through the dry wasteland, Interlude
⁸ the earth trembled, and the heavens poured down rain
    before you, the God of Sinai,
    before God, the God of Israel.
⁹ You sent abundant rain, O God,
    to refresh the weary land.
¹⁰ There your people finally settled,
    and with a bountiful harvest, O God,
    you provided for your needy people.

¹¹ The Lord gives the word,
    and a great army brings the good news.
¹² Enemy kings and their armies flee,
    while the women of Israel divide the plunder.
¹³ Even those who lived among the sheepfolds found treasures—
    doves with wings of silver
    and feathers of gold.
¹⁴ The Almighty scattered the enemy kings
    like a blowing snowstorm on Mount Zalmon.

¹⁵ The mountains of Bashan are majestic,
    with many peaks stretching high into the sky.
¹⁶ Why do you look with envy, O rugged mountains,
    at Mount Zion, where God has chosen to live,
    where the Lord himself will live forever?

¹⁷ Surrounded by unnumbered thousands of chariots,
    the Lord came from Mount Sinai into his sanctuary.
¹⁸ When you ascended to the heights,
    you led a crowd of captives.
You received gifts from the people,
    even from those who rebelled against you.
    Now the Lord God will live among us there.

¹⁹ Praise the Lord; praise God our savior!
    For each day he carries us in his arms. Interlude
²⁰ Our God is a God who saves!
    The Sovereign Lord rescues us from death.

²¹ But God will smash the heads of his enemies,
    crushing the skulls of those who love their guilty ways.
²² The Lord says, “I will bring my enemies down from Bashan;
    I will bring them up from the depths of the sea.
²³ You, my people, will wash your feet in their blood,
    and even your dogs will get their share!”

²⁴ Your procession has come into view, O God—
    the procession of my God and King as he goes into the sanctuary.
²⁵ Singers are in front, musicians behind;
    between them are young women playing tambourines.
²⁶ Praise God, all you people of Israel;
    praise the Lord, the source of Israel’s life.
²⁷ Look, the little tribe of Benjamin leads the way.
    Then comes a great throng of rulers from Judah
    and all the rulers of Zebulun and Naphtali.

²⁸ Summon your might, O God.
    Display your power, O God, as you have in the past.
²⁹ The kings of the earth are bringing tribute
    to your Temple in Jerusalem.
³⁰ Rebuke these enemy nations—
    these wild animals lurking in the reeds,
    this herd of bulls among the weaker calves.
Make them bring bars of silver in humble tribute.
    Scatter the nations that delight in war.
³¹ Let Egypt come with gifts of precious metals;
    let Ethiopia bring tribute to God.
³² Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth.
    Sing praises to the Lord. Interlude
³³ Sing to the one who rides across the ancient heavens,
    his mighty voice thundering from the sky.
³⁴ Tell everyone about God’s power.
    His majesty shines down on Israel;
    his strength is mighty in the heavens.
³⁵ God is awesome in his sanctuary.
    The God of Israel gives power and strength to his people.

Praise be to God!

Source: New Living Translation: BibleGateway.com

We Respond

Reflection: Psalm 67: This short psalm asks for mercy and blessings from God and calls for praise to Him by His believing people and all the nations as well.

Psalm 68: Fr. Reardon* discusses both Old and New Testament applications of this psalm–God leading the Israelites out of Egypt and into the promised land and Jesus leading the believer out bondage to sin and into freedom in Him, both now and for eternity. 

*Christ in the Psalms, by Patrick Henry Reardon, pp. 131-136.

Prayer: Dear Merciful and Gracious God, please be merciful and bless me, my family, my congregation, my community, and my nation. Make Your face shine with favor upon us. Help us to make Your ways and saving power known throughout the earth. May all the nations praise Your holy name. Then the entire world will sing for joy because of Your justice and guidance. Truly the nations will praise You. The rich harvest of blessings will cause people all over the world rightly to fear You. You definitely scattered Your enemies, Jesus, when You rose from the grave. The wicked have, will, and do perish in Your manifest presence, O God. The fatherless, the widows, and the prisoners will all sing for joy in Your presence because of Your mighty actions on their behalf. As You led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, please lead those who trust and obey You out of bondage to sin, self, and Satan. Thank You for coming and living among us here on earth, Jesus, and making a way for us to live with You in Heaven. Oh, how I praise my God and Savior! You are the God who saves me and rescues me from death. Just as there was a great procession and celebration when David finally brought the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem, so there will be great rejoicing when You bring all believers into Heaven. May all who belong to You tell everyone about Your power and majesty. You are truly awesome and give power and strength to Your people. Praise be to You, O LORD! AMEN  

Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, if He wants you to work on one of the suggestions below or something else more personal that He points out.)

• I will pray (read aloud back to God) Psalm 67 every day in the coming week and note what happens.
• I will find a way to assist in spreading the knowledge of God around the world.
• I will join others in worshiping and praising God at least once this week.
• I will meditate on the awesomeness of God–Father, Son, and Spirit, focusing on both His character and His actions.

Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.