Why does God bless us?
Have you ever thought about why you are as blessed as you are?
I have, on occasion, thought to myself, “Why was a born? Why was I born here? Why was I born with good parents? Why did I have the privilege to grow up and get a good education? Why do I have a good job? A good church? A good eldership? A good ministry team? Why has God blessed me?
The answer is more simple than I think and is given to me in Psalm 67.
In this psalm, God lays out a plan for His blessings and the targeted audience. When you study and read this passage, we see a theme that helps us answer the question. Why does God bless us?
God blesses His people so that the “peoples” will bless Him.
The psalmist starts by laying the foundation that God blesses His people (1-2). Then at the end, caps it all off with the same point.
Verses 1-2
God be gracious to us and bless us,
And cause His face to shine upon us—
That Your way may be known on the earth,
Your salvation among all nations.
Verses 6-7
The earth has yielded its produce;
God, our God, blesses us.
God blesses us,
That all the ends of the earth may fear Him.
The yielding described in verse 6 is in the past tense. It is the only past tense verb in the entire Psalm. The idea is that the yielding is completed. It’s as if the writer wanted to make it a point for us to look around us and notice God has already done it. Look around and see. God’s blessings are everywhere already.
In the center of the psalm, we find illustrations and examples of God’s blessing on his people. They are listed as the following: Guidance, justice, and righteous rule. Israel could rest in the assurance that God controls the nations and brings justice in international affairs. Have we forgotten that God still does this today?
Verse 4
Let the nations be glad and sing for joy
For You will judge the peoples with uprightness
And guide the nations on the earth.
We also find a call for all the people to begin to meet their responsibility for blessing God. In response to the blessings from God, we are to bless Him. The chorus of the psalm makes it clear.
Verse 5
Let the peoples praise You, O God;
Let all the peoples praise You.
This is the reason God blesses us. We are to bless Him back. We are to tell of all the blessings He gives; then He is even more blessed, then we are blessed again and again. It’s a cycle that should never be broken.
Blessings from God, then blessings to God.
Isn’t that neat?
I love you,
Alexander