Psalms 67
McGeePsalms 67THEME: Blessing and praise for the MillenniumThis is one of the shortest prophetic psalms. It has only seven stanzas. Now I believe that numbers in Scripture have a meaning, but I also think you can go to seed in that direction. Seven seems to be not so much the number of perfection as the number of completeness; and, in a sense, when something is complete, perfection is always implied. This psalm reveals the ultimate and final desire and purpose of God for this earth. It is a great psalm of the kingdom. It has been labeled by some (The Expositor’s Bible, for example) as a missionary psalm. They give as its theme the outmoded, postmillennial interpretation of the church converting the world. Well, this is not a missionary psalm as such. Actually, the church is not in view at all.
I do not believe we see the church in the Psalms except as a figure of speech or in a symbol. For example, we noted in Psalms 45 the church as “…the queen in gold of Ophir.” This is a picture of the church with the Lord Jesus when He reigns on earth. Psalms 67 is a prophetic psalm. It looks beyond this age to the kingdom age. During the millennial kingdom you will see a converted world, a renovated world, a world in which God shall bless us, and all the ends of the earth shall fear Him. The curse will be removed and we will be able to sing songs of praiseeven I will be able to sing the Hallelujah Chorus. Now there is a difference between interpretation and application of Scripture. I am afraid that in wanting to be esoteric and intellectual, many theologians and Bible teachers have forgotten one of the simplest rules for the understanding of Scripture. And the simple rule is this: All Scripture is for us, but not all Scripture is to us. This psalm is for us, and not to us; and it gives us the perspective of missions. Now someone is going to say, “How can you possibly get missions into a psalm that looks beyond the church?” A great principle of hermeneutics (the science of interpretation) points out the difference between interpretation and application. Interpretation is definitive; it is like a moldit is basic.
That is, Scripture means one thing. It does not mean everything under the sun that you want it to mean. But there can also be an application, and the application may be elastic, although it must rest upon the interpretation if it is going to be accurate. I can illustrate this in a simple way. A diamond, to be of practical value, must be cut, mounted in a proper setting, and worn on any finger it fits. Several years ago I was in Washington, D.C., for the first time. I went to the Smithsonian Institution, and among other things I saw the Hope diamond. I made an interesting observation. Many people were passing by the space exhibit, but everyone stopped to look at the Hope diamond.
I suppose that reveals the covetousness in the hearts of all men. However, that diamond could not be worn on any finger, so it’s of no practical value. If our country were invaded or some other terrible thing were to happen, I am told that the case in which the diamond rests would sink into a vault somewhere in the basement of that institution. As far as I can see, it is not doing anyone any good. It is of no personal worth at all. It is just a big diamond, ill-starred and ill-fated.
To be useful it must be put in a setting. Scripture likewise must be put in a proper setting, which is interpretation. Then it must be placed on the finger of experience, and that is application. There is an old bromide that says, “If the shoe fits you, put it on.” If you come to one of these psalms and it speaks to your heart (and God can speak to you in all of them), then it has a message to apply to your life. For example, in the Book of Revelation the Lord Jesus spoke to seven churches in Asia. His message had a local interpretation and a local application.
He concluded His message by saying, “Hear!” That word is for the fellow who has ears. If you have ears, He is also talking to you. “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches” (Rev_3:13). There is an application for us in every one of the seven messages to the churches. Psalms 67 is not a missionary psalm, I repeat, but it does contain some great principles that relate to God’s missionary program for you and me. Let us now summarize several interesting aspects of this psalm. “Bless us” is used three times. “Praise thee” is repeated four times. There are three persons or groups mentioned: (1) God is referred to fifteen times, and the Trinity is there. (2) The nation of Israel, which is the “us,” is mentioned six times. (3) The “nations” are mentioned nine timesand that means foreigners, different peoples and races, different strata of society, and you and me. Notice how this psalm begins.
Psalms 67:1
This verse is a reference to the Trinity. It is a reference to the great threefold Trinitarian blessing that God gave the nation of Israel when He prepared them for the wilderness march. That blessing is found in Num_6:24-26, which says: “The LORD bless thee, and keep thee [refers to the Father]: The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee [refers to Jesus]: The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace [the work of the Holy Spirit].” As we have noted before, some of the teachers of Israel refer to the “face of God” as the Messiah; and this is the Messiah, that is Jesus, the Christ, God the Son, our Savior. So here we have the threefold blessing of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The conclusion to this blessing is found in Num_6:27, which says, “And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them.” This Aaronic blessing will be fulfilled in the Millennium.
Psalms 67:2
There will be no blessing for the earth until Israel is actually back in the land; and I do not mean as they are today, but in that day when the Lord puts them in the land. When that happens, Israel will be able to do what Isaiah speaks about in Isa_49:13, “Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the LORD hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.” Verses Isa_49:14-16 go on to say, “But Zion said, The LORD hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me. Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.” That is what God says concerning His people Israel. Either God meant what He said, or He did not; and, as far as I’m concerned, He meant it.
Psalms 67:3
This is the marvelous promise God gave to Abraham: I will make you a blessing unto all peoples (Gen_12:1-3). At His first coming the Lord Jesus made it very clear that salvation was of the Jews. At the Lord’s second coming the earth will be converted. The greatest time of salvation, I believe, will be in the future. It is not possible for this passage to come true during this age; not until the Millennium will it come to pass. For Isaiah says, “And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, to Tubal, and Javan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles” (Isa_66:19). The day is coming when the world will be converted.
Psalms 67:5
What is the goal of God? Is it that we should get Israel back to the land? It would indeed be foolish just to be interested in getting them back into the land; but it would be no more foolish than to try to convert the whole world, for the church will not bring in the kingdom by preaching, I can assure you of that. Rom_11:25 makes it very clear: “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.” For how long? “…Until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.”
Psalms 67:6
The curse of sin will be removed from the earth, you see.
Psalms 67:7
I want to make a comment that I believe is important. Suppose I should ask you, “What is the primary objective and purpose of missions?” What would your answer be? Someone might say, “The purpose of missions is to save souls.” My response to that is that to save souls is not the purpose of missions. It is true that missions should result in the saving of souls, but that is not the primary purpose. Someone else might say, “We should preach the gospel to every creature in order that we might obey the command of our Lord Jesus Christ. Those are our orders.
We are to preach the gospel everywhere. We are to get the Word of God out to people around the globe.” While this is true, it is not the primary motive of missions. It is close but, honestly, I don’t think that is quite it. Let me again quote verses Psa_67:5 and Psa_67:7 together: “Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee…. God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him” (that means reverential trust in God). What is the final goal of missions? “Let all the people praise thee.” The chief end of missions is to glorify God.
That is the engine that is to pull the train of every mission program and of every Christian enterprise. The engine is to glorify God, and that which follows it is this: preach the gospel, get the Word out so people can be saved. The whole purpose is to glorify God. I wonder if we have lost that objective today? It is in the catechism I had to learn: Question: “What is the chief end of man?” Answer: “The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.” That is the purpose of man on earth. Why do you and I exist?
Are we here only “to eat the meat and fish and leave behind an empty dish”? Is that all man is supposed to do? No, man is to glorify God. We glorify Him when we get His Word out. We glorify Him when we preach the gospel. We glorify Him when people are saved.
But the purpose is to glorify God.