... in the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
Amen. Through the prayers of our
holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us. Amen. Glory
to You, our God, Glory to You.
O Heavenly King,
the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, You are everywhere and fill all things,
Treasury of blessings, and Giver of life: come and abide in us, and cleanse us
from every impurity, and save our souls, O Good One.
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy
Immortal, have mercy on us (three times).
Glory be to the
Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, as it is now, was in the
beginning, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
To the Chief Musician on Neginoth, A Psalm [or] Song.
That Your way may be known on earth, Your
saving health among all nations. Let the
people praise You, O God. Let all the
people praise You. Let the nations be
glad and sing for joy: for You shall judge the people righteously, and govern
the nations on earth. Consider.
Let the people praise You, O God. Let all the people praise You. [Then]
shall the earth yield her increase. God,
our own God, shall bless us. God shall
bless us. All the ends of the earth
shall fear Him.[3]
[1] Psalm
67 is a sung, poetic analysis of the Great Benediction of Moses. It leads us to weigh the question, to what
end did Moses bless? Is it only for Israel? Or, is it far broader in scope? Is God’s choice of Israel far greater than Israel’s
mere existence as a nation?
The Psalm does not leave us in doubt about these sorts of questions. Immediate declaration is made for the whole
earth, all nations, all people. Israel
lost sight of this greater purpose: they wallowed in idolatry, split over petty
political reasons, walked away from God completely. Finally, God gave them up about 586 BC. Around 516 BC, God permitted them to return
to the Holy Land, but He would no longer dwell among them. Suddenly, in 4 BC He returned with great
Glory visible in The Star, but only a few astronomers, shepherds, and Herod
paid the event much attention. Today,
this same task, the task of bringing peace to the whole world, is delegated to
the New Israel of God, The Church.
Moreover, the Holy Ghost is given to each member of The Church in the
baptism of Jesus. The Holy Ghost’s work
is to fill us with the power of God, and make us like Jesus, so that we can
complete our peace bringing mission. In
spite of this, it appears that The Church has also lost sight of the greater
purpose of God, and split over petty political differences into thousands of
fragments. The houses of God are
important, and ought to be beautiful, but it appears that some have forgotten
that “God does not dwell in temples made with hands (Acts 7:48-53; 17:24-31).” It is that same gift, the Holy Ghost, Who
makes His temple in the heart, until each believer becomes a perfect stone, “chosen
by God, and precious (1 Peter 2:4-10).”
The Great Architect Himself fits each stone into his or her perfect
place in the Heavenly City.
Thus peace will be brought to all people, the earth will yield
its increase without famine or violence, and God will bless us; when all
people, all the ends of the earth fear God and praise Him. Let us remember then, our greater purpose,
and let us find a way to forgive each other, set aside our petty political
differences, and with one voice praise God together, calling the world to Him
in peace. Now, how can all people come together
with one voice of praise to Almighty God, if The Church remains divided?
A word of caution is due, this is not an exhortation to make
peace with those who hate God and live in defiance of Him. This is not a plea to look the other way at
the violation of the Sanctity of Worship, of Life, or of Marriage. Such peace can only come with the obedience
to the Law made possible by the Resurrection of Christ: it has no place for
idolaters, murderers, adulterers, such as we once were (1 Corinthians
6:8-11). No, we are far from perfect,
but we are forgiven. There is a place in
God’s forgiveness for you too. This is such
a wonderful gift. You really should take
it.
[2] This
is the center piece of the Great Benediction of Moses (Numbers 6:24-26), which
indicates that this Psalm is a commentary on that Benediction. As the Benediction ends with peace, this
Psalm is concerned with details about the coming and nature of this peace.
[3] If you have been blessed or helped by any of these meditations in
Psalms, please repost, share, or use any of them as you wish.
These meditations are not controlled by
Creative Commons or other licenses, such as: copyright, CC, BY, SA, NC, or
ND. They are designed and intended for
your free participation. They were
freely received, and are freely given.
No other permission is required for their use.
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