Psalm 67 (NRSV)
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Verse 1May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, Selah
Verse 2that your way may be known upon earth, your saving power among all nations.
Verse 3Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.
Verse 4Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. Selah
Verse 5Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.
Verse 6The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, has blessed us.
Verse 7May God continue to bless us; let all the ends of the earth revere him.
Devotion
One of my favorite parts of our worship service is the offertory. We usually choose a song from Africa or Latin America. We have a basket of instruments at the back of the church. The kids take one and march around the sanctuary. They love it. We call it our “praise parade.”
Sometimes we worship leaders get busy with other details and forget about the praise parade. If so, the kids remind us, “What happened to our song? You forgot about our praise parade!” Something inside of them just needs to praise and celebrate.
So much of life seems to be up to us. We’re practical atheists, sure that we have to make everything happen. But lifting up our voices in praise acknowledges that there is a God – and we’re not it! God is gracious! God has blessed us! God’s face is shining upon us, filling us with praise. Thanks be to God!
Prayer
Holy God, we praise you for your gracious gifts and your faithfulness to us. Amen.