Understanding Blessing
Psalms 67
March 29, 2020
Some of you may remember this Psalm.
• I’ll always remember it as Gerri Azam’s Psalm since it was the Psalm she used as her inspiration to go to China on our mission trip back in 2006.
(7) “God blesses us, that all the ends of the earth may fear Him.”
That verse was our main banner verse for the mission trip to China.
And it fit well for that.
Tonight we study it as we work through the book of Psalms.
The unique and unmistakable message of the Psalm is that
The Psalmist believes that blessing is ultimately
A means of evangelism and the glory of God.
THE BLESSING PART IS OBVIOUS
• “God be gracious to us and bless us…”
• (6b) “God, our God, blesses us.
• (7) “God blesses us,”
And so is the evangelism part
• (2) “That Your way may be known on the earth, Your salvation among all nations.”
• (7) “That all the ends of the earth may fear Him.”
Clearly blessing was on the Psalmists mind.
OUR GOAL TONIGHT IS TO UNDERSTAND THE PURPOSE OF BLESSING
We hear the word “BLESSING” used a lot.
And I’d say that most of the time it is used in our culture with a reference to worldly success.
• Good finances
• Good health
• Good job
And certainly we don’t deny that everything we have comes from God
And so at the end of the day we are called to be grateful to Him for it.
But what has certainly concerned all of us in our culture
Has been the propensity of the world around us
To desire to seek the blessing more than the giver of the blessing.
That is to say, it has become apparent that men are more prone to seek what God will do for them than to seek God Himself.
And this certainly bothers us.
In fact, we are sickened by this prosperity gospel
That has turned God into nothing more than a powerful genie
Who is there to cosmically grant all that we desire.
We hate that notion.
It’s idolatrous and blasphemous.
We know that’s not the truth.
• We understand the call of Scripture to contentment and even self-denial.
• We see Jesus calling men to leave their wealth.
• We certainly know that if we seek to save this life, then we lose it.
Those truths are clear.
BUT IT HAS NOT STOPPED THE PROSPERITY PEOPLE
FROM TRYING TO JUSTIFY THEIR THEOLOGY.
One popular prosperity preacher: Kenneth Copeland actually stated:
“God needs you well, and He needs you strong, and He needs you rich”
One of the ideas behind that train of thought has been what we’ll call the COVETOUS EFFECT (that’s the most accurate name I can think of)
That when God makes me wealthy it will make other men want God too.
(that’s why I call it the covetous effect)
That basically we use God’s worldly provision
To draw men who love the world to Him.
It sounds so stupid when you say it out loud.
And yet that’s what is commonly portrayed.
This is the basis behind the extravagance portrayed by the Televangelist.
THAT IS WHAT WE CALL A CORRUPT UNDERSTANDING OF BLESSING.
This notion that God’s intent is to bless me with riches
So that He will be more attractive to carnal men.
That is so wrong on so many levels, and we could get stuck there for ours if we wanted to.
• How do you preach the gospel of self-denial to a man after you’ve baited him
with the promise of riches?
• How do you confront the idolatry of greed as sinful after you’ve just appealed
to it for his salvation?
It’s just a backward deceptive and corrupt understanding of blessing.
I mean we remember the admonitions of the New Testament.
Philippians 4:11-13 “Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”
1 Timothy 6:3-10 “If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, he is conceited and understands nothing; but he has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words, out of which arise envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions, and constant friction between men of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment. For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”
Clearly seeking physical blessing is not the goal.
SO WHY DO I BRING IT UP?
BECAUSE: That is almost what this Psalm sounds like it is saying.
(1-2) “God be gracious to us and bless us, And cause His face to shine upon us — Selah. That Your way may be known on the earth, Your salvation among all nations.”
(6b-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.”
It almost sounds like the Psalmist is saying,
“God bless me so that other people will want to follow You too”
The Psalmist even identifies the blessing of the day in verse 6.
(6) “The earth has yielded its produce.”
So we CAN’T even take some “spiritualized” approach here and say,
“He is talking about blessing, but not physical ones.”
No, he’s clearly talking about physical blessing.
The only blessing he references is a successful harvest.
SO IT ALMOST SOUNDS LIKE
He’s praying for a bountiful harvest as evangelistic bait.
BUT THAT’S NOT IT AT ALL.
Instead, the Psalmist has been enlightened to the purpose of blessing
And this Psalm helps us understand it as well.
There are 3 points to the Psalm.
#1 A REMEMBERED BENEDICTION
Psalms 67:1
Now as we read that verse again,
I’m hoping it strikes a familiar chord with you.
You’ve likely heard it before.
Numbers 6:22-27 “Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, ‘Thus you shall bless the sons of Israel. You shall say to them: The LORD bless you, and keep you; The LORD make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace.’ “So they shall invoke My name on the sons of Israel, and I then will bless them.”
This was the prescribed blessing that Aaron and his sons
Were supposed to say to the children of Israel as they ministered to them.
The last verse of the text helps us understand the purpose
Of continually restating this blessing to the people.
“So they shall invoke My name on the sons of Israel,
And I then will bless them.”
What does it mean “invoke My name”?
Aaron and the priests were to continually put the LORD before the people
AS THEIR SOURCE of blessing.
• “THE LORD bless you”
• “THE LORD keep you”
• “THE LORD make His face shine on you”
• “THE LORD be gracious to you”
• “THE LORD lift up His countenance upon you”
• “THE LORD give you peace”
It was to make the people understand
Who the source of all those things where.
All their blessing, security, favour, grace, peace…
It all came from THE LORD.
In that benediction Aaron and the priests set the precedent in the minds of Israel that God was the source of all things.
And it is important for you to understand that common benediction
So that you will understand verse 1 of this Psalm.
If you read verses 1 & 2 like a prayer request
Then it sounds an awful lot like prosperity gospel.
“God bless us so the world will want what we have”
But if you read it in the context of their understanding
You’ll see that this is not a request, it is a remembrance.
What you have here is the Psalmist,
As he sees that (6) “the earth has yielded its produce”
He is recounting that familiar benediction that he has heard all his life.
He’s simply remembering the benediction
And rendering glory to God for indeed blessing His people.
HE’S NOT ASKING FOR IT SO MUCH AS HE IS ACKNOWLEDGING IT.
Now, we understand that as well in the New Testament.
Often in our family prayer time we will reference James 1:17
James 1:17 “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.”
It’s NOT us saying, “God make us rich so we can prove your goodness to the world.”
Rather, we’re simply recounting that what James said is certainly true.
God does give good gifts.
That is what the Psalmist is saying.
That benediction is certainly true.
If you’ve followed the daily devotions we’ve put out this week, then Ephesians 1:3 is now coming to your mind.
Ephesians 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,”
That’s NOT Paul telling us to pray for blessing
So that we can attract the world to God.
Rather, Paul wants us to praise God because He is so generous.
We know God is generous.
“Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth, Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide. Peace for today and bright hope for tomorrow; blessings all mine and ten-thousand beside.”
THE PSALMIST KNOWS THAT TOO.
And in verse 1 he simply states that in a moment of reflection.
And then we get the infamous “Selah”
Which of course is a pause for reflection.
He’s just remembering that reality that all blessing comes from God
And he’s sort of basking in that fulfilled truth.
But perhaps it is in this time of reflection
That the LORD broadens his understanding
As to why God is so good and generous to His people.
Remembered Benediction
#2 UNDERSTOOD BLESSING
Psalms 67:2-4
I find this to be so important today in a world where the word “blessing”
Is so quickly thrown out there and used.
As the Psalmist spends time reflecting upon the reality of God’s blessing
It’s as though God expands his mind
TO UNDERSTAND THE PURPOSE OF THAT BLESSING.
(2) “That Your way may be known on the earth, Your salvation among all nations.”
Important here.
The Psalmist references God’s “way” and God’s “salvation”
And he sees God’s blessing as a testimony to that.
WHY?
Well do you understand where physical blessings like a bountiful harvest fit in with God’s plan for Israel?
A bountiful harvest was one of the benefits of loving and serving God only.
• If you did things God’s way, then God would bless your fields.
TURN TO: DEUTERONOMY 28:1-14
There you clearly see the conditions of the covenant.
• If you obey Me, then I will do this for you, and throughout the conditions we see references to bountiful harvest.
(4) “Blessed shall be the offspring of your body and the produce of your ground…”
(8) “the LORD will command the blessing upon you in your barns and in all that you put your hand to, and He will bless you in the land which the LORD your God gives you.”
(11) “The LORD will make you abound in prosperity, in the offspring of your body and in the offspring of your beast and in the produce of your ground, in the land which the LORD swore to our fathers to give you.”
(12) “The LORD will open for His good storehouse, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hand;”
• On the flip side, if the conditions of the covenant are violated, then God will remove the blessing and institute the curse (15-68)
(18) “Cursed shall be…the produce of your ground…”
(24) “The LORD will make the rain of your land powder and dust…”
(33) “A people whom you do not know shall eat up the produce of your ground and all your labors…”
(38) “You shall bring out much seed to the field but you will gather in little, for the locust will consume it.”
And there’s more, but you get the idea.
This understanding was what was behind that famous prayer of Solomon that is so often quoted.
2 Chronicles 7:13-14 “If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people, and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
So the harvest was a stipulation of the covenant.
If you obeyed God, God would bless the harvest.
If you disobeyed God, He would curse the harvest.
The Psalmist then knows that the bountiful harvest
Is the result of God’s faithfulness to His people.
BLESSING IS NOT A BAIT TO THE WORLD,
IT IS A TESTIMONY OF HOW FAITHFUL OUR GOD IS.
And in that faithfulness God distinguishes Himself
Apart from ever other so-called God who cannot do the same.
GOD DOES WHAT NOT OTHER GOD DOES
• He meets the needs of His people in a covenant relationship.
• He cares for His people through His faithful hand.
We see these promises of faithfulness in the N.T.
Matthew 6:25-33 “For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? “Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? “And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? “And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. “But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! “Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ “For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
Philippians 4:18-19 “But I have received everything in full and have an abundance; I am amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you have sent, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God. And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”
This is what the Psalmist is learning.
• Aaron’s benediction was meant to teach them that God was the source of all blessing.
But now the Psalmist is also learning that
God’s blessing is meant to be a testimony of His goodness to the world.
And the Psalmist is figuring that out.
Certainly Israel should enjoy their blessings and praise God for them.
But at the same time, by blessing Israel God was demonstrating
That no other nation had a God like Israel did.
Psalms 33:12 “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, The people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance.”
Psalms 144:12-15 “Let our sons in their youth be as grown-up plants, And our daughters as corner pillars fashioned as for a palace; Let our garners be full, furnishing every kind of produce, And our flocks bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our fields; Let our cattle bear Without mishap and without loss, Let there be no outcry in our streets! How blessed are the people who are so situated; How blessed are the people whose God is the LORD!”
It wasn’t blessing just so our lives will be more comfortable.
It was about putting on display that no other nation had a God like ours
And it’s like that clicks with the Psalmist
Because he immediately goes into an evangelistic rant.
(3-4) “Let the peoples praise You, O God; Let all the peoples praise You. Let the nations be glad and sing for joy; For You will judge the peoples with uprightness And guide the nations on the earth. Selah”
The Psalmist now simply wants the world to see how great his God is.
“Let the peoples praise You”
“Let ALL the peoples praise You”
“Let the nations be glad and sing”
The Psalmist is now telling the world,
“You’ve just go to see what a great God we have!”
And here’s his lone theological statement to them.
“For You will judge the peoples with uprightness and guide the nations on the earth.”
He speaks of judgment and guiding.
Some see that as a sort of mixed pair.
What the Psalmist is talking about
Is the tremendous blessing of being in God’s flock.
He is the judge and vindicator of His flock and He is the guide of His flock.
Remember this verse from the famous 23rd Psalm?
Psalms 23:4 “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”
The shepherd had two sticks.
• A rod for beating off the predators
• A staff for pulling the sheep back into the fold
That is what the Psalmist is talking about here.
TURN TO: ISAIAH 11:1-9
• You see there the results of a holy and gentle shepherd.
• A King who will destroy the wicked and care for the lowly.
• Fierce to protect and gentle to guide.
And the result of His balanced rule is a paradise earth.
• You don’t want a shepherd or a King who won’t punish the wicked
because then the wicked will overrun the place.
• You don’t want a shepherd or a King who won’t guide the flock for then
the flock would lose their way.
Israel has a good one.
And the Psalmist here is simply crying out to the world
What a blessing it is to have their God.
And he wants the world to see that and know that.
And then again we get a “Selah”
Which is again a pause and a time of reflection.
• Do you learn anything about the purpose of your blessing?
• Do you see that God has put Himself on display above all other gods?
• Do you understand that part of the reason He has blessed you is to make His name glorious?
Now, in that, perhaps you have picked up on it,
But there is actually another very heavy Jewish theme here.
• We saw in verse 1 the heavy tie back to the priestly benediction in Numbers 6.
Well, what you read in verses 2-4
Also has a very heavy tie an Old Testament passage.
Genesis 12:1-3 “Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you; And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
Do you remember that promise to Abraham?
• Not only am I going to bless you…
• Not only am I going to make you a blessing…
• But “in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
That’s interesting…
Genesis 22:18 “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
Genesis 26:4 “I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven, and will give your descendants all these lands; and by your descendants all the nations of the earth shall be blessed;”
God just kept reiterating that promise to Abraham.
You are going to be a source and channel of blessing to the world.
If you don’t know what God meant by that,
We only have to go to the New Testament.
Galatians 3:8-9 “The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “ALL THE NATIONS WILL BE BLESSED IN YOU.” So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.”
NOW THERE PAUL SPEAKS TO ONE ASPECT OF THE BLESSING.
He says, “those who are of faith are blessed WITH Abraham, the believer”
• And it was the reiterated promise that the way Abraham was blessed is the same way we are blessed; namely by faith.
• God blessed Abraham because Abraham believed God.
• God will do the same for all who believe Him.
BUT THERE IS STILL MORE TO THAT PROMISE.
Galatians 3:16 “Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as referring to many, but rather to one, “And to your seed,” that is, Christ.”
Some of you read this verse this week as well.
Paul there makes an enormous step for us there.
All of those promises to Abraham about blessing.
PAUL CLARIFIES THEM.
“He does not say, “And to seeds,” as referring to many, but rather to one, “And to your seed,” that is, Christ.”
What Paul reveals is that the promise make to Abraham
Was ultimately a promise made to Christ.
When God said “in you all the families of the earth will be blessed”
He was talking about Christ.
Christ is the recipient of all God’s promises.
2 Corinthians 1:19-20 “For the Son of God, Christ Jesus, who was preached among you by us — by me and Silvanus and Timothy — was not yes and no, but is yes in Him. For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us.”
If you want to share in those promises then you need to be “in Christ”
Consequently that is where Abraham was.
• By faith, Abraham was also in Christ and therefore blessed.
• We then believe and are also united in Christ and blessed as well.
And so Paul concludes the chapter:
Galatians 3:26-29 “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.”
That is how blessing flows.
Abraham was a picture of what God would do for all who are in Christ.
• God would pour out His blessing on all who believed.
• All believers would be made heirs of God.
• All believers would be blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.
This was what God said about Abraham and Israel from the beginning.
And the Psalmist is figuring it out.
GOD HAS BLESSED US!
• And God intends for that blessing to spread from us to others!
• We are supposed to testify of that blessing before the world so that they
may also trust in our God and be blessed in Him as well!
It’s really not about acquiring wealth, it’s about acquiring God.
(the prosperity gospel cheats men because it only offers them money)
GOD IS THE TREASURE
You see him understanding blessing don’t you.
Remembered Benediction Understood Blessing
#3 TESTIMONIAL BOAST
Psalms 67:5-7
Well, if God is blessing us with the intent that
We will announce that blessing to the world…HERE GOES!
(5-7) “Let the peoples praise You, O God; Let all the peoples praise You. The earth has yielded its produce; God, our God, blesses us. God blesses us, That all the ends of the earth may fear Him.”
He just shouts it out to the world!
Alright people let me tell you about this great God.
• Look at the earth…
• Look at the produce…
• Do you see the blessing that lies upon Israel?
Do you see how blessed we are?
• It’s not because we are such good farmers…
• It’s not because we have better techniques…
• It’s not because we are smarter or stronger or harder workers than anyone else…
It’s because we are in a covenant with the God of the heavens
Who alone controls the reality of the world.
And the Psalmist basically asks,
Do you want to know why the earth has yielded its produce?
• It is because “God, our God, blesses us.”
And do you want to know why God blesses us?
• “That all the ends of the earth may fear Him.”
God has done what He did
NOT just to make our lives easier or more comfortable.
God has done what He did
To put His glorious kindness and gracious generosity on display.
And that Psalm clarifies the truth of blessing to us in the church.
CHURCH, YOU ARE BLESSED!
Ephesians 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,”
• Every good thing God has to give, has already been given to you in Christ.
• Love, Joy, Peace, Hope, Strength…
• When you got Christ, you got the franchise.
It is important that you know that.
Later Paul will say:
Ephesians 3:18-19 “[That you] may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.”
Paul just wants you to know how blessed you are.
“Blessings all mine and ten-thousand beside”
But the blessing isn’t money or crops or other earthly things.
THE BLESSING IS GOD! IT IS CHRIST!
Philippians 3:7-8 “But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ,”
The blessing is not earthly things.
The blessing is Christ.
When we got Christ we got it all.
When our kids found out that weren’t getting to go skiing this year because of the Corona lockdown we had this talk.
“We are those who every day tell people that Jesus is enough and that Jesus is sufficient and that if I have Jesus then I have everything. Well, it’s in the midst of losing worldly stuff that we really get to prove that.”
And that is true for all of us during this lockdown.
When so much of what the world enjoys is now off limits.
What an opportunity for the church to say,
“Take the world, but give me Jesus, All its joys are but a name, But His love abides forever. Through eternal years the same.”
“Take the world, but give me Jesus, Sweetest comfort of my soul, With my Savior watching o’er me I can sing though billows roll”
“Oh, the height and depth of mercy, Oh, the length and breadth of love, Oh, the fullness of redemption, Pledge of endless life above. Take this world, my God’s enough!”
(Give Me Jesus. Songwriter(s): David LaChance, Jr. CCLI: #5495629) https://sovereigngracemusic.org/music/songs/give-me-jesus/
We actually now have a chance to show the world
That our God is enough and that the blessing found in Christ
Transcends all other earthly realities.
We have a chance to shout to the world that Jesus is enough for us.
• It doesn’t happen through complaining on Facebook
• It doesn’t happen through griping about closures
• It doesn’t happen through spreading paranoia
• It doesn’t happen through falling apart in fear
We show this world that true blessing is found in Christ.
God has indeed blessed us.
• He has given us a blessing that Corona virus cannot take away.
• He has given us a blessing that a collapsed economy cannot take away.
It is an eternal, imperishable, undefiled blessing.
It is ours in Christ Jesus.
And God has given it to us that we would proclaim it to the world
In order that God may be worshiped and glorified by all nations.
Psalms 73:25-28 “Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. For, behold, those who are far from You will perish; You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to You. But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, That I may tell of all Your works.”
