That your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations. Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. Selah (emphasis mine). (Psalm 67:2-4, ESV)
Scottie Scheffler is a gracious winner… and loser. He embodies a language of praise that is consistent and genuine. He praises God through his humility, his gratitude for sponsors and fans, and his affirmation of his family and professional team that surround him.
The Book of Psalms is the Book of Praise, a collection of one hundred and fifty prayers and songs of praise, each offering a wide range of human emotions, humility, and guidance.
ChatGPT summarizes Psalm 67 as “a short but powerful psalm that expresses a desire for God’s blessing and the universal recognition of His sovereignty and justice. It’s often viewed as a missionary or evangelistic psalm because it looks forward to the time when all nations will worship the one true God.”
This is a good description; however, I recently received a new understanding of Psalm 67 from Orthodox Jewish theologian David Nekrutman.
In English, nations and peoples seem like the same groups. But a different story emerges when we look at the Hebrew language.
In verse two, the Hebrew word for nations is goyim—loosely organized groups of people capable of experiencing and knowing God’s salvation. However, they lack the ability to respond in a praise manner (Nekrutman).
Moving to verse three, the Hebrew word for peoples is amim—groups of people who are better organized, led by a common ruler or king. They can articulate their experience of salvation. They know the language of praise (Nekrutman).
Lastly, in verse four, the Hebrew word for nations is le’umim—civilizations that possess a distinct and highly developed culture, one that enables them to rejoice and break into song. Only they can communicate their religious experiences into their cultural consciousness (Nekrutman).
Why is it important to understand these differences? Why not take this Psalm as a hymn of praise with the hope that all people groups will come to praise God?
We need to consider which group of people we fall into, because to move towards God with our prayers and petitions, we first need to be able to praise Him.
We are to be a highly developed group of Jesus followers (le’umim) who can articulate our experience of salvation, be free to rejoice and break into song, and communicate our personal experience with cultural self-awareness, sensitivity, and respect for the richness and diversity of other cultures.
Praise towards God is the outflow of our faith. Nekrutman adds, “To be a believer in God is to live amidst the praise of him. It’s our element, the air our spirit breathes, the music of the soul.”
I want to live amidst the praise of the Lord more deeply. You?
Prayer: Lord, help me begin my day in praise of you and end the day in praise of you.