Psalm 67: Let All the Peoples Praise You

"God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us; Selah. That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations. Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee."

"O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. Selah. Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee. Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God, shall bless us. God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him."

The priestly blessing widened

Verse 1 adapts the blessing of Numbers 6:24–26 ("The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: the LORD make his face shine upon thee…"), with "God" for "the LORD" and "us" for "thee." Then it turns outward: Israel is blessed so that God's way may be known among all nations.

A symmetrical poem

Seven verses in English: blessing (1–2), refrain (3), the centre, God judging and guiding the nations (4), refrain (5), harvest blessing (6–7). The structure places the nations' joy at the heart of the psalm.

The selahs as markers

The two selahs (after vv. 1 and 4) fall at the turns of the poem, after the blessing and after the central verse about the nations. Here, at least, selah seems to mark a structural pause.

The heading and worship

"To the chief Musician on Neginoth, A Psalm or Song." The library's Vulgate adds "David." "Deus misereatur" was appointed in the 1552 English Book of Common Prayer as an alternative canticle at Evening Prayer. In Jewish custom it is recited during the counting of the Omer between Passover and Shavuot, the barley-to-wheat harvest season its last verses fit.