Psalm 67:1,2 “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.”
God used this Psalmist to want God’s blessing. He asked for three things:
- “Be merciful unto us.”
- “Bless us.”
- Cause your “face to shine upon us.”
All three of them are basically saying the same thing. He recognizes that having God’s blessing is desirable and there is no substitute on earth for it. If God is blessing us, we are rich indeed.
God wants to bless people that please Him. It does not mean a trouble-free life. This is evident in the fact that some of the best of God’s saints suffered. Because we are not yet perfect, we need His mercy for sin, disobedience, indifference, failure, weakness, etc.
Did you notice in these two verses why the Psalmist asked for God’s blessing? He asked for these things because he knew that it is what God wanted. He did not ask for God’s blessing for Himself.
His reason for asking was: “That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations.” He asked for blessing because he knew that it would lead to God being praised when souls are brought to Him for salvation (“saving health”).
Do you remember that God promised to “heal the land” in II Chronicles 7:14 (the great revival promise) when it would turn to Him in repentance? That promise is still true today.
Christians can be blessed today if they are willing to surrender to Him, be filled with the Spirit, and help get the message of the Gospel out to those around them. Is this why you want God to bless you?