If we’re to follow the example recorded in Ps. 67 (and elsewhere; cf. Dt. 26.15), then we will ask the Lord to bless us. It’s not a selfish request at all, as long as we understand why we’re praying for blessing.
Ps. 67 is written beautifully so that the form of its poetry tells exactly what’s going on. Here’s the psalm formatted according to its structure:
May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, [Selah] 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]Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!
The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, shall bless us. God shall bless us; let all the ends of the earth fear him!
Like a shelf with matching bookends, the psalm opens and closes with God’s blessing on his people (requesting and confidently expecting). Take one step farther into the psalm from either direction and you read the psalmist’s desire for world-wide worship. Nestled tightly in the center is the core of this psalm: a desire to see all nations rejoicing under God’s righteous reign. This structure reveals why we should ask God to bless us. From our request for blessing to our receiving that blessing, our focus/intention must be to see God’s fame spread through the earth – to see others come to rejoice under God’s authority.
That brings us to another important consideration: if our desire/prayer for blessing must be rooted in a passion to advance God’s kingdom, what kind of blessing should we seek? Ps. 67 doesn’t specifically define appropriate blessings, but the final verse gives us an indication. The confidence that God will continue to bless is tied to agricultural prosperity. Bountiful harvest in that day was considerably different from a successful quarter for a modern-day company. Today, if a salesman has a bad day, or even a bad week, he and his family may have to tighten the budget a little or dip into savings. If there was a drought or famine in the psalmist’s day, people would be in danger of dying. In most cases, a company’s loss hardly trickles down to the employee level (for example, if Wal-Mart has a down quarter, the cashiers don’t all take a pay cut). In the ancient near east, poor crops affected everyone. I think we need to find a better parallel for our application than economic productivity or material success.
When God blessed the ancient Israelites with good crops (particularly when that blessing contrasted the conditions of the nations around them), he gave them something unique, something that neighboring nations’ deities could not provide, something that was desperately needed. I may be wrong (and I’m open to corrective comments), but I would suggest that we can identify something similar today: joyful contentment.
Returning to the specific details of Ps. 67, we are trying to identify a blessing that will cause others to “be glad and sing for joy” under God’s justice. My financial success won’t change a lost man’s heart toward God, neither will a new car, house or wardrobe. However, my joyful contentment (a Phil. 4.4-13 attitude) will stand as a testimony to those who need God! Your unsaved neighbor probably understands full well that his possessions aren’t going to satisfy him (Ecclesiastes clearly documents the failure of any attempt to find fulfillment in material wealth). He likely feels the same uncertainty towards his financial future that any other man on the street would feel. You can show him all the material “blessing” that you want and only make him more covetous. No, the blessing sought in Ps. 67 is blessing that turns hearts to rejoice in God’s rule – a blessing that spreads God’s fame throughout the nations. It’s not money. It’s not agricultural prosperity today. Let’s beseech God to bless us with joyful contentment – the evidence of a heart that truly delights in God.