Psalm 67: 2-3, 5-6, 8

This week’s responsorial psalm is a prayer of blessing. It fits perfectly with the main theme of this week’s readings: salvation and righteousness are available to all, not just those who belong to a certain cultural or religious group.

The verb forms in this psalm add a unique richness to the sentiments it expresses. In Biblical Hebrew, verbs often blur the lines between past action and hoped-for blessing, allowing the psalm to be read either as a thanksgiving for blessings received or a petition for those still awaited. This ambiguity is not a weakness but a gift, reflecting a theology that holds both memory and hope: gratitude for what God has done, and longing for what is yet to come. It beautifully mirrors the “already and not yet” character of the Easter season and the Christian life.

May God have pity on us and bless us; may he let his face shine upon us.

The metaphor of God’s shining face refers to the favorable disposition that smiling reflects. The psalmist is asking that God look favorably upon the people, not only for their material well-being, but with the deeper grace of God’s nearness and benevolence.

So may your way be known upon earth; among all nations, your salvation.

God’s blessings are not ends in themselves; they are meant to reveal his ways to all peoples.

When Israel flourishes under God’s care, it becomes a witness to the nations, drawing them to recognize the saving power of Israel’s God.

May the nations be glad and exult because you rule the peoples in equity;
the nations on the earth you guide.

The scope of the psalm broadens from God’s covenant people to his universal governance. God’s just and equitable rule extends to all nations, and this is cause for global rejoicing. He is not a tribal deity, but the just ruler of all humanity.

May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you!
May God bless us, and may all the ends of the earth fear him!

The psalm concludes with a vision of universal praise. God’s blessings elicit awe and reverence, not only among his chosen people but across all nations.

This petition for universal salvation finds its fulfillment in the mission Jesus gave to his apostles to preach repentance to all nations (Luke 24:47) and in the establishment of the Church in which people of all nations join together to praise the Lord (Acts 2:9-12, 47).