Psalm Meditation 1083 Fifth Sunday in Lent March 21, 2021 Psalm 67 1 May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, Selah 2 that your way may be known upon earth, your saving power among all nations. 3 Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you. 4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. Selah 5 Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you. 6 The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, has blessed us. 7 May God continue to bless us; let all the ends of the earth revere him. (NRSV) When we are asked to make a list of blessings we start with the out of the ordinary ones. Especially as we consider the blessings of God, we want our list to be made up of special things. We may list animals that we have seen in zoos or on documentaries on television, rare metals and gems we have received as gifts or as new joints, things that we may have taken for granted until we no longer had them. The earth yields wonderful crops of edible fruits and vegetables as well as things of beauty that are dangerous to us in some way. The earth also provides air to breathe, a place to stand, water to drink, minerals and chemicals that make our lives what they are either directly or indirectly. It seems that the more we have, the less we notice any of it. The psalmist reminds us to thank God for the blessings we notice, as well as for the things that are so much a part of our lives that we no longer notice. Sometimes it is important to thank God for all of our blessings, especially the ones we no longer notice. The psalmist makes it a point to list the blessings God offers to us as gifts: presence, saving power, fair judgment, and guidance. “May God continue to bless us; let all the ends of the earth revere him.” March 15, 2021 LCM