To the chief Musician on Neginoth, A Psalm or Song.
1 God be merciful unto us, and bless us: and cause His face to shine upon us: Selah.
2 That Thy way may be known upon earth, Thy saving health among all nations.
3 Let the people praise Thee, O God: let all the people praise Thee.
4 O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for Thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. Selah.
5 Let the people praise Thee, O God: let all the people praise Thee.
6 Then shall the earth yield her increase: and God, even our own God, shall bless us.
7 God shall bless us: and all the ends of the earth shall fear Him.
God will bless our land when the people will bless their God.
We sense the special hand of God on us as His people. But more than that, our hearts fill with a desire to see God’s kingdom expand throughout the world. We want to see God pour out His blessing upon this family, but we also want to see the nations turn back to God.
Verse 1. People who do not know God are sunk in sin and misery. Without the Gospel of Jesus Christ, these nations inevitably sink into sin and the curses that usually attend that sin, including disease, poverty, strife, war, and the destruction of the family. Throughout the Bible, God promises blessing to a people that will walk in faith and obedience. But you know we will not walk in faith and obedience unless God gives us the grace to do just that. We will neither enjoy the blessing to obey or the blessing that comes with obedience without God’s grace. That’s why the Psalmist opens up this psalm with a cry for God’s mercy, blessing, and favor.
Verse 2. Are we calling out to God for blessing just so we will be blessed, or is there something more than a selfish reason for the prayer of the first verse? Actually, what we really want is a testimony to the world around us. While Israel was faithful to God under the rule of David, God blessed Israel with power and wealth. But the reigns of Jeroboam, Ahab, and others brought great decline to the nation, and it wasn’t long before it was ravaged by foreign nations and turned into a despised and ruined lot. Never again did the nation achieve the glory that it enjoyed under David and Solomon.
But when God works a mighty work of grace in the hearts of His people, and they return to His worship and service, tremendous blessings return to our families, churches, and nations. Rather than sinking into the curse of economic debt, the disintegration of family in divorce, and internal strife in our churches, we enjoy great peace, harmony, health, and wealth. This blessing is inevitable when a people’s heart turns back to God, and they begin to exhibit the fruits of the Spirit of love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, and faith. These people then become a sharp contrast to other families and nations who are ripped apart by bitterness, hatred, strife, drunkenness, debt, fornication, hopelessness, and disease.
The real goal in the mind of the Psalmist is to provide a witness of God’s ways and laws and His saving grace that works in both our body and soul.
Verses 3–7. The real heart of the Psalmist betrays itself in these verses as he shouts out, “Let all the nations praise the Lord!” That is the spirit that drives the missionary movement, and it should come out in our worship as well. The very fact that there are people walking God’s green earth who are not worshiping Him presents a grievous impropriety and injustice. For the believer, this incongruity is something he cannot possibly accept. Until every creature on earth joins with us to praise our good God, we will continue demanding His worship in our praise.
The final verses clearly connect the fruitfulness of the earth in a given region to the praise of God heard there. When the people of Africa begin praising God, the Sahara desert will begin yielding green forests and lush fields. It was the sin of man that brought the curse to the earth. But when God, by His grace, saves His people and lifts them up to sing His praises with true heart-felt sincerity and enthusiasm, that curse is broken. And when God blesses His people, that testimony of life and blessing will bring the nations to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
There is nothing we can do of our own initiative to receive God’s blessing of faith and obedience and the blessings that attend these things. But we can cry out to God for His mercy and His favor. By nature, man is dead to God and he could care less for His blessing. Like Esau, he is hardly desirous of the birthright and the favor of his Heavenly Father. This is what feeds complacency in worship. As a family, let us cry out to God this day for His work of grace in our hearts that we might live lives of faith before Him and receive His unspeakable blessings.
1. Worship maintains the right motivation. If our worship is reduced to a man-centered focus on God’s blessings for us instead of that God-centered focus of blessing God, then we are not engaging in true worship. Is God most glorified when we are most delighted in Him? Or would it be better to put it another way? God is most glorified in us and we are most delighted in Him when our own delight is no longer our highest value. As God’s people share their hearts in worship, we should hear voices calling out for more people to join us in the praise of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
2. Worship should also convey a strong vision for kingdom outreach. It is our desire to see the nations brought to the feet of our Lord Jesus Christ. This message should come through our prayers, singing, and sermons.
1. What happens to nations that reject God?
2. What happens to a people that will turn back to God in true faith and obedience?
3. What will the nations do when they see that there are people who enjoy the blessings of God?
4. Name several Praise psalms.
5. What does the Psalmist mean when he says, “God causes His face to shine upon us”?
1. Are we more interested in blessing God or receiving God’s blessings?
2. What is this family’s commitment to the missionary vision? Are we desirous to see more people praising God in our own town or anywhere else in the world