When God Smiles
Opening Prayer
I praise you, Lord. There is no power on earth like Yours. You have done wondrous things.
Read Psalm 67
1 May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face shine on us—
2 so that your ways may be known on earth,
your salvation among all nations.
3 May the peoples praise you, God;
may all the peoples praise you.
4 May the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you rule the peoples with equity
and guide the nations of the earth.
5 May the peoples praise you, God;
may all the peoples praise you.
6 The land yields its harvest;
God, our God, blesses us.
7 May God bless us still,
so that all the ends of the earth will fear him.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Meditate
Some people think of God having a stern, disapproving look. Here, the psalmist pictures God with a kindly smile on his face.
Think Further
This psalm may have as its background a harvest festival (6), yet it is not a psalm of thanksgiving but a prayer for God’s continuing blessing into the future. It begins with a reference to the “Aaronic blessing” (Num. 6:22–27), the words used by the high priest to invoke God’s blessing on Israel. God is asked to “make his face shine” on his people. This might be paraphrased as “smile kindly” on them. He is asked to be “gracious” to them. “Grace” is a key concept in the Bible, conveying the idea of a superior bestowing undeserved favor on an inferior. In grace, God gives us far more than we deserve. That is why Paul says, “by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Eph. 2:8,9).
The psalmist’s vision is not limited to Israel. He wants the truth about God and the experience of his salvation to be experienced by all nations. This is driven home by the repeated refrain in verses 3 and 5. He wants all peoples to praise God as a result of knowing and experiencing God’s grace. The psalmist’s prayer evokes God’s promise to Abram that “all peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (Gen. 12:3; 22:18). From the origin of Israel in God’s call to Abram, his intention was always that his blessing should not be confined to Israel but that they should make it available to all nations. This responsibility has been passed to the church (Matt. 28:18–20; Acts 1:8).
It is important to note the cause of the nations’ joy—God’s just rule and guidance. “The capricious kindliness which makes no moral judgments is as alien to biblical thought as the tyranny that rules without love” (Donald Kidner, 1913–2008).
Apply
Think of how God has been gracious to you, beginning with your salvation. In what ways can you share his grace with others?
Closing prayer
Gracious Lord, I pray that my evangelistic zeal for the Gospel will be based, not on duty, but on gratitude, for the goodness of Your grace to me.
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