"God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us; Selah. That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations. Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee. O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. Selah. Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee. Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God, shall bless us. God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him." (Psalm 67:1-7)

          In the title of Psalm 67 it is specifically called a song. It sounds very much like Numbers 6:24-26. "The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace." This is a prayer song for God to show His loving attention and care to His people. The picture of God's face shinning upon us is that of God approving of us and looking toward us with joy. God's face shinned brightest upon us when He sent Jesus as a sacrifice for our sins. People of all nations would come to know God's saving grace. The nations have reason to rejoice in God's goodness. Everyone, wherever they are on earth, can benefit greatly from a knowledge of God and from doing His will. The entire population of the earth should praise God. God blessings are seen everywhere as the earth yields an increase of produce. The fact that God extends His marvelous blessing to all causes many to praise Him.    

          Let the people praise God -- Psalm 67:1-3: The key verse in this brief psalm says, "Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee." (Psalms 67:3) Praise for God is when we speak about our God, or we praise Him when we confess Him before others or we praise Him when we sing to His name. It is in praising God that we sent forth what we have learned about His nature and what we have experienced about His actions and goodness. "Praise ye the LORD. O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever." (Psalms 106:1) We receive many blessings from the hand of God. The most needed blessing is for God to be merciful to us. Our prayer to God should be that His way may be known upon earth. All nations need the "saving health" of the Almighty. The face of the Lord is always upon us in the keeping of this Great Commission. "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned." (Mark 16:15-16) The only source of our salvation is Jesus, the Christ. "Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." (Acts 4:10-12) "Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee." (Psalms 67:3)

          Let all the people praise God -- Psalm 67:4-7: Both Jews and Gentiles alike should praise the Lord. "Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee." (Psalms 67:5) Out of every nation there will come some people who are willing to praise God and to sing for joy. These people would gain knowledge of God and they would come to understand that He will judge the people righteously and govern the nations upon earth. Those who choose to live without God will face His judgment and wrath. Those who live for and with God will enjoy the victory of faith and the joy of righteousness. Let us continually praise God for the blessing of salvation and because He causes the earth to yield her increase and because He blesses us! All the ends of the earth should fear God and appreciate His blessing. "O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes! Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments." (Psalms 119:5-6) God shall bless us and the earth shall fear him!

          Our heart must rely on God. Let us confidently lean upon Him. He will help His people. Are you His child? To become a Christian you must hear the gospel (Romans 10:17), believe in Jesus as the Christ (Mark 16:16), repent of all sins (Acts 17:30), confess Christ as Lord (Romans 10:9-10), and be baptized for remission of sins. (Acts 2:38) After baptism remain faithful to God. (Revelation 2:10) Heaven is too glorious to miss.