An Invocation and a Doxology
To the Chief Musician. On stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song.
“God be merciful to us and bless us, and cause His face to shine upon us, Selah that Your way may be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations.
Let the peoples praise You, O God; let all the peoples praise You. Oh, let the nations be glad and sing for joy! For You shall judge the people righteously, and govern the nations on earth. Selah
Let the peoples praise You, O God; let all the peoples praise You. Then the earth shall yield her increase; God, our own God, shall bless us. God shall bless us, and all the ends of the earth shall fear Him.”
“God be merciful to us and bless us, and cause His face to shine upon us, Selah that Your way may be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations.” This psalm is one of those short but memorable ones. If God is not merciful, He will not bless us because we don’t deserve either mercy or blessing by ourselves. When God blesses a people, He demonstrates His power to all the surrounding nations.
“Let the peoples praise You, O God; let all the peoples praise You. Oh, let the nations be glad and sing for joy! For You shall judge the people righteously, and govern the nations on earth. Selah” Follow current events for even a few minutes and you realize that righteous leadership is in short supply around the world. Nothing is more frightening than laboring under unrighteous leadership, fearing that terrible things might happen at any moment.
“Let the peoples praise You, O God; let all the peoples praise You. Then the earth shall yield her increase; God, our own God, shall bless us. God shall bless us, and all the ends of the earth shall fear Him.” We are wrong when we assume that the earth is inanimate and cannot respond to the spirits influencing the people who are occupying it. George Otis Jr. and the Sentinel Organization have repeatedly demonstrated that when God heals a land spiritually, the land becomes productive. Streams fill with fish. Crops flourish. Why should the ends of the earth fear God? When God does miracles, the news spreads around the world.
Romans 4:17 describes the Kingdom of God. “For the Kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. “ Many people long for just those things in their lives. When God blesses us and all the ends of the earth fear Him, the Kingdom of God has truly arrived.
APPLICATION: It’s tempting to read this psalm and wonder why it is not already being fulfilled. There are lots of believers around the world begging God to bring peace to their countries. Why hasn’t God fulfilled those requests already?
Our problem is that we have a limited view of things. 1 Corinthians 13 tells us that our knowledge is imperfect and our prophecy is imperfect. No matter how intelligently we try to interpret political events, only God knows the end from the beginning.
There is an old hymn that says, “God is working His Purpose Out.
1 God is working this purpose out, as year succeeds to year;
God is working this purpose out, and the time is drawing near;
nearer and nearer draws the time, the time that shall surely be:
when the earth shall be filled with the glory of God as the waters cover the sea.
2 From utmost east to utmost west, where human feet have trod,
by the mouth of many messengers goes forth the voice of God:
“Give ear to me, ye continents, ye isles, give ear to me,
that the earth may be filled with the glory of God as the waters cover the sea.”
3 Let us go forth in the strength of God, with the banner of Christ unfurled,
that the light of the glorious gospel of truth may shine throughout the world.
Let us all fight with sorrow and sin to set the captives free,
that the earth may be filled with the glory of God as the waters cover the sea.
4 All we can do is nothing worth unless God blesses the deed.
Vainly we hope for the harvest-tide till God gives life to the seed.
Yet nearer and nearer draws the time, the time that shall surely be,
when the earth shall be filled with the glory of God as the waters cover the sea.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to trust that You ARE working out Your purposes and that the earth shall be filled with the glory of God as the waters cover the sea. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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