When Praise Sounds Weak and Warbly

Psalm 67 is a beautiful, awe inspiring 7 verses that I’ve been memorizing recently. It’s a Psalm of gratitude, asking God to keep His promises to His people. It’s a Psalm that stirs up the soul toward excitement for missions and for the church globally and generationally. Phrases like, “the peoples,” “the nations,” and “all the ends of the earth” declare the mission of the gospel and where it is headed.

Psalm 67 (ESV): Make Your Face Shine upon Us

To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song.

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 on 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, shall bless us.

7 God shall bless us;
let all the ends of the earth fear him!

As a side note, Psalms were meant to be sung. Don’t just take my word for it. I highly recommend you whip out your trusty copy of “The Book of Psalms for Worship” (or buy a copy here!) and sing this beautiful Psalm. I’m partial to the 67C version myself.

My study Bible notes on this Psalm, “May God’s favors to His people be so obvious that all the world takes notice.” God promises every spiritual blessing in Christ (Ephesians 1:3) so that “all the ends of the earth may fear Him.” When God blesses us abundantly, the watching world can’t help noticing and glorifying our gracious and loving Father. This is part of the Christian’s witness to the world. Pray that praise from every corner of the earth will resound to God and that His blessings on us will be so plentiful that the world will have no other option than to respond with rejoicing and worship.

I wanted to add some related verses from the two Psalms directly before 67.

Psalm 65:8: They who dwell in the ends of the earth stand in awe of Your signs, You make the dawn and the sunset shout for joy.

All people will ultimately see God’s saving acts on behalf of His people and therefore will bend their knee and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Philippians 2:11). All creation will rejoice (see Psalm 19), joining in the human chorus to celebrate the blessings of God in creation and redemption. What an exhilarating thought! All earth from the farthest corners will be praising the Almighty with us. If it seems to be just your small congregation with feeble, quavering voices in worship on Sunday morning, keep in mind that one day we will join in an everlasting refrain of praise to God with the dawn, the angels, and the people of God throughout the generations. It will sound incredible to be glorifying God as we see Him face to face with the church triumphant. John Boys said, “The servants of the Lord are to sing His praises in this life to the world’s end; and in the next life, world without end.”

How should we await this eternity of adoration? As Psalm 66:1-2 says, let us, “Shout joyfully to God, all the earth; sing the glory of His name; make His praise glorious.” We are called to give honor and worship to our Holy God. Let’s be overflowing with His glory and declaring what He has done for us. Make His praise glorious, not just half-hearted, timid, and occasional. Our praise should be constant and glorious, because our God alone is worthy of all glory. With this knowledge, we should be driven to missions, whether across the street or across the ocean. The vision of Psalm 67, “That your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations” should drive us forward in fulfilling the Great Commission.