“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” (KJV, Ps. 67:1-4).
“God be merciful unto us”
Father, I thank You that You are a God of mercy. When I look within myself, I see my need for mercy. I see the sins that I commit. I see the sin that so easily entangles me. I pray that You would have mercy on me a sinner and that the blood of Christ would cleanse me from my sin.
I thank You for sending Christ, so that I could stand before You as righteous. I thank You that I have an Advocate with the Father. You have shown me much mercy along the way, and it is true that Your mercies are new every morning.
You are a faithful God, and Your mercy is a sign of Your faithfulness. I thank You that in Christ, I can find a place of rest from my work. I thank You that in Christ, I have been adopted, reconciled, and justified.
“and bless us”
You have truly blessed me in Christ. I see that Your Word tells me that if I were to live under the law, I must fulfill the law perfectly to be blessed by You. I also see that I have not obeyed all of Your commands. However, I see that Jesus came born under the law to fulfill the law’s righteous demands.
Thank You for applying the work of Christ to my life. Thank You for crediting me with the righteousness of Your Son and for blessing me greatly in Christ. I see that all spiritual blessings flow through the cross and that blessing cannot come by another way.
Only in Christ am I blessed. Only through the merits of Jesus will I ever be able to stand before You. Thank You for Your Son and that in Christ, You have bestowed upon me much more than I deserve.
“and cause his face to shine upon us; Selah”
Father, I pray that You would make Your face to shine upon me. In this verse, I see what true blessing is. I do not pray for cars, nor do I pray for riches. I do not pray for material things. I pray that You would bless me with Yourself. I see that the psalmist desired that Your face would shine upon him and his people.
I also see that in the book of Numbers, when Aaron prayed for the Hebrew people, he prayed a similar prayer. Father, I pray that Your face would shine upon me and that You would be gracious to me. I thank You that when Your Son hung upon the cross, You turned Your face away from Him. In this, I can see that You will not turn Your face away from me.
When You turn Your face away from someone, it is a sign of divine displeasure. It is a sign of judgment. But I know, O God, that You have already issued a verdict over my life, and the verdict is that I am “not guilty.” I thank You that You will not turn Your face away from me.
“That thy way may be known upon earth”
I pray that Your way would be known upon the earth. I pray that Your kingdom would come and that Your will would be done on earth as it is in heaven. You are worthy to be worshipped and adored. I see that You are not slow in fulfilling Your promises to return to the earth and to make Your name known. Instead, I see that You are patient and that You do not want anyone to perish.
I thank You for not wanting me to perish. I thank You for being patient with me and not sending Christ to the earth prior to my receiving Him. I pray that You would make Your way known upon the earth like You did to me.
“thy saving health among all nations”
Your ways are good, and You have made provision for man’s sins. Your saving health must be known among the people of the land. You have sent Your Son for sinful man so that sinful man could have his sin atoned for through the death of Christ. I pray that Your saving health would be illuminated and magnified in the world.
I pray that Your Gospel message would go forth and that Your name would be hallowed. I thank You for the righteousness that comes through Christ. I thank You that You met me in my hopeless state and that You have designed a way in which I could know You and dwell with You throughout all eternity.
“Let the people praise thee, O God”
You are good to me, and I pray that You would work thankfulness into my heart. I pray that I would give You the praise that You so rightfully deserve. You have been good to me and have been merciful along the way. When I was far from the heart of God, You brought me in.
Your Word tells me that nobody is good and that there are none who naturally seek after You. I thank You that when I was dead in my sin and seeking out my own path, You came and rescued me. I praise You, O God, for Your wondrous works. You have been good to me, and Your steadfast love is evident.
“let all the people praise thee”
I thank You for the universal call of thanksgiving. You are deserving of much thanks, praise, and adoration. You have been good to me, and I see that the Psalmist desired for praise to be offered to You in the land.
I pray that praise would start with me. I pray that You would create in me a Christ-centered worshipper’s heart. Show me how I can go throughout my day in a spirit of praise. Show me how I can live my life in a grateful state with my mind fixed on You.
I often find that I can focus on the negatives, but You have been so good to me. Please rid me of this type of thinking that I might see Your grace in my life.
“O let the nations be glad and sing for joy”
Gladness must befit me. I must be glad and sing for joy for the work that You have done. Gladness must be a constant state for me. You have rescued me from the grave. You have saved me from hell fire and brimstone. You have plucked me out of the hands of the enemy. You have loosed my bonds and broken my shackles. You have forgiven me of a debt that I could never repay. You have redeemed me from slavery. You have united me with Christ and imparted life to my dying soul.
Thank You, Lord, for not giving up on me. I have many reasons as to why I ought to be glad and sing for joy.
“for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. Selah”
You are a good and righteous Judge. I thank You for sitting upon Your throne. You have not given up on Your creation. You have been involved from the very beginning. I thank You that when things seem bad in the land, I can turn to You and put my trust in You.
You are a God Who is in control of all things. You are bringing all things to your desired end. You have judged righteously and will never cease to do so. I thank You for Your righteous judgments and that You will govern the earth. Help me not to forget Your rule and reign when I look upon the affairs of the land.
You are a glorious King, and Your rule and reign know no bounds. Please help me to submit to Your righteous rule. In Jesus’ name, Amen.