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!
It appears that the psalmist may have adapted this Psalm from the blessing that was used in Numbers 6:24-26. "24 The LORD bless you and keep you; 25 the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; 26 the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace."
Notice the usage of the metaphor of light. We are asking the light of God's face to shine on us and flood our hearts and minds with understanding and wisdom. Then we can follow by making his way known in the earth, so that all the peoples will praise him.
If God's face shines upon us, we cannot help but reflect his glory!
(Inspiration from A Musician Looks At the Psalms, by Don Wyrtzen)
Incidentally, the next verse in Psalm 67 begins with a somewhat famous phrase, "Let the nations be glad," which is the title of a book by one of my favorite authors, John Piper. In that book, Piper opines that the reason missions exists is because worship doesn't. Worth pondering.
THE WAR
Iraq�s Supreme Court has ratified the results of their March election, clearing the way for further negotiations between
parties in their attempt to form a coalition government.
U.S. helicopters flew Afghan troops into a remote district overrun by the Taliban and recaptured the main town earlier
this week without firing a shot, according to military officials.
Give thanks for every success, great or small, in the war and peace efforts in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
I would add to his a prayer to get our troops out of Iraq completely.
Grace and peace, friends.