Let The Nations Be Glad Series

Let the Nations Be Glad

Psalm 67

Rev. Brian Bill

September 6-7, 2025

Every single day, more than 90 million selfies are taken and posted online. Think about that for a moment. That’s millions of people turning the camera around on themselves, wanting to be seen, liked, and remembered.

Sadly, through the end of 2024, there have been 480 selfie-related deaths across 49 countries. One example took place in Arizona, when a 21-year-old hiker tragically slipped backward off a cliff while trying to capture a selfie against the city skyline at night.

Psalm 67 challenges us to stop living selfie-centered lives which can lead to our demise and start living Savior-centered lives as disciples of Christ.

Please stand and let’s read it together: “To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song. May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, Selah; that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations. Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth, Selah; Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, shall bless us. God shall bless us; let all the ends of the earth fear him!”

Let’s make a few observations.

• The word “bless” is used three times (1, 6, 7).

• The words “peoples,” “nations,” and “earth” are used twelve times, making this a missionary Psalm.

• The word “all” is used in verse 2: “all nations,” in verses 3, 5 we see the phrase: “all the peoples,” and in verse 7: “all the ends of the earth.”

• The word “Selah” is used twice. As we’ve seen in several other psalms, this phrase urges us to pause, ponder, and pivot.

God blesses His people, not so we can hoard His goodness, but so we can herald His glory among the nations. We’re called to be conduits of God’s blessings to the world, not containers that keep those blessings to ourselves. We’re not to ask God just to fill our buckets with personal blessings, but to use those blessings to bless all peoples and nations. We’re designed to be rivers, not reservoirs because God desires to use you and me to reach the globe with the gospel for His glory.

Let me demonstrate with this bucket and watering can. We can go through life asking God to fill up our buckets or we can redeem the time by pouring out God’s blessings to others. If we selfishly keep filling our buckets, the things inside will sour and stagnate. On the other hand, if we selflessly give what we’ve been given, God will keep filling us up so we can give even more. Brothers and sisters, it’s time for us to stop living selfie-centered lives which can lead to our demise and start living Savior-centered lives as disciples of Christ!

1. A prayer for God’s blessing. This Psalm begins with a three-fold request in verse 1: “May God be gracious to us and bless us and make His face to shine upon us, Selah.” The first request is to ask God to “be gracious” to us. This word means, “underserved favor” and has the idea of receiving God’s compassionate kindness, not because we deserve it, but because we don’t. Actually, we don’t want to get what we deserve, do we? The second request is to ask God to “bless us” by providing His peace, protection, and provision.

The third request is to ask God to “make His face to shine upon us.” The word “shine” means, “to light up with a smile.” This phrase was used by Moses when he told Aaron and his sons to use this benediction as a way to bless God’s people in Numbers 6:24-26: “The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.” This request is repeated in Psalm 4:6: “Lift up the light of your face upon us, O Lord!” and Psalm 80:3: “Let your face shine, that we may be saved!” Proverbs 16:15 says, “In the light of a king’s face, there is life.”

Here’s a question: Do you see God as smiling or scowling when He looks at you? Let’s try an experiment. Look at the person next to you and give them a big smile. Now, turn that smile upside down and give them a scowl. How did you feel when you were smiled at? How about when you received a scowl? If you’re a born-again believer, Zephaniah 3:17 says God not only smiles at you; He also breaks out into song when He thinks about you: “…He will exult over you with loud singing.”