By David Halvorson

*This blog is part of our weekly, virtual Bible Study through the book of Psalms. For information on how to participate, please visit this page.

1 To the chief Musician on Neginoth, A Psalm or Song. God be merciful unto us and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us; Selah.  

2 That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations.  

3 Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee.  

4 O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the people righteously and govern the nations upon earth. Selah.  

5 Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee.  

6 Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God, shall bless us.  

7 God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him. 

Here, David is the psalmist as in most cases. 

He opens with a partial repetition of the Aaronic blessing in Numbers 6. 

This is called the Aaronic blessing because it was commanded by God to be spoken over the people of Israel by Aaron, Moses’ brother, the first high priest of Israel. 

Numbers 6:22-27 KJV  

22 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,  

23 Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them,  

24 The LORD bless thee, and keep thee:  

25 The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:  

26 The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee and give thee peace.  

27 And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them. 

Verse 1 ends with an exhortation to think about what has just been said. The Hebrew word Selah is a musical term used within a song to tell the musicians or worship leader to take a pause and meditate or think about the spoken word of God. 

It is necessary for us to follow this biblical command so we will leave the thoughts of this world and our concerns and fears and struggles behind and listen to God’s word and His thoughts. 

Meditation is not the eastern religious type, emptying the mind and breathing exercises, which can lead to demonic influences.  

Biblical meditation is the practice of getting still and inviting the Spirit of God to speak to our hearts as we receive His word into our minds and hearts so that we may learn to hear His voice and know His heart toward us and through us to those around us, friends, and enemies alike. 

In verse 2 we see the purpose for our blessing commanded by the Lord, that His way (Heb. Derek: way, path, manner) may be known upon earth, because as we receive His mercy and His face shining upon us the world can know of His goodness.  

He goes on to say that His saving health will be known upon the Earth and among the nations. 

The word for saving health is the Hebrew word, Yeshua. Most of us know that Yeshua is the Hebrew form of Jesus. The word Yeshua also means salvation. So, the word translated saving health is the same word for salvation. 

The word nations is the Hebrew word goy, which is used to refer to “all people everywhere.” The Jews, the children of Father Abraham were to be a light to the nations (Isaiah 49:6b), just as we as Christians ARE the light of the world. We remember that Jesus speaking to Nicodemus in John chapter 3 told him that God so loved the WORLD, and that WHOSOEVER believes on the Son of God will not perish but have eternal life. 

Verse 3 is a declaration of Praise (Heb. Yada) Let the people (Heb. Am) praise Thee, let all the people praise Thee. Psalm 33:1 and Psalm 147:1 both say that praise is beautiful.  

Verse 4 is an exhortation for the nations, all people, to be glad and sing for joy that the Lord will judge the people righteously and govern the nations upon the earth.

When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked man rules, the people mourn.  Proverbs 29:2

Notice here that when the righteous rule, ALL the people rejoice and when the wicked rule ALL the people mourn.

Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.  Proverbs 14:34

Of the increase of His government AND peace there shall be no end.  Isaiah 9:7

So, we look forward to His righteous government over the earth. 

Verse 5 is again an exhortation to continuously praise Him for His goodness and righteousness and glory! Hallelujah! 

Verse 6. When the Lord governs the earth (Heb. Eres, the whole earth, not part) Then shall the earth yield her increase and even our own God shall bless us. 

Wow! When we are blessed by the Lord, as commanded by Him, when we receive His blessing, His word, His promises, when we practice praise and the Lord Himself is our ruler, then the earth shall yield her increase and our own God shall bless us. 

And finally, as we saw back in verse 2 that the purpose for blessing us is that His way may be known upon earth, we see in verse 7 that the result is that all the ends of the earth shall fear Him. 

I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness and shall not return, that unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.  Isaiah 45:23

The day shall come for all the earth to experience this blessing, but for us who believe we can live now in praise and the blessing of God no matter what our circumstances look like, because we walk by faith, not by sight! 

In verse 1, David begins the psalm by calling upon the Lord to bless him and the people.

Call upon Him to bless you today, that His way may be known upon the earth. 

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