Psalms

This is a praise Psalm.  In it we see a prayer for mercy from a merciful God.  Then there is a plea for universal knowledge of God that would lead to all mankind bringing their praise to Him.  And finally, by the mercy, by all the people seeking Him, we see the blessings that flow from being in Him.

To the Chief Musician. On stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song.

 ¹ God be merciful to us and bless us,
         And cause His face to shine upon us,  Selah  
When a man came before an earthly throne to make a request of an earthly king he hoped that the king would see and understand the request.  Many times it was unknown how the king might respond.  If the request offended or upset him, you might lose your head.  When we bring our request before God we don't have to worry about losing our head or being struck down.  The almighty is a merciful God and what better request could be made of a merciful God than to ask for mercy.  We should never forget that the mercy shown to us is a great blessing that we don't deserve.  When a man came before a worldly throne making a request, the smile of the king was the answer he was looking for.  That's what we seek when we come before the throne of God.  We want Him to smile on our petition and request.  We want to be in that right standing with God where His face will shine upon us and bless us.

Numbers 6:24-26

 ²⁴ "The LORD bless you and keep you;

 ²⁵ The LORD make His face shine upon you,
      And be gracious to you;

 ²⁶ The LORD lift up His countenance upon you,
      And give you peace."'
²⁷ "So they shall put My name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them."

See also Psalm 31:16; Psalm 44:3; Psalm 80:3,7,19; Psalm 119:135;

Proverbs 16:15.

   ¹⁵ In the light of the king's face is life,
      And his favor is like a cloud of the latter rain.

Verse 2

 ² That Your way may be known on earth,
         Your salvation among all nations.
In Genesis 12:3 we see this...... ³ I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."  This promise was given to Abraham.  It was fulfilled in the coming of the messiah.  After the crucifixion and resurrection Jesus went to the disciples.  Right before He ascended to the Father He told the disciples that they would be his witnesses to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the remotest parts of the world.  This is the salvation that came to us and then there is a calling on each of us to be a witness of Jesus Christ to the world.

         
 ³ Let the peoples praise You, O God;
         Let all the peoples praise You.
When the Jews sang for the peoples to praise God they were including the gentile world.  I question whether they really understood that.  It seems as though the Psalmists, possibly David, knew this to be true.  When God said that Abraham would be a blessing to the world, the Psalmists saw the world respond with praise to God.

 ⁴ Oh, let the nations be glad and sing for joy!
         For You shall judge the people righteously,
         And govern the nations on earth.  Selah  
The 'nations' were not excluded from this salvation offered by God.  All nations of all times can lay claim to the saving grace offered by Jesus Christ.  He shall judge the people righteously and govern the nations of the earth.   

Revelation 19 

 ¹⁵ Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. ¹⁶ And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written:  KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

We should never forget that God is just and will be the just judge.  Often times we spend so much time focused on His mercy and grace we forget He is the just and righteous judge.  We live in a time of grace and mercy.  That grace and mercy is extended to all the nations and all the peoples throughout earth.  A time is coming when it is time to judge.  For those in Christ, we won't stand in our righteousness.  We are clothed in the righteousness of Christ because He paid the just and right penalty for our sins.  Those whose penalty has not been paid, will be judged in their own righteousness.  Many will stand there that day, thinking they had been a good person and lived a good life to find out their self righteousness is see as filthy rags.  It will fall way short of the God's standard of holiness and perfection.

Verse 5
 ⁵ Let the peoples praise You, O God;
         Let all the peoples praise You.

This is a repeat of the chorus of verse 3.  There was first a call for praise in the word going out to all the world.  Now there is a call to praise when the Lord judges righteously the nations and governs them.

Verse 6
 ⁶ Then the earth shall yield her increase;

         God, our own God, shall bless us.
 ⁷ God shall bless us,
         And all the ends of the earth shall fear Him.

The Psalmists saw that when the people were abiding in Him and praising Him that they would be blessed.  The blessings they saw were when God gave them a bountiful harvest.  This was the earth bringing forth its increase.  God would bless His people and all the ends of the earth would witness this and fear Him. 

This Psalm is prophetic in that it looks forward to the future kingdom that Revelation 19 speaks of.  The earth yielding her increase could be a reference to the resurrection of the dead.  In the millennium He will rule the earth and all the ends of the earth shall fear Him.