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!
4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you judge the peoples with equity
and guide the nations upon earth. Selah
5 Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you!
6 The earth has yielded its increase;
God, our God, shall bless us.
7 God shall bless us;
let all the ends of the earth fear him!
I once recognized someone in a movie. It was a former student of my wife’s. We knew to look for her because she had told us about it. She was an extra in a Hollywood film. The film was not really very good, but it was fun to see someone I knew on the screen. The star was walking past a crowd of folks at an airport and there was Taisha in the crowd. We knew it was her because she had one of the most radiant smiles I have ever seen. When she smiled, you almost needed sunglasses.
The psalmist asks that God’s face shine upon us. If you have known someone who had a bit of Taisha’s smile, you might also have an image in mind of a radiant, sun-brilliant smile. When they turn that on, it is impossible to ignore and it makes the whole room a brighter place. All is joyful when God’s radiant face shines upon us, it dispels the gloom and scatters the clouds.
But the psalmist wants us to see something else: God’s face shines on all the peoples. Like the sun it illumines the whole earth and the nations rejoice. There is a funny thing about God. He just will not fit into the boundaries that we want to construct for him. He has a very large-hearted love which puts forth his favor and delight into every nook and cranny of his creation, even the places I might be afraid to go. I love the smile of God upon me. It is like the kiss of sunshine on a beautiful summer day.
God smiles on the whole world.