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!
No one should enjoy, excuse or promote sin because the Lord God hates sin. Even so, He loves to forgive, to lead sinners back to Him in love, repentance, and praise. Consequently, the people of God cry out to Him for blessing, mercy and justice. They affirm that these will be great signs for nonbelievers and skeptics because they will be able to see that there is a God in heaven who is almighty but also loving and righteous. The nations will look at the people of God and see a people who have been redeemed from sin and granted forgiveness and grace despite their sinfulness. Yet they will also see justice being meted out. The Lord punishes the sins of the unredeemed. Since He has already punished the sins of the faithful on the cross by Jesus’ death, He disciplines His people when they sin. Though the discipline may often seem like punishment because of its severity p, it is not. Discipline is a means God uses to help His people grow in faith.
Today the Church is God’s people. Like the people of ancient Israel the people of God today will face His discipline. The people of God now as then have often failed to show concern and care for the widows and orphans, the needy and those who were suffering. They sometimes fail to extend God’s grace often preferring to preach the gospel solely about His wrath and anger. While we should never forget that God will punish the wicked with hellfire, we must recall that now is the time to dispense grace, to tell people of God’s love and care as manifested in Jesus our Lord who died for the sins of all. Lost people need to hear that message. The reason is because we all live in the same cruel and heartless world. How sad it is that those who reject God’s offer will face eternity which will be more of the same pain and misery. No one should, therefore, rejoice at such a prospect but weep. Let us use our sorrow to motivate us to preach a balanced message of mercy and justice to the lost.