Please turn with me to Psalm 67. Psalm 67. Hear now the Word of God. May God be gracious to us and bless us, and make His face shine upon us, That your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations. May the peoples praise you, O God. May all the peoples praise you. May the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you rule the peoples justly and guide the nations of the earth. May the peoples praise you, O God. May all the peoples praise you. Then the land will yield its harvest, and God, our God, will bless us. God will bless us and all the ends of the earth will fear Him. Beloved in Christ the Lord, it's that time of year again we call Thanksgiving time. We know that because the calendar tells us that. We know that because our sons and daughters look forward to having a couple of days of vacation from school. We're even reminded of that in the advertisements that we hear on the radio and on TV. Yesterday I heard one that in the spirit of thanksgiving, this business said. The idea was to thank all the customers for their business throughout the year past. Oh, by the way, while you're at it, why don't you come again? We've got some more sales for you. It's Thanksgiving time again. And it's that time in a particular way that God's people stop and count their many blessings. It's a time in which God's people not only count their blessings, but even take the time as we ought to and do throughout the whole year long, but to recite what we are thankful for and to stop and give thanks to God in a particular way. But even in the midst of that time of reflecting on all the blessings that God has poured out upon us and all for which we are thankful, we must also ask, well, what does God expect from me? Does God expect anything of me? And if so, what? You see, beloved, that's a good question. And it's a question that we must constantly reflect on. And we know, of course, that there are a variety of answers to that question. God calls us to obey Him. He calls us to love Him and to trust Him. He calls us to honor and to praise and to worship Him. He calls us to live lives of praise to Him. And of course, we find all of these expectations, if you will, in the Bible. All these things that God calls of His people as well in this time of thanksgiving. He calls us, obviously, to acknowledge that all of our blessings come from Him. And He calls us to give thanks to Him for these things. Yet, there's more. There's a song that's been part of the Christian contemporary scene for a number of years. I used to sing it on occasion. It's called, Blessed to be a Blessing. The psalm talks about that very thing that God has poured out His blessings upon us. And it mentions all kinds of temporal blessings. Our tables are crowned with the goods of this earth and our fields are full at harvest time and all these other blessings that we enjoy. But why? The conclusion is we are blessed to be a blessing. In many ways, that's what Psalm 67 is about. Some believe this to be a psalm of David. David wrote a song of praise. it's no doubt a song of praise to God calling to praise Him over and over and over again. To reflect on God's grace and His blessings and His shining face and to praise Him for it. But it's also a psalm that looks to the spread of the Gospel of salvation to the Gentiles in all the nations so that the people throughout the earth would receive the blessing of God's salvation and acknowledge His blessing and rule and in turn praise Him for it. This psalm is seen as a missions psalm by many. And God's people, the church at any given time, God's people have a place in this. God has called us. God has blessed us to be a blessing to others. And the greatest blessing that we can be to the world and that we can give to the world is to proclaim the Gospel through blessings received. That brings the greatest praise to God as His Gospel is proclaimed and others come by His grace to understand that great salvation. And God's people are called to proclaim the Gospel first of all through the blessing of God's grace received. God's grace is something here that is wished for God's people. The first verse, May God be gracious to us and bless us and make His face shine upon us. Now maybe those words sound familiar. Boys and girls, maybe those words sound familiar to you. If you look at the order of worship that you have this morning, almost the very last thing before the moment of silence in the postlude is what we call the benediction. These are words of benediction. A benediction is the parting blessing to the congregation from God through His appointed representative of the minister and it serves to close the worship service. Now we need to understand though that this benediction of God This is not a modern day invention. It's not even unique to the New Testament church. This is a blessing that God gave to Moses to give to Aaron and his sons as priests to say to the people, to be spoken over the people. We read that in number 6. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you. The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you His peace. Now, of course, that's not identical to Psalm 67, verse 1, but it's very clear that it's the same blessing. And the meaning of it is that it is a wish, it is a prayer to God to be near His people, to turn with favor toward His people, to deal with them in their day-to-day life by pouring out His grace and blessing on them and shining His face on them. It is a prayer that God would be faithful to His people. Those whom He has called into covenant with Himself, be faithful to your people. continue with them give them what they need give them that which only you can give to them the blessing of God's grace is a blessing of relationship you see when we think of blessing oftentimes our view or our idea of blessing is that it's often limited to what we can see it's often limited to the things and the circumstances and the experiences of this life. For example, success. Or financial security. Or safety. Or a house to live in. Or a car to drive. Or clothes to wear. Or food on our table. And these things, these temporal blessings are certainly included in this. When Aaron gave this blessing to God, to the Israelites, it was a prayer that God would bless them with health and happiness and peace. It was a prayer that God would pour out upon them the blessings of children and possessions and land and victory. it was a request that god would protect them from harm and difficulty from misfortune and their enemies but to see all of that all of these temporal blessings in life that we might enjoy no matter how great they are they're all meaningless if god does not make his face to shine upon us you see a shining face beloved is the very opposite of an angry or a scowling face even the youngest child understands. He can tell the difference between an angry face and a loving face. And the shining face of God implies His favor. It implies friendliness. It implies a warm, personal relationship. This is a prayer for God's continuing relationship. Those whom He has called into a saving relationship with Himself. It's a prayer that God would continue that that God would indeed continue to pour out His blessings upon us. This makes all things, His shining face makes all these things that we call blessings. It makes them truly blessings. As Jesus says, what good is it for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? But the blessing of God's grace is also a blessing of preparation. God gave the Israelite this blessing instruction to Aaron to be given to the people before they entered the promised land of Canaan. I say, big deal. So what? But you see, beloved, with this blessing, Israel was prepared to enter her mission field. And again, this might seem a little bit strange. We know that Israel was delivered from the bondage of Egypt. They were brought to the land flowing with milk and honey to live happily ever after, right? But you see, God chose Israel to be His covenant people whom He promised to bless and to care for and to protect. And His blessing and His care and His protection was to be evidence for the world. It was to be seen by the nations. Israel, we know, was placed at a crossroads. Palestine was a region at the crossroads of the nations, surrounded by the nations, and Israel was put right in the middle of the nations, Yet, Israel was to be separate from the nations. But in their position, in the midst of the nations, Israel was to be a showcase. Now, boys and girls, if you go to the mall and you walk down the big hallway of the mall and you look in the different windows of the stores, you see a showcase, as it were. You see what that store has to sell to you. That's their showcase for you to see. Israel was to be a showcase for God. A showcase for the nations to see and watch God's covenant people. And the nations then were to see a people in a saving relationship with God. They were to see a people who were protected and prospered by the hand of God. They were to see a people who responded to God and His blessing by worship and praise and obedience. They lived in a glass house. Sometimes we say that the minister and his family live in a glass house for everyone to see and to know, and they're watched closely. Even the minister's children are watched a little more closely, and if they do something wrong, which they do, but if they do something wrong once in a while, they shouldn't do that. But you know what? That's true of all the children in the congregation. All of God's people live in a glass house. God's people are to be separate, different from the nations, but our lives are not necessarily to be private from the nations. We like our privacy, don't we? But in truth, beloved, our lives are not necessarily to be private from the nations. Our lives are to be open books for the nations to read. An epistle, huh? Written by the finger of God, by the Holy Spirit, for the nations to read. And God's people are to desire that the knowledge of salvation become as universal as the light of the sun. That was the psalmist's desire here. That that knowledge of salvation go forth to the ends of the earth. In this Aaronic blessing, as it's called, this blessing of Aaron, God put His name on the people. He identified these people with Himself that they were His. In that blessing, God, as it were, was staking His claim, saying, you are Mine. He was pointing out those upon whom He would pour out His blessing for a purpose in order that His people would be a blessing to the world. There's a mission purpose here. May God be gracious to us and bless us and make His face shine upon us. And we could add the word. Why? That your ways may be known on earth. Your salvation among all nations. See, it's not just for us. We are a privileged people, an undeserving people who are privileged, but not so that we can rub the world's noses in it. Not so that we can live from day to day with the attitude before the world that we're better than the world is. That's not true at all. But in order that by God's grace, we would be used of God to draw others to Himself to see the saving way of the Lord, to see the love and the care and the salvation of God for His people. That's what Israel was to be for the nations. To be a showcase. And to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ through the grace that they had received to show forth that grace. But that wasn't just for them. It's for us. It's to be demonstrated by us. You see, beloved, we too are sent away each and every Lord's Day, morning and night, with the benediction blessing of God upon us. That blessing which goes with us as we leave these walls. As we walk from Monday through Saturday then, looking forward to come back to this house of prayer. We leave with God's benediction blessing upon us. It's God's blessing on us before we go back out into the world. Before we go back into our neighborhoods. Before we enter the school halls. before we enter our place of business once again. It's a blessing asking God to bless us and care for us and protect us and be near to us and favor us and do all those things for us that God does for those whom He has brought into a saving relationship with Himself. With that benediction blessing, God puts His name on us and through that He reminds us over and over and over again that we are His. A reminder that we need before we go back out there. Brothers and sisters, the benediction and blessing is a bridge that leads us from worship to the world. It's a bridge that gets us from in here to out there. And we need to understand, beloved, just how precious that benediction and blessing of God is. It is God's Word. God calls us to worship with His Word. He sends us away with His Word. He speaks first, He speaks last. We should want it no other way. It is His Word and it is to be precious to you and me. It's more important, beloved, when we get to the benediction at the close of the service, it's more important than tidying up your spot in the church, picking up the candy wrappers and putting all your children's toys back in the bag, which causes us often to not hear it, not to pay attention to it. It's more important than leaving early to get the coffee ready. Oh, that's a wonderful tradition we have, to have a cup of coffee after the morning service. We enjoy that. But we can wait for a few minutes. We can wait for a few minutes. Because nothing is more important than God's benediction blessing. It's the Word of God upon us. It's the very act of God shining His face upon us, sending us back out with confidence in Him. We are sent out, beloved, then, to be witnesses for God. To be a showcase of God's salvation and what it means to be His people. You see, the world must see what God's salvation means to you and to me. And they must see what that salvation means to you and me in relation to God, first of all. They must see us adore Him and worship Him and have such lofty thoughts of Him that we give up our own way for that which pleases Him. they must see that He means so much to us that we stand up for Him, for His honor that we have confidence in Him and that we do not treat His blessings as expectations that's a temptation for us, isn't it? we've come to expect food on the table we've come to expect money in the bank we've come to expect two or three cars in the garage we've come to expect the latest fashions and clothing on our back but we shouldn't expect them the way we do. These are God's blessings. But the world must also see what God's salvation means to us in adversity. As we face hardship and as we have a tough time paying our bills or when our table is crowned with only the bare necessities of life and not the choices of foods and when we face illness and death and when we are without a job. And anything else you can add to the list, The world is to see what God's salvation means to us, that it means so much to us that we are able to be confident and content that we trust in Him. But the world is also to see what God's salvation means to us in relation to each other as brothers and sisters in Christ. They are to see us fellowship with each other in joy or in sorrow. We do that well here. What a blessing. They are to see selfless giving among us as a people of God. They are to see a people who help one another in times of need, who work together as well for the common goal of the kingdom. But the world is also to see what God's salvation means to us in relation to the world. That it means so much to us that we become directors, that we become arrows pointing to the only way of salvation in Jesus Christ. In God's people, the world is to see that the greatest and the most precious blessing and favor with God is a saving relationship with Jesus Christ, which alone gives us confidence in prosperity or adversity because that blessing is eternal. In us, the world is to see the blessing of God's saving grace through Jesus Christ in action. As they see a living people. Those whom God, because of His great love for us, because of His mercy, made us alive with Christ. Because of the work of Jesus Christ. Beloved, our desire is those who are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God. Our desire is to be to declare the praises of God so that many, if it is His will, might be brought to glorify God. You see, the gospel blessing is not to be the world's best-kept little secret. But instead, it is to be the world's greatest proclamation, proclaimed through the blessing of God's saving grace, which He has poured out upon us, reflected to the world. But also, it is to be proclaimed by God's people through the blessings of God's rule. Beginning in verse 3, May the peoples praise You, O God. May all the peoples praise You. May the nations be glad and sing for joy, for You rule the peoples justly and guide the nations of the earth. May the peoples praise You, O God. May all the peoples praise You. We cannot miss the call to praise God and to praise Him for His just rule. You see, this is talking about His rule over His people. It's not talking about God's common rule over all things, which is indeed true, but His specific kingdom rule and government over His people as the people of the nation. come under His rule and come to a saving knowledge of Him. Because only God's people will be able to praise God and find joy in God for His rule as they come to understand it. And that kingdom rule, we know, was promised to the nations through Abraham. The Lord said in Genesis 12, I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, and so you shall be a blessing, and I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Now, we know that in a general way, all of the families of the earth, the wicked people, are blessed through God's people. They enjoy temporal blessings through God's people. We know that the world and society is blessed as Christians conduct themselves as good citizens. As we pay our taxes. As we promote the economy. As we live morally upright lives. In other words, lives of honesty and not stealing and not seeking to take advantage of others. Of course, the world does not see this as a blessing of God's rule over us and therefore see it as a blessing for themselves. And wicked men might even be tempted and often are tempted to try to take advantage of God's people. But God truly blesses those who witness the righteous rule of God over His people as His people respond to the blessing of His grace through obedience to Him. True blessing comes to those who witness God's people respond to His rule and who themselves are brought under His righteous rule through saving faith. And that righteous rule of God, that just rule, is to be demonstrated through God's people. Through us, there is to be visible proof. Through God's people, the world is to see visible proof of the existence and the activity and the grace of God. They are to see that God rules justly and righteously and that He guides His people tenderly like a shepherd. Now we know that Israel on a number of occasions was promised blessing for obedience. But they were also given the warning of curse for disobedience which we know they experienced often even to the point of captivity. But as they obeyed the rule of God, the nations couldn't help but see the majesty and the greatness of God as He provided for them in abundance and as He protected them from the mightiest of enemies. Rahab from Jericho to the spies. Remember Rahab the prostitute. She gives testimony to that very fact. She says, we've all heard about what God has done on your behalf, how He's wiped out kings and nations, and we're shaking. We're trembling. God's people have always lived before the eyes of a watching world. And therefore, beloved, we are to ask, what will the world see? What will the world see? What will the world be looking for? Well, make no mistake about it, whether it seems like they care or not, the world will look for visible proof, proof of a profession of God's saving grace. They will look for a walk that matches our talk. They will ask, what difference does God make to a Christian? You confess to believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. You profess to believe in Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son, who came, became man, died on the cross, rose again, you claim. Rules and reigns in heaven today. You profess to believe in the Holy Spirit, God the Holy Spirit, whom you say lives in your heart. You profess to believe in this God that cannot be seen, that cannot be touched, that there's nothing that we can see that proves to us, to our eye, that He is real. What difference does He make to you? And you see, beloved, what we think about God, what we think about His majesty and His loftiness, His greatness, His holiness will be seen in what we do with His commandments. Which, of course, govern our whole life. Do we treat them as only suggestions? Or good ideas? Or do we treat them as non-negotiable? The world must see through God's people those who have been delivered out of the darkness of sin and brought into the wonderful light of God's truth by the saving sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The world must see those who honor Him as Lord who has not only delivered us from the oppressive rule of Satan whose only goal was for our eternal death and destruction. That's the kind of ruler Satan is. But our Lord who rules us with love and righteousness and equity, fairness. He does not demand more than He has commanded. He does not lower or change His standards. He does not and will not forget and fail to keep His promises. The world must see through God's people those to whom God's commandments are sweeter than honey. They must see those who understand that God's law is a delight because it is always and only for our good. The nations must see that those who submit their lives to His rule have a King who rules for the benefit of His people and shepherds and guides them in safety to safety. And the world must see in God's people the ruler. The ruler who sacrificed himself for the eternal protection of his kingdom's citizens and who has been exalted to the highest place and given the name that is above every name that at His name, the name Jesus, every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. We all know that it's impossible to praise an oppressive ruler who is a tyrant. One who doesn't have the good of those who are ruled as his goal. It's impossible to praise and find joy in an oppressive boss or employer. One again who only is concerned about the bottom line and uses his or her employees to achieve that bottom line. But the psalmist makes clear that those who find God to rule justly and guides His people just can't hold back their praise. We have been blessed by God's grace. We have been blessed with His comforting rule to be a blessing to the world, to point them to the saving power and the eternal protection of the Lord Jesus Christ, but also to point them to Jesus Christ through the blessings of God's provisions. Verses 6 and 7, Then the land will yield its harvest, and God, our God, will bless us. God will bless us, and all the ends of the earth will fear Him. Beloved, a harvest is evidence of God's blessing. A bountiful harvest is evidence of God's blessing, but also it's a promise of more to come. Because if there's no harvest this year, as it were, there are no seeds for next year. So it's a two-fold blessing. It's evidence of God's blessing and also a promise of more to come. And I believe, too, that talking about the harvest here is significant. It's evidence of God's power and control. Think about all of our technology in our world today, all that man can do. We can build computers and supercomputers, and we can build all kinds of technological devices, but we can't make a seed grow. No matter what man can do with his technology, we can't make that tiny seed grow. It's not Mother Nature. It depends on God providing fertile ground in the warmth of the sun and the proper amount of rain and to give it the growth. But we can't make it grow. Of Israel, the Lord says in Leviticus 26, If you follow My decrees and are careful to obey My commands, I will send you rain in its season and the ground will yield its crops and the trees of the field their fruit. Your threshing will continue until grape harvest and the grape harvest will continue until planting and you will eat all the food you want and live in safety in your land. what an announcement of bounty beyond compare. We know that famine in the Bible pointed to a sign of the curse for disobedience, but again, that bountiful provision, that bountiful produce was proof of God's blessing upon His people. It was proof that the nations could see. And that abundance pointed the nations to the provision of God. But today we know that both believers and unbelievers enjoy a bountiful harvest, And sometimes, unbelievers enjoy a more bountiful harvest than believers do, but both respond differently to that abundant harvest. Unbelievers, again, credit technology and wise management and hard work. And believers, all the believers, use technology and exercise wisdom and also put in hard work, recognize that all of those things, as well as the harvest itself, is a blessing of God. it is all a blessing of God. Not what my hands have done even there. And without that blessing, even what I have, even if my barns are full, even if my table is filled, even if my bank account is bulging, none of it will benefit me. We all enjoy what we call creature comforts in this life. And those creature comforts, whether little or much, are to be seen, every last bit of it, as the blessing from God. Those creature comforts are to remind us that God has promised to supply us with the necessities of this life, maybe not as much as we want, but certainly as much as we need. Those creature comforts ultimately are to point us to Jesus Christ, the bread of heaven, of whom whoever eats of Him will live forever. Those creature comforts are to give us comfort of the eternal provision earned for us by Jesus Christ and waiting for us in the glory of heaven where Christ prepares the eternal wedding feast for His bride. Beloved, just as Israel was promised and Isaiah made that promise too, pointing to the new heavens and the new earth, we enjoy showers of blessing because of the perfect obedience of our Lord Jesus Christ. God has blessed us greatly. He will continue to do so. That's our confidence because of Jesus Christ our Lord who has merited every blessing of God for us. Without Him, there is no blessing. There is no blessing. There's only the curse of sin. But for those who look to Him in repentance and faith, even the little that we have in this life is His blessing pointing to the abundance waiting for us in glory. As God's people and as recipients of all of His blessings, beloved, we are called to be used of Him to be a blessing to the world. That if it is His will through us and through our adoration of our God of all blessing, many might be drawn to Him by the power of the Holy Spirit and that many might come to have the comfort of His saving grace. That grace alone which rescues us from the curse of our sin and the wrath of God. That they might come to have the comfort of His sovereign rule. That rule which Satan cannot and will not overcome. That rule through which God will bring us to heaven. That they might come to have the comfort of provision in daily life which reminds us that our God is a God of His Word. And ultimately that they might come to praise the Lord. Beloved, to God alone be the glory. Great things He has done, He is doing, and He will continue to do for His people. Amen. Let's pray together. Father, we are reminded again that our praise of You is insufficient. It's not nearly enough. But we pray, Lord, that indeed You would open our eyes to see Your blessings of us in all of life. And that by the power of Your Spirit, our praise would increase to You until one day when we see You as You are, then indeed we will praise You as we ought. We thank You for Your greatest blessing, Jesus Christ our Lord, from whom all blessings flow. We pray, Father, that You would continue to be with us, to guard us, to guide us, to protect us in whatever circumstances we face in this life, whatever we might go through, Day by day, be near to us and bless us. We ask this alone for Jesus' sake. Amen.