There are several most important principles in this brief and beautiful psalm. The first is, that the blessing of the nations is dependent upon the restoration of Israel to divine favor. The remnant cries, "God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause His face to shine upon us; Selah. That Thy way be known upon earth, Thy saving health among all nations." vv. 1, 2. That this is God's order for the blessing of the world, is clear from many scriptures. (See Rom. 11:11-15; Isa. 27:6; etc.) In this day of grace the gospel goes out to Jew and Gentile alike, and "Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Rom. 10:13. But there will be no such thing in the present dispensation, during the time of Israel's unbelief, as the conversion of nations. When, however, at the Lord's appearing, the Deliverer comes out of Zion and turns away ungodliness from Jacob, and all Israel shall be saved, blessing will flow out according to our psalm to the ends of the earth; Israel will blossom and bud and fill the face of the world with fruit. Another thing may be observed in connection with this prayer. "God be merciful unto us," they say, "and bless us... that Thy way may be known upon the earth," etc. They desire blessing that their God may be glorified among all nations. This is a very high order of prayer, and cannot but remind the reader of that of the blessed Lord Himself when He said, "Glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son also may glorify Thee." We might well be instructed by these perfect models, both bearing the stamp of the same workmanship of the Holy Spirit, whether in the hearts of the remnant or on the lips of our Lord.
The second thing to be pointed out in the psalm is, that the happiness, both of Israel and the Gentiles, in the Millennium, will depend upon Messiah's righteous government. "Let the people praise Thee, 0 God; let all the people praise Thee. O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for Thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth." vv. 3, 4. This is in complete contrast with the present time. Now grace reigns through righteousness (Rom. 5:21), and grace is the source of our joy and blessedness (Eph. 2); but then, during the kingdom, while all proceeds from grace, inasmuch as all is based upon the death and resurrection of Christ, it is His righteous reign which will secure and maintain the blessing of the earthly saints, as well as be the theme of their thanksgiving and praise (See Psalm 72).
Last, we learn that the fertility of the earth is bound up with the blessing of Israel and the nations. "Let the people praise Thee, 0 God; let all the people praise Thee. Then shall the earth yield her increase," etc. (See Isa. 55:12, 13; Eze. 34:23, 27.) Thus the curse of the ground on account of Adam's sin (Gen. 3) will be abrogated when Christ as the Son of man has put all things under His feet. (Compare Hag. 2:15-19; Amos 9:11-15.) There is even more, for they add, "God, even our own God, shall bless us. God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear Him." It will be a time of universal earthly blessing.