Why don’t all the people praise God?

May the peoples praise you, 0 God;
may all the peoples praise you!
The land has produced its harvest;
God, our God, has blessed us.
God has blessed us;
may all people everywhere honour him.  (verses 5-7)

Read Psalm 67

There really is no excuse for not knowing or acknowledging God . The signs of his presence are everywhere. The signs of his blessings are everywhere. As I drive through the countryside around my town I see superb crops, made so good by rains at the right time in winter and early spring, filled by warm days without hot north winds.

One of the reasons people don’t praise God, despite the signs, is the modern idea that God is dead, not real, irrelevant to people who can do so much for themselves . This idea is fed by New Age writers who tell us we all have the divine spark inside us. (Judging by the acts of inhumanity we are made aware of every day, very deep inside us, I would say.)

But one of the most important reasons, perhaps, is that they do not often enough see or hear the people who do know God praising him. Sure, we do it in our churches, but that’s not where these people are.

If wc who know God arc not seen to be acknowledging him, thanking him, praising him, how can we expect those who do not know him to do so?

Father, help me to praise you to people around me, so that they may come to know you, love you, and praise you too. Amen.

by Robert Turnbull, in ‘Renewed Hope for each Day’ (LCA, Openbook, 2000)

Visit the Daily Devotion archives page.