“May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us, Selah” (Psalm 67:1closePsalm 67:1
Make Your Face Shine upon Us
To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song.
67:1 May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face to shine upon us, Selah (ESV)
closePsalm 67:1closePsalm 67:1
Make Your Face Shine upon Us
To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song.
67:1 May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face to shine upon us, Selah (ESV)
Make Your Face Shine upon Us
To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song.
67:1 May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face to shine upon us, Selah (ESV)
)
“May God be gracious to us…”
-To be “gracious” comes from the idea of a superior bending to help an inferior (Strongs). “May” is a request, we are asking God; we have no right to His mercy or grace; it is His choice to give us these gifts. And in fact, He chooses to give us His grace before we even ask.
When do you find yourself asking God for grace most often? ____________________
Did you notice that we are supposed to ask that His grace be given to “us” not to “me”? ______
Why do you suppose that God wants us to ask for His grace to be given to everyone? ____________________
Why did Jesus also teach us to pray, “Our Father….” not, “My Father…”? ____________________
- For Luther, the 67th Psalm was “to be prayed for the increase of faith” (LW vol. 43, pg. 41). As you read this psalm do you think Luther was talking about our personal faith increasing or the collective faith of the church at large, increasing; or both? ____________________
-In January of 1524, Luther wrote the hymn, “Would That The Lord Grant Us His Grace”; taken from Psalm 67closePsalm 67
Make Your Face Shine upon Us
To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song.
67:1 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! (ESV)
closePsalm 67closePsalm 67
Make Your Face Shine upon Us
To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song.
67:1 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! (ESV)
Make Your Face Shine upon Us
To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song.
67:1 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! (ESV)
. This is one of the songs included in “Martin Luther’s Spiritual Songs”. How helpful is music in sharing the Gospel with others? ____________________
“…and bless us…”
-The word for “bless” is used 330 times in the Old Testament. So many times we think of the Old Testament as being rules, regulations and condemnation; but 330 times we find “bless”.
Why is talking about God’s blessings such an important aspect of planting new ministries? ____________________
It is pretty easy to ask for God’s blessings; when we are in need, but what about thanking God for all of the blessings that He has given to us? ____________________
-There are 75 verses in the Psalms with the word for “bless” in them. Most of these Psalms were written by King David.
How did David experience God’s blessing in his life? _____________________
What blessings has God given the Church to share with others? ____________________
“…and make his face shine upon us.”
-A Christian wants God’s glory to shine on Him; but not yet in it’s completeness because this side of Christ’s return, our bodies have not yet been perfected. Moses only saw God pass him by and he was made so brilliantly white that the Israelites asked him to cover his face with a veil. In Christ, this veil has been removed from our hearts; with unveiled faces, we are being transformed into His likeness with ever increasing glory. The day is coming when her Groom will come and nothing will separate them, not sin or death or sickness or even the devil; the transformation will be complete. Saul saw Christ on the road to Damascus and he lost his sight for three days, until Ananias was used by God to miraculously heal Saul. Saul’s vision for serving God was completely wrong and only a supernatural confrontation that Christ initiated could change him. We desire God’s glory upon us, this way we do not desire to shine in our light.
When we Pray, how can we ask God to make His face shine on us? ____________________
How is planting new ministry part of God making His face shine on others? __________________________
Jim Buckman
