Psalm 67: The Lord bless us and cause His face to shine upon us. May His name be known, and may salvation extend to all nations.
Psalm 67
God be gracious to us and bless us, and cause His face to shine upon us, Selah; that Thy way may be known on the earth, Thy salvation among all nations. Let the peoples praise Thee, O God; Let all the peoples praise Thee.
Let the nations be glad and sing for joy; for Thou wilt judge the peoples with uprightness, and guide the nations on the earth. Selah.
Let the peoples praise Thee, O God; Let all the peoples praise Thee. The earth has yielded its produce; God, our God, blesses us. God blesses us, that all the ends of the earth may fear Him.
A hymn based on Psalm 67
God of mercy, God of grace,
Show the brightness of Thy face;
Shine upon is, Saviour shine;
Fill Thy church with light divine,
And Thy saving health extend,
Unto earth’s remotest end.
Let the people praise Thee, Lord;
Be by all that live adored;
Let the nations shout and sing
Glory to their Saviour King;
At Thy feet their tributes pay
And Thy holy will obey.
Let the people praise Thee, Lord;
Earth shall then her fruits afford;
God to man His blessing give;
Man to God devoted live;
All below and all above,
One in joy, and light, and love.
Henry Francis Lyte (Spurgeon’s Own Hymn Book)
Charles Spurgeon’s exposition
Verse 1. God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us. This is a fit refrain to the benediction of the High Priest in the name of the Lord, as recorded in Nu 6:24-25. “The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: the Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee.” It begins at the beginning with a cry for mercy.
Forgiveness of sin is always the first link in the chain of mercies experienced by us. Mercy is a foundation attribute in our salvation. The best saints and the worst sinners may unite in this petition. It is addressed to the God of mercy, by those who feel their need of mercy, and it implies the death of all legal hopes or claims of merit.
Next, the church begs for a blessing; bless us—a very comprehensive and far reaching prayer. When we bless God we do but little, for our blessings are but words, but when God blesses he enriches us indeed, for his blessings are gifts and deeds. But his blessing alone is not all his people crave, they desire a personal consciousness of his favour, and pray for a smile from his face…continue reading
David Guzik’s commentary
The title tells us the audience of the psalm: To the Chief Musician. On Stringed Instruments. A Psalm. A Song. Some believe that the Chief Musician is the Lord GOD Himself, and others suppose him to be a leader of choirs or musicians in David’s time, such as Heman the singer or Asaph (1 Chronicles 6:33, 16:5-7, and 25:6).
This wonderful psalm is sometimes forgotten or neglected when God’s people think of their favorite psalms. Though Martin Luther wrote five large volumes of exposition on Psalms, he skipped Psalm 67 entirely. Nevertheless, this psalm has a heart to see God’s way, God’s salvation, and God’s praise extended through all the earth…continue reading
Indeed, may God be gracious to us and bless us, and cause His face to shine upon all of us!
Maranatha!
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