Psalm 67

God be merciful to us and bless us, And cause His face to shine upon us, Selah

(Psalms 67:1)

In the 6^th chapter of the book of numbers we see something very similar to these words.

And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: "Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, 'This is the way you shall bless the children of Israel. Say to them: "The LORD bless you and keep you; The LORD make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace." ' "So they shall put My name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them."

(Numbers 6:22-27)

What we have in numbers is what we often refer to as the “benediction” of the priests. It was a special blessing that God told the priests to pronounce over the people. Look at what it says:

1. THE LORD BLESS YOU – to extend a greeting, to give unto us HIS blessings.

2. THE LORD KEEP YOU – To guard and protect… to keep you from harm of all sorts, physical or spiritual.

3. THE LORD MAKE HIS FACE TO SHINE UPON YOU – The idea is that the LIGHT of God would serve to illuminate us… His face shining ON us.

4. THE LORD BE GRACIOUS TO YOU – That God would bend down to us, and bestow His favor on us. Giving us HIS supply so we can live life the way He intended.

5. THE LORD LIFT UP HIS COUNTENANCE UPON YOU – That God would look upon us, that He would see our need, implying that He would direct His thoughts and His care toward us.

6. THE LORD GIVE YOU PEACE – SHALOM is the word in Hebrew, it implies a position of living within the perfect will of God; being at peace with God, and having His peace extend from us to all those around us.

So this is the benediction, and we see the psalmist pick up an abbreviated version of it here in psalm 67:1. He asks God for MERCY, BLESSING, and for GOD’S FACE TO SHINE UPON US. If we look at verse 2, we see that the Psalmist claims that when these things are happening, when we are abiding in God’s presence and blessing, there is a natural effect that flows from that:

That Your way may be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations.

(Psalms 67:2)

According to the Psalmist, it is natural for God’s blessing ON us to become a blessing that moves THROUGH us to OTHERS. If we are abiding in God’s blessing, it should be manifesting itself in our life in such a way that:

1. The ways of God are made known to the others around us.

2. The Salvation God brings is manifested to people of ALL NATIONS.

Live in God’s blessing and be a light!