MAY GOD BE GRACIOUS TO US AND BLESS US

Proclamation:

“May God be gracious to us and bless us and make His face shine on us; so that Your ways may be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations.  May the peoples praise You, God; may all the peoples praise You.  May the nations be glad and sing for joy, for You rule the peoples with equity and guide the nations of the earth.”  Psalm 67:1-4 (NIV)

Explanation:

This psalm of praise and thanksgiving was written by an unknown human author under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  The psalmist begins this song by, asking The Lord God to bless us with His unmerited mercy, through the riches of His grace let the face of Jesus, The Christ, shine on us and grant us His gracious presence and His love. (Psalm 67:1)   He asks that God’s way, His method of salvation, the way for sinners to Him through Christ, the way, the truth, and the life, (John 14:6) the way of the gospel, be known throughout all of the earth. (Psalm 67:2)  Let all of the people in all of the nations of the world praise The Lord. (Psalm 67:3)  Let all of the people rejoice and be glad.  Lead us and guide us as a shepherd does His sheep. (Psalm 23:1-3)

Application:

This psalm is a song and a prayer, a prayer that we should pray for all of the believers in the world.  We should pray that The Lord God would be gracious to us, show us His loving kindness, and grant us His mercy and unmerited favor.  We should thank God for His Son Jesus, The Christ, who made a way for us to receive salvation and eternal life.  For this we should rejoice and praise His holy name.

LORD LET YOUR FACE SHINE UPON US

Proclamation:

“Love The Lord, all His faithful people!  The Lord preserves those who are true to Him, but the proud He pays back in full.  Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in The Lord.”  Psalm 31:23-24 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by King David.  This psalm is essentially a long prayer.  As he prays he moves from his problems to praise, from anguish to assurance, and from reproach to relief.  He demonstrates his trust in The Lord by turning over his life to Him (Psalm 31:5) using the same words which Jesus, The Christ, would utter from the cross at Calvary.  He asks The Lord to smile on him and to let His grace shine upon him in the midst of his troubles. (Psalm 31:16)  David ends this psalm by encouraging the people of God to demonstrate their love and obedience to The Lord, and he tells them to keep the faith.

Application:

Whatever our situation in life, we want The Lord God to look down upon us, to smile upon us, and to bless us. (Psalm 31:16)  As we go through the troubles, trials and tribulations of this life, we need to keep our trust in The Lord.  We ought to pray frequently, and pray about everything. (Matthew 21:22)  Some of the things that we want we do not have because we have not asked for them.  “Ye have not, because ye ask not.” (James 4:2)  We need to remember that even in the midst of our storms our purpose is to give God glory.  No one should have to tell us to pray and praise The Lord.