Daily Manna, Year Two · Day 133 · May 13
Cause His Face to Shine
“God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us; Selah.”
Many parents end the day the same way. They bend over a child at bedtime and say a few words of blessing, the same words every night. Then one night the child says the words back, and adds the names of a friend, a teacher and a grandmother far away. The blessing that came down to her has turned into a prayer that goes up and reaches out.
Psalm 67 does exactly that, and it was written as a song for God's people to sing together. Its opening line takes up an older blessing: "God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us." God had given Aaron and his sons words to speak over Israel: "The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee." That was the priest's blessing, spoken down over the people. In this psalm the people pick it up and send it back to God as a request.
The second verse turns the prayer outward before you have finished enjoying the first: "That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations." The blessing is asked for so that something more can happen. What follows reaches far beyond Israel: "O let the nations be glad and sing for joy." The psalm ends where it was heading all along: "God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him." To fear Him here means to honour Him with awe.
So pray it with its reason attached. God, be merciful to us and bless us, and cause Your face to shine upon us. Do it so that Your way is known where we live, among neighbours who never asked to hear of You. Give us enough of Your goodness that the giving shows. Count us among the nations You are glad to make glad, and let the whole earth come to praise You. Amen.
Daily Manna runs on a two-year cycle. The year one reading for day 133 is Preserved Forever (Psalm 12:7).