Toni’s Title
Grant Your Blessing on All Your Creation
ESV Title
Make Your Face Shine upon Us
Literary Type
This is a community song of thanksgiving; a hymn?
Psalms of Thanksgiving
These psalms/songs praise God in response to an event of deliverance already experienced. They are songs sung by people who, after a time of waiting, have experienced the goodness of God in the everyday world. These songs come from ordinary individuals, the king (royal), or the believing community.
Examples: Psalms 30, 32, 34, 65, 67, 92, 107, 116, 124, 138 and others
Hymns
Hymns extol the glory and greatness of God as it is revealed in nature and history, and particularly in Israels’s history. Hymns praise God in general terms for his power and faithfulness as creator of the cosmos, ruler of history, and creator/redeemer of Israel to bring blessing to all the world. Israel’s hymns stress God’s active involvement in the life story of Israel. Hymns typically demonstrate motives for worshipping and praising God. A clear example is Psalm 117, the shortest psalm, just two verses:
1 O praise the Lord, all you nations; *
praise him, all you peoples.
2 For (= Hebrew ki) great is his loving-kindness towards us, *
and the faithfulness of the Lord endures for ever.
Praise the Lord.
Hymns were used for exuberant worship in the temple and the synagogue. The people of God before the Incarnation invite us to celebrate and praise with them in hope of the kingdom of God and his Messiah. Hymns, like all psalms, show Christians how to praise God who has acted in creation, in revelation, and in redemption, and who is acting decisively in establishing his kingdom on earth. They do not ask anything; they simply rejoice in God’s presence.
Examples: Psalms 8, 19:1-6, 33, 66:1-12, 100, 103, 104, 145-150, and others
NT Prayer Guide
3 John 5:8
Superscription
To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song.
67
Deus misereatur
1 May God be merciful unto us, and bless us, *
and show us the light of his countenance, and be merciful unto us.
2 Let your way be known upon earth, *
your saving health among all nations.
3 Let the peoples praise you, O God; *
indeed, let all the peoples praise you.
4 O let the nations rejoice and be glad, *
for you shall judge the peoples righteously, and govern the nations upon earth.
5 Let the peoples praise you, O God; *
let all the peoples praise you.
6 Then shall the earth bring forth her increase, *
and God, even our own God, shall give us his blessing.
7 God shall bless us, *
and all the ends of the world shall fear him.