“God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us; Selah.”
This opening petition that God would be gracious and bless, and make face shine, invokes the Aaronic blessing tradition and establishes the psalm as a prayer for communal blessing. The request for God's face to shine articulates the desire for divine favor and visibility. The emphasis on graciousness (favor undeserved) establishes that blessing flows from God's generosity rather than human merit. This verse establishes the context: the covenant community petitions God for comprehensive blessing.
Church Fathers on Psalms 67:1
1. Your Love remembers, that in two Psalms, which have been already treated of, we have stirred up our soul to bless the Lord, and with godly chant have said, “Bless thou, O my soul, the Lord.” If therefore we have stirred up our soul in those Psalms to bless the Lord, in this Psalm is well said, “May God have pity on us, and bless us” Psalm 66:1. Let our soul bless the Lord, and let God bless us. When God blesses us, we grow, and when we bless the Lord, we grow, to us both…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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