A Bible Study Inspired by
a Hymn
Text: Martin Luther, 1483-1546
(Lutheran Service Book 823, 824)
(Primary Biblical References: Psalm 67:1–2;
96:10–13; Isaiah 55:10–11; 62:1–2)
May God bestow
on us His grace,
With blessings rich provide us;
And may the
brightness of His face
To life eternal guide us,
That we His
saving health may know,
His gracious will and pleasure,
And also to the
nations show
Christ’s riches without measure
And unto God
convert them.
 |
| Martin Luther 1532 |
Thine over all
shall be the praise
And thanks of ev’ry nation;
And all the
world with joy shall raise
The voice of exultation.
For Thou shalt
judge the earth, O Lord,
Nor suffer sin to flourish;
Thy people’s
pasture is Thy Word
Their souls to feed and nourish,
In righteous
paths to keep them.
O let the people
praise Thy worth,
In all good works increasing;
The land shall
plenteous fruit bring forth,
Thy Word is rich in blessing.
May God the
Father, God the Son,
And God the Spirit bless us!
Let all the
world praise Him alone,
Let solemn awe possess us.
Now let our
hearts say, “Amen!”
When
most people think of Martin Luther, they think of him as the great 16th
Century Reformer of the church. If they know anything about his musical contributions,
they typically think of “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God,” the hymn that is
sometimes called the “battle hymn of the Reformation.” In reality Luther was a proficient
musician with a good sense of poetry and a good singing voice. He composed 37
hymns along with some ballads, chants and liturgies in the German language. He
also encouraged others to write hymns. It is no surprise that the Lutheran
Church was known as the “singing church” and the first Protestant hymnals were
all Lutheran. His contributions to church music would be enough to have him
remembered today; it is just that his other work overshadowed his musical
contributions. Six of Luther’s hymns are in the Lutheran Service Book.
You can find them listed on page 1005 of that hymnal under Luther’s name.
“May
God Bestow on Us His Grace” is typical of the focus of Luther’s hymns. It
really isn’t about us, and certainly not about him or his work. Instead the focus
is on Christ and Christ’s work. We factor in as the object of his work and as
responding to his work. This is not surprising. Christ and his redemptive work were
at the center of all Luther did.
Psalm
67 begins with the words:
1 May God be gracious to us and bless
us
and make his face to
shine upon us, Selah
2 that your way may be known on earth,
your saving power among
all nations.
It
isn’t hard to hear in the words of the Psalmist an echo of the Aaronic
benediction, by which Aaron was to bless God’s people and put God’s name on
them.
22 The Lord
spoke to Moses, saying, 23“Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus
you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them,
24 The Lord
bless you and keep you;
25 the Lord
make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
26 the Lord
lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
27 “So shall they put my name upon the
people of Israel, and I will bless them.” (Numbers 6:22-27)
These
are the thoughts Luther captures in his first verse. But the hymn does not
leave us wondering how God might bless us. If we were to determine what
constitutes a blessing, we would probably never lift our eyes above the temporal
realm; health, wealth, power, or at least completing our “bucket list.” But the
blessings of God are far greater. They don’t end when we “kick the bucket.” His
blessings are eternal life and an understanding of his gracious will. This is
what the Psalmist told us in verse 2. We would also likely limit his blessings
to us and our loved ones. But God’s blessings are not so limited. They are for
all the nations (Isaiah 45:22; Matthew 28:19; 1 Timothy 2:4, as well as Psalm
67:2). So we sing “And also to the nations show, Christ’s riches without
measure.”
In
verse two Luther continues with the thought of the universal blessing of God. He
echoes Psalm 96:10-13.
10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!
Yes, the world is
established; it shall never be moved;
he will judge the
peoples with equity.”
11 Let the heavens be glad, and let the
earth rejoice;
let the sea roar, and
all that fills it;
12 let the field exult, and
everything in it!
Then shall all the trees of the
forest sing for joy
13 before the Lord, for he comes,
for he comes to judge
the earth.
He will judge the world in
righteousness,
and the peoples in his
faithfulness.
The Psalmist
reminds us that all the world is to praise the Creator; Christians have even
more reason to do so because, through the Holy Spirit, we know what has been
done for our salvation. The Father sent His Son to pay for our sins; Jesus
rose, and returned to heaven until He comes again; so “Thine over all shall be
the praise.” We sing in this verse of the coming Judgment, which the Psalm
refers to in verses 10 and 13. While the coming judgment is a source of
concern, worry and fear on the part of some, for us it is yet another reason to
rejoice for He judges the people in His faithfulness. God is indeed faithful
and will keep His promises, like the promise that baptized believers will be
saved. Those who reject Christ do have reason to fear the coming judgment, but
by His grace we are not part of that crowd.
Whoever believes
and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. (Mark
16:16)
The Holy Spirit
works through the Means of Grace (Word and Sacrament). This is reflected in
what is probably my favorite line: “Thy people’s pasture is Thy Word, Their
souls to feed and nourish”. It is by His Word that we are established Verse
three also speaks of the blessings we receive from the Word. Isaiah 55:10–11
tells us more about God’s Word.
10 “For as the rain and the snow come
down from heaven
and do not return there
but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower
and bread to the eater,
11 so shall my word be that goes out from
my mouth;
it shall not return to
me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I
purpose,
and shall succeed in the
thing for which I sent it.
How
powerful is God’s Word! It accomplishes what God desires. So we feed on it, we
immerse ourselves in it, and it strengthens us, it grows our faith, and it
keeps us faithful. When that happens we increase in good works.
1 For Zion's sake I will not keep
silent,
and for Jerusalem's sake
I will not be quiet,
until her righteousness goes forth
as brightness,
and her salvation as a
burning torch.
2 The nations shall see your
righteousness,
and all the kings your
glory,
and you shall be called by a new
name
that the mouth of the Lord will give. (Isaiah 62:1-2)
To
understand Isaiah 62:1-2 we need to understand that “Zion” and “Jerusalem” are
synonymous with God’s believing people. Today that would be the “hidden” Church
(i.e. all believers in the Triune God). God loves His Church on earth and has
some amazing words for us. God himself will not keep silent. He continues His
care for us until we join the Church Triumphant in heaven. So we sing in verse
two that the Lord will keep us in righteous paths.
God
also speaks of our witness through Isaiah (though it is really God’s witness
through us). He says that, by the witness of the Church, nations and kings will
be positively influenced by us, by what we do. God’s Word will bring
“outsiders” into the Church. So, “all the world” will “praise Him alone.” To
put this in the words of Psalm 23, our cup of blessing is to overflow so others
receive God’s blessings, so others are brought into God’s kingdom. And
remember, God’s blessings are not about some me-centered “bucket list,” but the
eternal blessings of being God’s child and possessor of eternal life, both here
and hereafter.
Blessings
in Christ,
Pastor
John Rickert
