Psalm 67 Small Group Discussion Guide | Elohim: Grace, Judgment, and the Fear of God
We looked at Psalm 67, and the way anxiety, loneliness, and constant self-assessment grow when we lose sight of God as Creator. Many of us live trying either to secure God’s blessing or escape God’s judgment, but the psalmist shows a different way. Grace comes first. God blesses, forgives, and makes his face shine upon us, and from that kindness a holy fear is awakened, not dread, but awe. Even God’s judgment is not presented as a threat to outrun, but as the just and healing rule by which he guides the nations and brings salvation. When we no longer have to manage ourselves before God, we are finally free to live as beloved creatures: gifted and limited, beautiful and unfinished, held by mercy instead of fear.
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Resources
Abba’s Child by Brennan Manning
Sermon Video
Sermon Text
Psalm 67
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm. A song.
1 May G0d be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face shine on us—
2 so that your ways may be known on earth,
your salvation among all nations.
3 May the peoples praise you, God;
may all the peoples praise you.
4 May the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you rule the peoples with equity
and guide the nations of the earth.
5 May the peoples praise you, God;
may all the peoples praise you.
6 The land yields its harvest;
God, our God, blesses us.
7 May God bless us still,
so that all the ends of the earth will fear him.
Psalm 130:4
But with you there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve you.
Numbers 6:22-26
22 The Lord said to Moses, 23 “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them:
24 “‘“The Lord bless you
and keep you;
25 the Lord make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
26 the Lord turn his face toward you
and give you peace.”’
Sermon Quotes
Some Christians bristle at the notion that love, not fear, should characterize their response to God. In a strange way they have actually become comfortable with an unfriendly God who should be feared. Not settling for awe or reverence, they live with a fear of the God who keeps them in their place by ensuring their continued distress. The motive for any obedience you might offer will be fear rather than love. - Brennan Manning
A vague uneasiness about ever being in right relationship with God haunts the Pharisee’s conscience. The compulsion to feel safe with God fuels this neurotic desire for perfection. This compulsive, endless, moralistic self-evaluation makes it impossible to feel accepted before God. -Brennan Manning
Discussion Questions
The sermon pushed against the system many of us have inherited: fear God → obey God → receive blessing. Where do you see that system still shaping your relationship with God?
Psalm 67 seems to reverse that pattern: God blesses us, then fear is awakened in us. What feels beautiful about that idea? What feels hard to trust?
Which of these two postures are you more vulnerable to right now: trying to secure God’s blessing or trying to escape God’s judgment? How does that show up in your actual inner life?
How have you tended to think about God’s judgment: mostly as personal threat, moral exposure, justice for the oppressed, the setting right of the world, or something else? What needs to be challenged in that view?
The sermon said, “Shame blinds us to our God-given beauty. Pride blinds us to our God-given need.” Which side do you drift toward more easily, and how has that shaped your relationships with God and others?
What would it look like, very practically, to stop living by self-management and begin living as a beloved creature of God?
