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Praise the LORD, All Nations!
Psalm 67:1-7, 117:1-2, Revelation 7:9-10
Psalms is the hymnal of the Bible and there is a vast verity of expressions of prayer and praise within its pages – there are shouts of joy and tears associated with suffering and defeat.
Psalm 13:1 (ESV) –
“How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?”
Psalm 150:6 (ESV) –
“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!”
Psalm 67:3 & 5 (ESV) –
“Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!”
Psalm 67:1-7 (ESV) –
“May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face to shine upon us, Selah
that your way may be known on earth,
your saving power among all nations.
“Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you!
Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you judge the peoples with equity
and guide the nations upon earth. Selah
“Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you!
The earth has yielded its increase;
God, our God, shall bless us.
God shall bless us;
let all the ends of the earth fear him!”
Psalm 117:1-2 (ESV) –
“Praise the Lord, all nations!
Extol him, all peoples!
For great is his steadfast love toward us,
and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.
Praise the Lord!”
Our created purpose is to glorify God and through doing so to experience true enduring joy. Genuine love for others desires for them to praise the Lord.
We’re reminded of God’s heart for all nations. As Isreal (in the Old Testament) was blessed to be a blessing, we’ve been blessed to be a blessing. Our created purpose is to know and glorify our Creator. True enduring joy is only found in worshiping the Lord.
1. The psalm begins in prayer asking for God’s blessing.
Psalm 67, superscription (ESV) –
“To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song.”
Psalm 67:1 (ESV) –
“May God be gracious to us and bless us…”
Numbers 6:24-26 (ESV) –
“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.”
Psalm 67:2 (ESV) –
“… that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations.”
There’s a specific purpose to this prayer for God’s blessing. People need to know God. Those who don’t yet know the Lord are lost, they are in peril.
Hebrews 2:15 (ESV) –
“...deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.”
Genesis 12:1-3 (ESV, emphasis mine) –
“Now the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’”
God blessed Abraham for a specific purpose. He blessed Him so that he and his decedents would be a blessing to all the peoples of the world.
Tell yourself – I’ve been blessed to be a blessing!
2. This prayer continues expressing the desire that all the peoples of the world will joyfully join in worshiping the Lord.
Psalm 67:3 & 5 –
“Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!”
Let the peoples praise you... is an Old Testament way of saying (in the language of the Lord’s Prayer) – Your Kingdom Come...
Psalm 67:4 (ESV) –
“Let the nations be glad and sing for joy...”
Psalm 16:11 (ESV) –
“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”
If we want what’s best for others, we will desire for them to know the Lord and to experience the true enduring joy that’s found only in knowing Him.
The goal of missions and evangelism is a greater number of worshipers. The goal of sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ is that more people will bow their knee to Him in worship.
Psalm 67:4 (ESV) –
“… for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth.”
Daniel 2:21 (ESV) –
“He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding...”
Isaiah 2:2 (ESV) –
“It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it...”
Isaiah 2:4 (ESV) –
“He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.”
We seek to spread the Good News because those who don’t know Jesus are in peril!
Romans 1:18 (ESV) –
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.”
John 14:6 (ESV) –
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
1 John 5:12 (ESV) –
“Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.”
If you know Jesus as Savior, you have forgiveness of your sins and eternal life and those who don’t know Jesus are spiritually dead and facing all eternity in hell.
We’re motivated to spread the Good News out of a deep passion for God and His glory!
The Westminster Longer Catechism asks – What is the chief and highest end of man?
And answers – Man’s chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully to enjoy him forever.
Say to yourself – God created me and He demands and deserves my worship!
Revelation 4:11 (ESV) –
“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”
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We seek to spread the Good News because those who don’t know Jesus are in peril and out of a deep passion for God and His glory.
Psalm 117:1 (ESV) –
“Praise the Lord, all nations! Extol him, all peoples!”
Romans 15:11 (ESV) –
“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples extol him.”
Psalm 67:4 (ESV) –
“Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth.”
3. The psalm concludes reflecting with confidence on God’s blessing.
Habakkuk 2:14 (ESV) –
“For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”
Ask – Does this psalm express the prayer of my heart? God’s heart for the nations runs throughout the Bible.
Matthew 28:18-20 (ESV, emphasis mine) –
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Revelation 7:9-10 (ESV, emphasis mine) –
“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’”
Psalm 67:3 & 5 (ESV) –
“Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!”
Psalm 67:4 (ESV) –
“Let the nations be glad and sing for joy...”
Ask – How does my thinking need to grow and change? Who do I need to carry the Good News too? Who is carrying the good news in a hard place that I need to support?
Psalm 67:3 & 5 (ESV) –
“Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!”
We’re reminded of God’s heart for all nations. As Isreal (in the Old Testament) was blessed to be a blessing, we’ve been blessed to be a blessing. Our created purpose is to know and glorify our Creator. True enduring joy is only found in worshiping the Lord.
Romans 6:23 (ESV) –
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 10:9-10 (ESV) –
“...if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.”