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Selected Psalms July 18th, 2010 Lee Tankersley Click here for Print Friendly Version! Audio Version Psalm 67 
little over ten years ago, I stood here preaching from John 6 (the text which records Jesus’ miracle of feeding the 5,000), and in my conclusion to that sermon, I made this statement: “I think God wants to use us as a channel to distribute his grace to the entire world. If you will imagine the twelve taking the food and distributing it out to the 5,000 families, I think you will see how I believe God wants to and will use us.”
I thought back to that this week because last Sunday Ray made reference to the individuals God has sent out from us. In fact, since that time in April of 2000, there have been dozens of people who have gone out from this place to areas all over this country and all over the world. Whether it is the Pettigrews in Botswana, Kelly in Brussels, the Atkinsons in Texas, the Marshalls in Missouri or numerous others, the Lord has been gracious to take a number from us in order to place them in areas where they might faithfully declare the gospel of Christ. And it has been our prayer that as they go from us, they might have more confidence in the sufficiency of the gospel, a deeper love for our Lord, and a passion to see others know him. And we’ve heard reports that the Lord is answering our prayers to that end. Just this past week, as they visited with us in our home, Preston and Karna shared about a number of people who have come to know Christ in the short time that Preston has served as a pastor where he is. But are we thinking rightly about a vision of sending numerous people out from us? Are we on the right track to find a deep sense of joy in considering that the Lord might raise up a number from us and take them to places all over the world to promote the gospel? I mean, if we are honest, it is not the easiest thing to do. We rejoice when these people who have gone out from us return to visit with us because it is hard to be away from them. We shed tears when they left. Just this past week, as John and Olivia shared about their upcoming move to Auburn, Alabama (where I know they will be a faithful gospel witness and precious assets to a local church in that area), we spoke of their transition with tears in our eyes. So, is this vision that was set out ten years ago of distributing God’s grace to multitudes of people all over the face of the earth from this little group of people meeting in a warehouse in Jackson, TN biblical and God-honoring when it causes us such pain and produces real tears, as we watch those whom we so deeply love leave us? I want to argue this morning that such a vision is biblical and that it is God-honoring. And I want to argue this on the basis of three truths that we are reminded of in Psalm 67. The first of these truths is that God alone is to be known, praised, delighted in, and feared as God. God alone is to be known, praised, delighted in, and feared as God Psalm 67 is a prayer. The first verse takes the words that God gave to Aaron in Numbers 6:24-26 to bless the people and pronounces it as a request for blessing. And verses 6-7 speak of the blessing of the harvest as God has indeed blessed his people. Then, the middle verses (2-5) are addressed directly to God. They are a prayer to God for the nations. That is the structure of the psalm. But what I want us to see this morning is not foremost its structure but the content and mood that permeates every part of this psalm. As the psalmist writes these words, he is expressing a belief that God alone is to be known as God, praised as God, delighted in as God, and feared as God. We see it in verse 2. After asking God to bless the people in verse 1, he says in verse 2, “that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations.” In verses 3 and 5 he prays that all the people of the earth would praise God. In verse 4 he prays that the nations would recognize that God is the judge of all the earth and is the sovereign Lord over all peoples and all lands and that this recognition would lead to them being glad, singing for joy, and delighting in God’s reign. Then, in verse 7, he prays that all the ends of the earth would fear God. But why? Why is the psalmist so adamant that all the nations know and worship and delight in and fear the God of Israel, the God who would reveal himself through Jesus Christ? After all, it is true and known that multitudes of people all over the earth worship something else as god and would probably say that they are content. So, why not just let everyone enjoy what they want to enjoy, worship whatever god they want to worship, and fear whatever god they want to fear? Why is the psalmist driven to pray in this way? The answer is because God is the only true God, and he demands that he alone is known as God, delighted in as God, feared as God, and worshiped. It is God who demands that he is known and worshiped as God all over the earth because he is the only true God. He alone will judge all peoples of the earth and he alone is the sovereign Lord over every nation. The psalmist’s pleas in Psalm 67 reflect the heart and intention of God. The Lord says to the servant in Isaiah 49:6, “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” He thinks it too light of a thing that Israel is saved. His salvation will reach to the end of the earth. God is on a mission to take people for himself from every corner of the earth. He is not content for the gospel to be believed only by some isolated people in one geographic area. He is intent on manifesting the reality that his Lordship extends over all the earth. Jesus commands us as his followers to go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them and teaching them to obey all that he has commanded. God refuses any nation the right to bow the knee to one other than him. He demands that “Jesus is Lord” is the cry from every language on this planet. And he has promised us that he will indeed have followers from every tribe on the earth. God demands that he alone is worshiped as God. In fact, someone has suggested that the Great Commission is basically a call for us to go out and announce terms of surrender. The gospel proclamation is not an announcement that we can offer a better way of life or greater happiness. We do not go into parts of Asia because with the message that we have a more pleasant life to offer them than what Allah or Buddha does. The proclamation we must make begins with the note that there is only one God, he demands our worship, and he will judge us for our sins. Only then will the gospel sound like good news. And the good news is that God has made a way for us to be justified before him. He sent his Son to live, die for our sins, and be raised so that if anyone will believe in him, he will have eternal life. But if anyone does not believe in him, they will suffer the wrath and fury of God on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment is revealed. Do you see? The Great Commission isn’t a charge to go forth and let men know of a better offer. It is a call to proclaim to all people everywhere that they must bow the knee to Christ in faith or they will face the judgment of God. God will allow no other option when every individual stands before him on the day of judgment. This is why the psalmist prays that God might move all peoples to know him, praise him, delight in him, and fear him. He knows that this is the demand of God himself of all men, for he alone is God. But this psalm also reminds us of one means God employs in making his glory known. He blesses his people so that all the nations might know him. God blesses his people so that all the nations might know him We see it in verses 1-2. In verse 1, the Psalmist asks for God’s blessing. Repeating the words of the priestly benediction, he writes, “May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us.” Now, we in our culture might be tempted to minimize this. The idea of blessing carries very little weight. To say “blessings” to someone may simply be heard as a way of saying, “Have a good day” or “Good luck in life.” But the blessing of the priestly benediction meant much more. Aaron would pronounce a blessing on the people that God would be gracious to them, bless them, and make his face shine on them. That meant that every task they took up, they could know that they were the recipients of God’s favor and blessing, and kindness. That is, the God of all the universe was disposed toward pouring out his grace on them, toward lavishing his kindness on them, on looking at them and delighting in them. Could you imagine the thought of sowing in the fields, thinking, “God’s grace is towards me. He’s blessing all that I do. His face is shining on me.” Listen to the words of Deuteronomy 28:1-14. “And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God. Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out. The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you. They shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways. The Lord will command the blessing on you in your barns and in all that you undertake. And he will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. The Lord will establish you as a people holy to himself, as he has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in his ways. And all the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of you. And the Lord will make you abound in prosperity, in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your livestock and in the fruit of your ground, within the land that the Lord swore to your fathers to give you. The Lord will open to you his good treasury, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hands. And you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you shall only go up and not down, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, being careful to do them, and if you do not turn aside from any of the words that I command you today, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.” Do you see how rich this is? This is why the psalmist asks for this grace, and blessing, and favor from the Lord. But we know that the great tragedy is that the Israelites did not obey the word of the Lord. They sinned against him and served the gods of the other nations – that were no gods at all. C. S. Lewis once used the illustration of a child wanting to stay in the sandbox when others were trying to get him to go to the beach because he had no idea how glorious the beach was. But the Israelites were the opposite of that illustration. It’s like they were standing on the beach and decided to leave because the sandbox the other nations were playing in looked attractive. They profaned God’s name among the nations and dishonored how glorious and holy and satisfying he is. But God made a promise to them that he was about to do something amazing. He was going to forgive them, cleanse them, give them new hearts and a new spirit, and cause them to walk in his ways. But why? Because God refused to let his name be profaned among the nations and demands that they know his glory. Listen to what God says in Ezekiel 36:16-38. “The word of the Lord came to me: ‘Son of man, when the house of Israel lived in their own land, they defiled it by their ways and their deeds. Their ways before me were like the uncleanness of a woman in her menstrual impurity. So I poured out my wrath upon them for the blood that they had shed in the land, for the idols with which they had defiled it. I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the countries. In accordance with their ways and their deeds I judged them. But when they came to the nations, wherever they came, they profaned my holy name, in that people said of them, 'These are the people of the Lord, and yet they had to go out of his land.' But I had concern for my holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations to which they came. "Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. And I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. And I will summon the grain and make it abundant and lay no famine upon you. I will make the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field abundant, that you may never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations. Then you will remember your evil ways, and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominations. It is not for your sake that I will act, declares the Lord God; let that be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel. "Thus says the Lord God: On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be rebuilt. And the land that was desolate shall be tilled, instead of being the desolation that it was in the sight of all who passed by. And they will say, 'This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.' Then the nations that are left all around you shall know that I am the Lord; I have rebuilt the ruined places and replanted that which was desolate. I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it. ‘Thus says the Lord God: This also I will let the house of Israel ask me to do for them: to increase their people like a flock. Like the flock for sacrifices, like the flock at Jerusalem during her appointed feasts, so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of people. Then they will know that I am the Lord.” You see, God deeply blessed his people so that the nations might know him, and delight in him, and worship him, and fear him. So, when we ask, “Why is it that the psalmist asks for God’s blessing on the people in verse 1?” the answer is in verse 2, namely, “that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among the nations.” He prays for God’s blessing on them so that others might know his ways and his saving power. But where does he get this idea that God blesses his people for the sake of the nations knowing him? He gets it from God himself. Psalm 67 is a continuous desire and prayer for God to do what God has already revealed that he will do. And so it is with us. God blesses us, as his people, for the sake of the nations knowing him. He forgives our sins and cleanses us and captivates our hearts so that others might see how glorious he is and know his saving power. Therefore, our prayer should be, “God will you bless us, cause your face to shine on us, forgive us our sins, cleanse us from our iniquities, and make our hearts obsessed with knowing and delighting in you so that others might see my life, my heart, my desire, my holiness, my affection for you and long to know you. That is the great blessing we should pray for. Our prayer should be that of Psalm 67:1-2. Our hope should be that of Psalm 67:7. We should pray for and delight in God’s blessing so that others might know him. So, we’ve seen that God demands that he alone is known, and delighted in, and worshiped, and feared as God. We’ve also seen that God blesses his people so that others might see how glorious he is. His people are to be a continual display of the glory of God before the world so that they might long to know him, delight in him, worship him, and fear him. But there is one more thing I want to add from this psalm. It is this: We, as God’s people, must be characterized by a longing for the nations to know him. We, as God’s people, must be characterized by a longing for the nations to know him Psalm 67 does reflect the desire of God to be known and does reveal to us God’s means of blessing his people so that others might know him. But it also reflects the desire of the psalmist that his God be known, praised, feared, and delighted in. This psalm provides the plea of the psalmist for blessing because he genuinely longs for God’s way to be known and his saving power to reach all the nations. There is simply no other way to read this psalm except as a look into the desire and longing of the one who penned these words under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. This psalm shows us God’s desire and it also shows us what must be the desire of God’s people. We must be a people who long for others, indeed all the nations to know, fear, worship, and delight in God. The psalmist is pleading with God “Let the peoples praise you . . . let the nations be glad and sing for joy . . . let the people praise you . . . let all the ends of the earth fear [you].” This must be our cry. A number of weeks ago I asked Emy in the back of the sanctuary if she felt any pain. And she shared with me that she had begun to feel pain but then she asked God if he would remove it so that she might continue to do Bible studies. So that others, whether from the Philippines or internationals or ladies at the Care Center or whoever else she was meeting with in Bible studies must come to know Christ and/or grow in their knowledge of and delight in him. And God heard and honored that prayer. Where does that kind of heart come from? I think it comes from someone who has spent time delighting in and growing in love for the God who demands to be known among all nations and the God who delights in blessing his children so that others might know him. And that kind of heart must not be the exception but the rule among us if we are to walk in a way to honors God. So, is this vision of being a church in a warehouse in Jackson, TN that sends out people constantly and consistently to take the gospel to the ends of the earth a right, biblical, and God-honoring vision for us at Cornerstone? Yes, it is. And it is God-honoring because it reflects the mission of God himself to be known and worshiped to the ends of the earth. So let us be a people who love God, long for him to be known, pray for God to make us more like that, pray for the blessing of a heart that treasures him, and pray and labor so that others might have their hearts opened to see and delight in the glory of the gospel of Christ. May we now delight in the work of Christ for us as we come to the table. Amen. 3720 North Highland Avenue Jackson, TN 38305 731-664-3295 Contact the Webmaster
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