June 2, 2025 - Psalm 66-70

TO THE CHOIRMASTER: WITH STRINGED INSTRUMENTS. A PSALM. A SONG.

 May God be gracious to us and bless us

      and make his face to shine upon us,

 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 (67:1-4).

These are verses that have been made well-known by John Piper via his book on missions, Let the Nations Be Glad.  The Bible is full of promises that all the peoples will know God and worship him.  The promise is not that all will be saved but that from every tribe and language and people and nation will be those who worship him.  I have been receiving text updates from Dr. Ibrahim who is in Jordan with a group of students.  He tells us that he has seen a greater openness and greater opportunities for the gospel than he has ever seen.  He’s been plugging away in the Middle East for a long time and he is seeing more and more doors opening.  That’s the way it works, isn’t it?  God’s people remain steadfast and faithful in telling about him, and God honors that witness, in his own time, and opens doors we might never have imagined.

On thy church, O Power divine,

Cause thy glorious face to shine,

Till the nations from afar

Hail her as their guiding star;

Till her sons from zone to zone,

Make thy great salvation known.

Then shall God, with lavish hand,

Scatter blessings o’er the land;

Earth shall yield her rich increase,

Every breeze shall whisper peace,

And the world’s remotest bound

With the voice of praise resound.   -- Harriet Auber (1830)