Psalm 67

Well, good morning, church.

Hope you all have had a good Fourth of July weekend, a good extended time of rest.

! My name is Chandler Durden, for those of y'all who do not know me.

I've been a member at Christ Family Church for about six years or so at this point,

and I am extremely excited to have the opportunity to preach God's Word to you all.

But before I begin, I want to ask for a little extra grace with me this morning.

This is my first sermon that I've ever preached,

and I also found out four hours ago that this is my first sermon that I've ever preached.

And so, anyways, Nathan woke up this morning not feeling super well, as TJ alluded to,

so definitely keep him in your thoughts and prayers that he'll make a full and swift recovery.

But my family and I have also been at my parents' house this weekend, pet-sitting their dogs,

and so I did not have access to my full wardrobe.

So, if you have any expectations of the types of shoes preachers would wear this morning,

well, I really apologize, because I'm currently wearing on clouds.

But due to the time constraints also, I was not able to prepare the normal length of a sermon,

so Nathan asked if I could share a little bit about the work that my wife and I are planning to do in Japan long-term as missionaries.

So, we'll spend some time kind of scattered throughout that message talking about that a little bit.

But without further ado, I want to draw your attention this morning to Psalm 67.

So, if you would, take your copy of God's Word and turn there with me.

Psalm 67.

And we will begin our reading with the heading right above verse 1,

which is actually included in the original manuscripts, so we'll begin there.

Our text reads,

Let's pray together.

Father in heaven, we thank you for this opportunity to meet together as a church,

to hear from your Word, to sing your Word, to pray your Word, to see your Word.

We are thankful, God, that you have saved us and called us to yourself,

and that just as our justification surely happens,

so our sanctification and glorification will surely happen.

We thank you for that.

We thank you for just this time.

And we pray that by your Spirit, that you would work among your people,

that we would see and savor the glory of Christ.

And we pray this in Christ's name.

Amen.

So, I want to draw your attention to two truths that we see in this text,

and we'll spend the majority of our time looking at the first truth.

And I'll make a few brief points about the second truth.

So, truth number one, God's chief end for creating and sustaining the nations,

is that he might be glorified,

and that they might be satisfied.

And then truth number two,

God blesses us so that we might bless the nations.

I want to make a case that truth number one is the primary emphasis of this psalm,

and that truth number two is a secondary emphasis,

and is written to serve truth number one.

In other words, Psalm 67's main emphasis is God's chief desire to globally glorify his name

by blessing the nations.

And Psalm 67 makes clear that God accomplishes this end by blessing us.

God blesses us so that we might bless the nations.

And just to be clear, I'm not saying that God does not love us or is simply using us.

I'm just saying that he loves the nations,

and that our joy in him actually increases when it expands into the lives of others.

And therefore, God actually has our highest good in mind

when he commands us to seek the good of others.

Now, with the remainder of our time,

I want to examine these two truths in more details

and show you how central they are to Psalm 67's message,

and ultimately how central they are to the entire Bible.

So let's spend some time meditating on this first glorious truth,

which is the main theme of this psalm.

God's chief end for creating and sustaining the nations

is that he might be glorified and they might be satisfied.

The number of times this truth is repeated throughout this psalm

is more than enough evidence to argue that this is Psalm 67's main theme.

But I'm convinced that the structure of this psalm itself

leads us to this conclusion as well.

I believe this psalm is structured chiastically,

which is a common form of parallelism used in both Old and New Testaments.

A chiasm is where a sequence of ideas is presented

and then repeated in reverse order.

This results in the second half of the psalm mirroring the first half

so that the ideas are reflected back in the passage.

So to give an example of what this would look like,

if there were three ideas in a passage structured chiastically,

you would have idea A stated,

then idea B stated,

then idea C,

and then these ideas in the second half

would be repeated using different words

or with a slightly different emphasis.

So the structure of the passage would look like idea A

followed by B,

then C,

and then C,

B,

A.

Now,

there are two main reasons

why I believe this psalm is structured chiastically.

First,

it seems that just like a chiasm,

the ideas introduced in the psalm's first half

are repeated in the psalm's second half,

but in reverse order.

Look at verses 1 and 2 with me.

verses 1 and 2 introduce the first idea,

idea A,

which is God blessing his people

so that the nations might know and fear him.

And this idea is clearly repeated

in verses 6 and 7,

except now in the form of a promise

rather than a prayer.

In the beginning of the psalm,

it was,

may God bless us,

and now at the end of the psalm,

it's God shall bless us.

We also see the purpose of this blessing

reflected on at the end of the psalm.

In the beginning of the psalm,

the blessing is,

so that your way might be known on the earth,

your saving power among all nations.

And at the end of the psalm,

after the psalmist promises that God will bless us,

once again,

this truth has an intended purpose,

which is why the psalmist's last words are,

let all the ends of the earth fear him.

The psalm's next idea,

idea B,

is introduced in verse 3.

And this idea is clearly repeated,

quite literally,

since verse 5 simply restates verse 3 word for word.

Now, notice this whole time

I haven't said anything about verse 4.

And it's because this verse

is not paired with any other verses.

And I think verse 4's inclusion

in our text is the second reason

why I think there's a chiasc structure in Psalm 67.

More often than not,

chiasms include a verse directly

in the middle of the passage.

And this verse is the passage's central message.

It seems clear that verse 4

is indeed functioning

as this psalm's central message.

Because if you were to see this psalm

written in its original language,

you would see that the sentence in verse 4

contains twice the number of Hebrew words

found in every other verse.

with the sheer number of Hebrew words

emphasizing the importance of this verse.

Also, the content of verse 4

is unique to the rest of the psalm.

This verse alone highlights the reason

as to why the nations should praise God.

Verse 4 says,

let the nations be glad and sing for joy

for, or because,

you judge the peoples with equity

and guide the nations upon earth.

In other words,

the nations should delight themselves in God

because he is worthy of being delighted in.

The living and triune God of the universe is good.

He has fixed a day

on which he will judge

the world and righteousness,

and one day he will set aright

all of the wrongs of wicked humanity.

The living and triune God of the universe is kind.

He blesses us

despite the abundant evidence

that we're guilty as charged.

And he blesses us

by cursing his son.

He answers the psalmist's prayer

in verse 1

to shine his face upon us

by turning his back on his son.

Now, earlier,

I made the claim

that this first truth,

namely,

God's chief end for creating the nations

is for his glory

and for their joy,

that this truth

is Psalm 67's main theme.

But you may be wondering,

well,

what about verse 4?

Why isn't the main theme

that God is fully worthy of our praise?

Since verse 4,

which contains the psalm's central message,

says that God judges the peoples with equity

and guides the nations upon earth.

Or you might think

that the main theme

has to do with the nations

and their joy.

Verse 4 says,

let the nations be glad

and sing for joy.

But I think that verses 3 and 5

guard against these interpretations.

Verses 3 and 5

emphasize God's God-centeredness

and his passionate zeal

to spread his glory

to the ends of the earth.

We can go to verses 3 and 5

to help us understand

what the psalmist means

when he says in verse 4,

let the nations be glad

and sing for joy.

What does it mean

for the nations to be glad

and sing for joy?

Verses 3 and 5,

let the peoples praise you.

That's what it means.

It means to praise God.

Who are the nations to be glad in?

Who are they to sing to?

Verses 3 and 5,

let the peoples praise you,

O God.

And then lastly,

you may be wondering,

well, what exactly did the psalmist mean

when he used the word nations

or the word peoples?

Did he really understand

God's global purposes

since he was living

under the old covenant

and therefore he hasn't heard

the great commission delivered

in the new covenant?

And I think that's a fair question

considering how ethnocentric

the Jewish nation was.

So let's start with the word peoples.

This word and its original language

is often used to refer

to the people of Israel,

but it also is used to refer

to the people of other nations.

Consider Deuteronomy 13, 7,

where God commands the Israelites,

if your brother,

the son of your mother,

or the son of your daughter,

or the wife you embrace,

or your friend who is as your own soul

entices you secretly,

saying,

let us go after gods

and serve other gods,

which neither you

nor your fathers have known,

some of the gods of the peoples

who are around you,

whether near you

or far off from you,

from the one end of the earth

to the other,

you shall not yield to him

or listen to him.

And then as for the Hebrew word

that's translated as nations

in our psalm,

this is a fair translation.

It could be translated as peoples,

but what's interesting

is that the Septuagint,

which is the Greek translation

of the Hebrew Old Bible,

or Hebrew Old Testament,

translates this Hebrew word

into the Greek word ethnos,

which is the same Greek word

that Christ uses

in the Great Commission

when he says,

go therefore

and make disciples

of all ethnos,

of all nations.

So I hope that these Hebrew words

and the structure of the psalm

has convinced you

that God's aim

to reach people

from every tribe

and every tongue

and every language

and nation

is not some side goal

of God's.

This is actually central

to his plan.

Brothers and sisters,

this is why we exist,

to praise him

and to be used by him

to bring others

into this glorious feast of joy,

which Christ has purchased

for us

and for the nations.

And the rest of scripture

also makes abundantly clear

that this is God's chief end

for creating you

and for creating me.

Consider the book of Psalms.

David begins the entire book

by speaking of a decree

that Yahweh proclaims

to his anointed one,

which we know

in its immediate context

is referring to David,

but it finds its ultimate fulfillment

in Christ.

The decree is found

in Psalm 2-7,

which reads,

quote,

You are my son,

today I have begotten you.

Ask of me

and I will make the nations

your heritage

and the ends of the earth

your possession.

So,

we see Christ

receiving the nations

as his inheritance

and reigning over them

as king.

The book of Psalms

also ends

in a similar way.

The heartbeat

of Psalm 150

is that everyone

and everything

in all creation

is to praise the Lord.

The chapter begins

by saying in verse 1,

Praise God

in his sanctuary.

Praise him

in his mighty heavens.

The psalmist is calling

on both earthly worshippers

and heavenly worshippers.

Then,

as the psalmist's last words,

he cries out,

let everything

that has breath

praise the Lord.

And then,

consider the Bible

as a whole

here as well.

So,

in the beginning

of the Bible,

on day 6 of creation,

after God looked

at everything he made

and saw that it was good,

he said in Genesis 1-26,

Let us make man

in our image

and after our likeness.

Then,

a few verses later,

God commands Adam and Eve

and says to them,

Be fruitful

and multiply

and fill the earth

and subdue it

and have dominion

over the fish

of the sea

and over the birds

of the heavens

and over everything

that moves on the earth.

Adam and Eve

were made in the likeness

of God

and were therefore

meant to be

a picture

or an image

or an expression

on earth

of the triune God,

of his character

and of his sovereignty

over all things.

They were commissioned

to create

more image bearers

and to fill the earth.

They were expelled

from the garden

and exiled

from God's presence

and now,

they and their offspring

would be

but a faint reflection

of God's glory.

But praise be to God,

church family,

because what the first Adam

failed to accomplish,

the last Adam

fulfilled perfectly.

Jesus Christ,

who is the image

of God

and the exact imprint

of his nature,

he perfectly reflected

God's character

and rule.

He obeyed the law

in full.

He loved his friends

by dying for them.

He ruled the nations

first by becoming

their servant

and now,

he reigns his head

over his body,

the church,

and commissions them

to go therefore

and make disciples

of all nations.

And then,

also,

the very end

of the Bible

makes clear

God's chief end

to glorify himself

through the nations

as well.

So,

you've got the beginning

and the end of scripture

and then things

all throughout

making it super,

super clear

that his chief end

is to glorify himself

to the nations.

So,

we know how the story ends.

In Revelation 21,

the new heavens

and the new earth

are filled with

the most joyful people

from every tribe,

people,

nation,

and language.

And the whole earth

is filled with God's glory

because the last Adam

was a faithful servant

who did all that God

commanded him to do.

Because of his obedience,

his bride's glorification

is sure.

And one day,

she will perfectly reflect

the brightness

of the Father's glory.

Okay,

so now we move on

much more briefly

to our second truth.

God blesses us

so that we will

bless the nations.

Look at verse 1

with me.

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.

This same foundational truth

is not limited

to Psalm 67,

but in fact

was spoken to Abraham

when God brought him

out of the land of Ur.

In Genesis 12,

2,

God says to Abraham,

I will make you

a great nation

and I will bless you

and make your name great

and so you shall be

a blessing

and I will bless

those who bless you

and curse those

who curse you.

this purpose

that God has

to bless Israel,

to bless Abraham,

to bless us,

is not

his ultimate purpose.

His ultimate purpose

is to bless

the whole world

and he uses people

from certain parts

of the world

who are already

blessed by him

to go to other parts

of the world

who are presently

cursed by him

to go and preach

the gospel to them

so that they might

fall under the blessing

of God.

So that the brightness

of God's face

might shine

in the darkest places

of the whole world.

And this same truth

is repeated yet again

at the end of

our psalm in verse 7.

Verse 7 says,

God shall bless us,

let all the ends

of the earth fear him.

After stating

that God will bless

Israel,

the psalmist is propelled

to cry out,

let all the ends

of the earth fear him.

Which I'm convinced

is actually geared

toward Israel.

I don't think this command

is directed

for the nations,

but I believe

it's ultimately

about Israel

being a beacon,

chosen to spread

the knowledge

of God

beyond her borders.

And so,

it's passages

of scripture

like Psalm 67

that have gripped

my family and I

to move to Japan,

a country with less

than 0.5%

professing Christians.

It's passages

like Revelation 7-9

that greatly encourage me,

but also humble me,

since God has already

promised that

all the nations

will stand before

his throne

to worship him.

Dear brothers and sisters,

God does not need us

to accomplish

his purposes.

but he uses us.

And what a treasure

it is to be used by God.

What a delight it is

to be used by him

to accomplish his work,

though in his omnipotence

he does not need us

in any way whatsoever.

So our family is being sent

by Christ Family Church

through reaching

and teaching

international ministries

to move to Yokohama,

Japan,

which is a city

just one hour

south of Tokyo.

And in this city

we will be a part

of a healthy local church

while we will learn

the language and culture

for the first few years.

And then once we learn

the language and culture,

we will be sent

by that church

to go to somewhere

around Tokyo

where there's

a great need

for the gospel.

We're not too sure yet

where that will be.

but our aim,

our hope,

is to see

the Japanese people

go from death

to life,

just like we have gone

from death to life,

and then to go from

infancy to adulthood

in Christ.

So we want to be a part

of that whole process

to see a people

who have never heard,

hear the gospel,

repent and believe

in the gospel,

have saving faith,

have the joy

that we have,

and then go from,

you know,

being a newborn Christian

to being raised up

to the full stature

of the measure of Christ.

That's our plan.

And the primary religions

in Japan

are Shintoism

and Buddhism,

though functionally

many people

in this country

are atheists.

It's kind of like

similar to America

where a lot of people

profess to be Christians,

but,

and they go to church

on Sundays,

but in real actuality,

they don't have

true saving faith.

It's kind of similar to that.

Japan also has

one of the highest

suicide rates

in the world,

and many people

suffer from

chronic depression there.

And so our hope

is that the joy

of the gospel message

and the joy of our hearts

as a family

will pour into

their hearts

and that they will

experience the joy

that we have in Christ.

So I hope

that you will join me

in committing to

praying for the

Japanese people,

that their hearts

would be softened

to the gospel,

and that the Lord

would provide

both spiritually

and financially

for our family

as we prepare

to go to the field

in early 2026,

Lord willing.

So now I'm going

back to our text,

some brief points

of application.

It may not be,

and probably is not,

God's will

for most of you

in this room,

or possibly any of you

in this room,

to pack up your bags,

hop on a plane,

and spend your lives

preaching the gospel

to an unreached people group.

And I'm fully aware

of that.

So you may be thinking,

what's my role

in this?

How am I going to

bless the nations

when I live here?

Well, I want to

first off say,

don't be discouraged.

Your obedience here

will have

a ripple effect

on the nations.

Be a faithful

church member here.

Be an unashamed

proclaimer of the truth

here,

and you have

no idea

how capable God

is of using

your faithfulness

here to impact

there.

I remember one time

listening to a Q&A session

at a missionary

conference called

CrossCon,

and one of the panel

members there

was a pastor

in India.

He is somewhat

well-known

in the missions world.

His name is

Harshit Singh,

and one of the questions

he was asked

during the Q&A

was essentially,

what is the one way

that someone

who is not a missionary

can have an impact

on the nations?

And his immediate

answer without hesitation

was,

be a faithful

church member

where you're at.

That's the number

one way.

And so I don't

want you to think

that your obedience

in Dahlonega

or Gainesville

or wherever you live

here will have

no effect on the nations.

In fact,

I want you to remember

that your obedience

here within God's

mysterious providence

and probably within

ways that you won't

even maybe see

in this side of glory

will have a ripple

effect on the nations.

And trust that the Lord

is working in that way.

Have that mindset

geared toward reaching

not just people

in Dahlonega

but reaching

the ends of the earth

though you may not

be there.

And then second of all,

there are goers

and there are senders.

There are those

who go down

into the well

and there are those

who hold the rope

for those who go down.

God has ordained

that goers

cannot go

unless senders send.

Disciple,

support,

serve,

and pray

for the goers.

Don't forget

those who are being

sent out from us

to be missionaries.

Don't let go

of the rope.

Consider the words

of the 19th century

missionary to China,

Hudson Taylor.

He says,

quote,

The hand alone

cannot save

dying humanity.

The hand alone

cannot deliver man.

The body

must cooperate

with the hand

if the hand

is to rescue

the perishing.

Beloved,

you whose duty

it is to remain

at home

are equally sharers

with those

who go into

the mission fields

in this work.

Yours the responsibility,

yours equally

to share in the reward

when Christ is glorified

and his kingdom

is everywhere

made known.

It's a very important

fact for us all

to bear in mind

that as we have

already been reminded,

the command

of the Great Commission

was not given

to a limited class.

It was given

to the whole church.

And we all

have our share

in the responsibility.

End quote.

So,

brothers and sisters,

my hope for you

this morning

is that your heart

would be swept up

with God's God-centeredness

and his passion

for his glory.

I hope that your heart

would be set aflame

for God's purposes

to make his name

known among

every culture

and language

and nation

of the world.

I hope that your soul

is deeply troubled

over the 5.3 billion people

who are currently

in an unreached people group

and therefore

will have a 99% chance

of never meeting

a Christian

their entire life.

Little to no chance

of ever hearing

a gospel message

because of that.

And therefore,

eternal separation

without Christ

because of that.

Church,

may we,

or may the lamb

that was slain

receive the reward

of his suffering

for he is worthy.

Thank you.