The Mission is Worship Text: Psalm 67:3-5
Introduction: The End Game
We are in the business of world conquest. Let us make no mistake about that. The Lord Jesus Christ did not die and rise again to secure a small, beleaguered religious club that huddles in the corner while the world goes to hell in a handbasket. He rose to inherit the nations, to claim every last one of them as His own possession. The Great Commission is not the Great Suggestion. It is the declaration of a war that has already been won, and we are the troops sent to announce the terms of surrender and to mop up the remaining pockets of a very foolish resistance.
But we must be very clear about what this conquest looks like. It is not accomplished with carnal weapons, with tanks and legislation, though a conquered people will certainly change their laws. The central weapon of our warfare, the engine of our global mission, is worship. The goal of missions is the worship of the triune God by all the peoples of the earth. And the means of missions is the worship of that same God by the people He has already called. We do not stop worshipping to go do missions. We do missions because we worship, and our worship itself is the battering ram against the gates of hell.
This little psalm, Psalm 67, is a firecracker of a missionary text. It is thoroughly postmillennial. It is not a wistful hope; it is a confident prophecy. It sees the end from the beginning. It understands that God’s blessing on His people, Israel in the Old Covenant and the Church in the New, is not for their own private enjoyment. God blesses us so that we might be a blessing. He shines His face on us so that His way may be known on earth, His saving health among all nations. The verses before us today are the refrain, the central chorus of this song of glorious, global conquest.
The Text
Let the peoples praise You, O God; Let all the peoples praise You. Let the nations be glad and sing for joy; For You will judge the peoples with uprightness And lead the nations on the earth. Selah. Let the peoples praise You, O God; Let all the peoples praise You.
(Psalm 67:3-5 LSB)
The Goal of History (v. 3)
We begin with the great refrain, the heartbeat of the psalm.
"Let the peoples praise You, O God; Let all the peoples praise You." (Psalm 67:3)
This is both a prayer and a prophecy. The psalmist is praying for what he knows God has promised. The word for "peoples" here is the Hebrew word for the various ethnic groups, the tribes, the Gentiles. This is not just about individual conversions. This is a corporate, national vision. The prayer is that entire people groups, as people groups, would turn and give praise to God. This is the end to which all of history is driving.
Notice the totality of it: "Let all the peoples praise You." Not some. Not a few representatives. All. This is the fulfillment of the promise to Abraham, that in him all the families of the earth would be blessed. This is the vision of the prophet Habakkuk, that the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. This is the task of the Great Commission: to disciple all the nations.
This is why we go. This is why we send missionaries. This is why we plant churches. The goal is not simply to rescue isolated souls from the wreck of a sinking ship. The goal is to see the ship itself, this world, reclaimed for its rightful captain, and to hear its decks filled with the sound of joyful praise from every tribe and tongue. Praise is the chief end of man, and therefore it is the chief end of our missionary activity. We are exporting doxology.
The Joy of Righteous Government (v. 4)
Verse 4 gives us the reason for this global gladness. Why will the nations sing for joy? What is the content of the good news that elicits this response?
"Let the nations be glad and sing for joy; For You will judge the peoples with uprightness And lead the nations on the earth. Selah." (Psalm 67:4 LSB)
Here is a truth that our modern, sentimental age cannot stomach. The nations will be glad because God will judge them. We have been trained to think of judgment as a terrifying, awful thing, something to be avoided at all costs. And for the impenitent, it certainly is. But for the world groaning under the tyranny of sin, chaos, and crooked rulers, the news that the true King is coming to set things right is the best news imaginable.
The pagan nations were ruled by capricious gods and despotic kings. Their systems were built on bribery, oppression, and injustice. The gospel announces that Jesus Christ has been given all authority in heaven and on earth. He comes to judge the peoples with "uprightness," with equity, with perfect justice. He is the King who will finally sort everything out. He is the one who will make all the crooked places straight. This is cause for explosive joy. When the King comes to establish His righteous rule, the people rejoice.
And He will "lead the nations on the earth." The word for lead here is the word a shepherd uses for his flock. God in Christ will not just issue decrees from on high; He will guide and govern the nations with pastoral care. He will lead them into paths of righteousness and prosperity. The gospel is the announcement of a new and better way of ordering human society, under the benevolent reign of King Jesus. This is the political and social dimension of the gospel that is so often neglected.
And then we have that word, "Selah." It is most likely a musical or liturgical instruction, a pause. Stop and think about that. Let it sink in. The righteous judgment and gentle guidance of God over all the nations of the world. Ponder the magnitude of that promise. Let the truth of it settle into your bones before you continue singing.
The Inevitable Conclusion (v. 5)
After the pause for reflection, the psalmist returns to the great chorus, driving the point home with emphatic repetition.
"Let the peoples praise You, O God; Let all the peoples praise You." (Psalm 67:5 LSB)
This is not just for poetic effect. The repetition underscores the certainty and the centrality of the vision. This is what it is all about. This is the end game. When the nations see and experience the righteous and good government of God, the inevitable, logical, and right response is praise. Worship is the only sane response to the revelation of who God is and what He has done.
This repetition functions as a covenantal Amen. The psalmist states the goal in verse 3. He provides the reason for it in verse 4. And now in verse 5, he seals it. This is what will be. This is the future of the world. All the peoples, every last one, giving praise to God. Our prayers, our evangelism, our church planting, our cultural labors, are all aimed at this great and certain end.
Conclusion: Worship is Warfare
So what does this mean for us, here and now? It means that our Sunday gathering is not a retreat from the world; it is an assault on it. Every time we gather to sing the praises of God, to hear His law, to confess our sins, and to sit at His table, we are declaring to the principalities and powers that their time is up. We are demonstrating what the future of this planet looks like. Our worship is a prophetic act.
The world is full of injustice, chaos, and misery precisely because it does not worship the true God. It praises men, or nature, or the state, or the self, and the result is always tyranny and despair. The only solution for the nations is to turn and praise their Maker and Redeemer.
Therefore, the most practical, evangelistic, and culturally transformative thing we can do is to worship God rightly. Our worship is the engine that drives the mission. It is the fuel and the goal. When we pray this psalm, we are aligning ourselves with God's stated purpose for all of creation. We are asking God to do what He has already promised He will do. And we are committing ourselves to be the instruments through which He does it.
So let us pray with confidence: Let the peoples praise You, O God. Let all the peoples praise You. Let the nations be glad and sing for joy. For we know that our King is on the move. He is judging, He is leading, and He will not stop until the mission is accomplished, and the earth is as full of His praise as the waters cover the sea.