The Great Commission PsalmPsalm 67

The Great Commission Psalm Introduction

The Great Commission Psalm Introduction

Genesis 12:1-3 (ESV) 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.”

The Great Commission Psalm Introduction

• Beginning with that passage in the book of Genesis, we learn that all the families of the earth will be blessed through believing Abraham.

• He is blessed in order to be a blessing.

• What we don’t exactly learn at that point is how.

The Great Commission Psalm Introduction

The seven brief verses of Psalm 67 are almost wholly taken up with the concern that all humanity—Israelite and non-Israelite—should know, acknowledge, and respond in praise for the blessing of God’s salvation

– Gerald H. Wilson (1945 – 2005)

The Great Commission Psalm Introduction

• Psalm 67 reminds us that Israel sometimes remembered that this was supposed to happen.

• But again the “How?” question is not really answered.

• It’s not until the New Testament, in Christ and his Great Commission, that we see how it begins to come to pass.

The Great Commission Psalm Introduction

Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man.

– John Piper, in Let the Nations Be Glad

The Great Commission Psalm Introduction

When this age is over, and the countless millions of the redeemed fall on their faces before the throne of God, missions will be no more.

– John Piper, in Let the Nations Be Glad

The Great Commission Psalm Introduction

• This age is not yet over.

• We still have the privilege of participating in God’s plan for the nations by telling the world about Christ.

• When this age is finally over, those countless millions of the redeemed will include all the nations of the earth.

The Great Commission Psalm Psalm 67

Psalm 67:1

Psalm 67:1

• This first verse is much like the priestly blessing.

Numbers 6:24-26 (ESV) 24 The LORD bless you and keep you;25 the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; 26 the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

Psalm 67:2

Psalm 67:2

• One important word in this verse:

1. That = Hebrew letter ל (Lamed). A preposition here meaning “in order to,” i.e., a marker of intent often with the implication of an expected result; “so that,” i.e., a marker of a result, implying a preceding process.• (From Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains)

Psalm 67:2

• What happens in v.2 is the expected result of the blessing that is asked for in v.1.

• The psalmist asks for God’s blessing upon his people that, as a result, God’s way would be known among the nations.

Psalm 67:2

• Another important word in this verse:

2. Saving power = Yeshuah, a word related to and sounding like the Hebrew name of Jesus.

Psalm 67:2

• Another important word in this verse:

2. Saving power = Yeshuah, a word related to and sounding like the Hebrew name of Jesus.

• It would be too much to suppose that the psalmist had Jesus in mind.

• It is not too much to point out that Jesus was not given just any random name.

Psalm 67:2

Matthew 1:20-21 (ESV) 20 But as [Joseph] considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

Psalm 67:2

• This is the time in which we can make Christ’s name known.

• If we want God to bless us, it would be helpful to desire his blessing for the reason expressed in this psalm.

Psalm 67:2

This Present Age: Satan Rules

Ch

rist

’s F

irst

Co

min

gC

hrist’s Seco

nd

Co

min

gThe Age to Come: God Rules through Christ

The Already and Not Yet Age of the ChurchThis is the Age of Missions

(Think WWII – between D Day and VE Day.)

Psalm 67:3-5

Psalm 67:3-5

• In these verses the psalmist more explicitly states his request on behalf of the nations.

• It is a request for God to glorify his name among all the nations of the earth.

• 67:4 Judge is used here in the positive sense of “rule” or “exercise authority” in deciding difficult cases.

Psalm 67:3-5

This psalm looks forward to the glorious day when Jesus Christ will rule and reign on earth. The people will be glad because they finally have a righteous leader governing them. When we look at the various human leaders who have failed so miserably in leading our country and our world, we pray “Thy kingdom come” as we long for the righteous judge to sit on His throne.

– Chuck Smith (1927 – 2013)

Psalm 67:3-5

Jesus’ primary concern—the very first petition of the prayer he teaches—is that more and more people, and more and more peoples, come to hallow God’s name. This is the reason the universe exists. Missions exists because this hallowing does not.

– John Piper, in Let the Nations Be Glad

Psalm 67:6-7

Psalm 67:6-7

• Here the psalmist expresses his confidence that God will bless in the form of an abundant harvest.

• The desired result of God’s blessing his people is again that “all the ends of the earth fear him!”

• We might consider what Jesus said when he saw the vast pathetic crowds.

Psalm 67:6-7

• Matthew 9:36-38 (ESV) 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

Psalm 67:6-7

• Matthew 9:36-38 (ESV) 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

• These verses are immediately followed by Jesus’s sending of the Twelve.

Psalm 67:6-7

• The Church sends out missionaries.

• The Church is also sent.

• John 20:21 (ESV) Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”

The Great Commission Psalm Conclusion

The Great Commission Psalm Conclusion

• This psalm give us a lot to think about by way of application for us individually and as a church.

The Great Commission Psalm Conclusion

Centripetal Movement of Mission in the Old Testament:

Israel, Temple,

Zion

(All diagrams adapted from Encountering Theology of Mission by Craig Ott and Stephen J. Strauss)

The Great Commission Psalm Conclusion

Centrifugal, Decentralized Movement of NT Mission:

Jerusalem

AntiochEphesus

The Great Commission Psalm Conclusion

Christianity affects cultures by moving them to a position short of the absolute, and it does this by placing God at the centre.

– Lamin Sanneh

The Great Commission Psalm Conclusion

The original language of Christianity is translation.

– Lamin Sanneh

The Great Commission Psalm Conclusion

Centrifugal, Decentralized Movement of Mission now:

Costa Mesa

San Diego

Indy-NE, Central,

etc.

The Great Commission Psalm Conclusion

Lovi

ng

Go

d

Loving Neighbor

The Great Commission Psalm Conclusion

The Great Commission Psalm Conclusion

The Great Commission Psalm Conclusion

The Great Commission Psalm Conclusion

The Great Commission Psalm Conclusion

• The American Dream – and certainly the “Indiana Ideal” – is to have “enough” privacy, property and personal space.

• We might carefully consider how much of any of these is actually needed for human flourishing.

• Our culture might be over-influencing our goals.

The Great Commission Psalm Conclusion

• Our mission at Horizon Central – should we choose to accept it – is to serve near the center of the city.

• This gives us a key role to play in the body of Christ here in Indianapolis.

• Ministry in the center of the city is hugely important.

The Great Commission Psalm Conclusion

Four types of people found primarily in cities:

1. The next generation of young people

2. The most unreached peoples who have migrated

3. The culture shapers

4. The poorest of the poor

(from the Cape Town Commitment of the Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization, 2010)

The Great Commission Psalm Conclusion

• The Church sends out missionaries.

• The Church is also sent.

• John 20:21 (ESV) Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”

The Great Commission Psalm Conclusion

• We at Horizon Central are sent to the center of Indianapolis.• It’s a perfect place from which to impact this city and from

here to impact the world.

The Great Commission Psalm Conclusion

• My request as a pastor to all of you is that you would begin to pray Psalm 67 for us as a church.

• What might God do if we all prayed it daily for the rest of this year?