[1] May God be gracious to us and bless
     us and make his face to shine upon us,        Selah
[2] that your way may be known on earth,
     your saving power among all nations.
[3] Let the peoples praise you, O God;
    let all the peoples praise you!
[4] Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
    for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth.        Selah
[5] Let the peoples praise you, O God;
    let all the peoples praise you!
[6] The earth has yielded its increase;
    God, our God, shall bless us.
[7] God shall bless us;
    let all the ends of the earth fear him!
(Psalm 67 ESV)

Based on words from Psalm 67:4, our June song of the month is a song about the church’s call to mission. You may already be familiar with John Piper’s book, Let the Nations Be Glad! The Supremacy of God in Missions. Piper famously says, “Missions exists because worship doesn’t. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man.” In other words, the ultimate goal of mission is the glory of God. The reason God save sinners is to create worshippers.

For both our June song and the song that it’s based on, worship is not just the goal of missions—it is also the source of missions. What I mean is that both start by reminding us of God’s blessing to us, and then frame missions as part of the worship we offer in response to God’s blessing. Psalm 67:1 quotes what is called the Aaronic blessing (or priestly blessing) of Numbers 6:22-27. The significance of the Aaronic blessing can’t be overstated. It is not just about God doing good things for Israel; the central blessing God gives them is Himself. Numbers 6:27 says that in reciting this blessings, the priests “shall put My [God’s] name upon the people of Israel.”

Psalm 67 gives us a reason God blesses Israel in this way: “that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among the nations.” The psalmist is not just making this up; it reflects God’s original promise of blessing to Abraham, “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:3) God blessed Abraham’s descendants, the nation of Israel, as part of His plan to bless all the nations of the earth.
We know that even as Israel failed to be a faithful witness to the world, God was still faithful to use them to bring about the promised Seed and true Israel, Jesus Christ. We know that “all the promises of God find their Yes in Him.” (2 Cor 1:20) And so we know that in Christ God has blessed the church, not just for our own benefit but so that we may proclaim His grace to all corners of the earth.

Whether we gather to worship on a Sunday morning or scatter to preach the gospel to the lost, we’re ultimately fulfilling one and the same task: to proclaim God’s glory in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Let the glory of the Lord forever be our joy
May redemption be the theme of our song
For by grace we have been saved
And by grace we shall proclaim
To the corners of the earth that Christ has come

Let the nations be glad
Let the peoples rejoice
For salvation belongs to our God
Let the whole earth be filled
With the praises of the Lord
For salvation belongs to our God
Let the nations be glad

Through the ages gone before
Through the trial and the sword
Many saints and martyrs conquered, though they died
Still we're holding out the cross
Crossing oceans, suffering loss
Shall endure all things to win the crown of life

As Your holy church goes forth
In the Holy Spirit's power
With the glories of the gospel to explain
Now we pray Your kingdom come
And we pray Your will be done
For the honor and the glory of Your name

Matt Boswell | Aaron Boswell | Matt Papa
© 2010 Dayspring Music, LLC (a div. of Word Music Group, Inc.)

Oh,one last thing: if you’re not a missionary, you may be wondering how this applies to you. There are a couple of ways. First, we join the mission not just by going, but by sending and praying for the ones who go. Second, while overseas and frontier missions are important, we also join God’s mission where we are. We are living in the “ends of the earth” of Acts 1:8. So, this is not just a song to encourage people to go overseas. It is also a song to encourage people to send, to pray, and to be a witness to the people around you.