Psalm 67:3-4 “May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you. May the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you rule the people’s justly and guide the nations of the earth.”

God’s ways and salvation becoming known among all the nations has clear implications for his praise and worship. Why should all the peoples praise this God? You don’t praise God for something you don’t believe in. You don’t praise a God whom you don’t believe in. Praying for the peoples to praise God assumes that the message of grace has given them a living faith.

Faith and praise are the responses that fit God’s saving grace. I suppose that it is possible to force words of praise from people without faith, but is that really praise at all? Do you remember the character Max from the movie The Sound of Music, the family friend who helped the Von Trapp family escape the Nazis? After Austria falls to Germany, the whole nation is expected to take up the greeting “Heil Hitler.” The true converts do it with gusto, but not Max. He weakly raises his hand to say it, and the words barely stumble out of his mouth. He has no real praise for his new dictator.

Jesus does not conquer the nations with a military machine. He does not force the peoples into subjection. He wins them with his grace. He overwhelms them with his love. Every word of praise, then, oozes with sincerity and joy. “May the nations be glad and sing for joy.” “Singing for joy” pictures a response something like the cheering we see at a sporting event. The home team gets closer and closer, and finally it scores. The fans are ecstatic. They stand on their seats. They shout and cheer. They sing the school song. They are glad and they sing for joy.

            With Jesus, why shouldn’t the nations be glad and sing for joy? Why shouldn’t their praises be sincere and come straight from a heart of faith? “…for you rule the people’s justly and guide the nations of the earth.” Jesus’ brand of justice has no hint of graft or corruption. We sometimes call our elected officials “public servants.” Then we wonder if any of them has any clue what this means. But Jesus truly is. He rules and leads as the one who made himself our servant. Everything he does is about us–our forgiveness, our salvation, our life, our eternity.

We pray that all the peoples will see God’s gracious justice and rule. Then God’s praises will come from the nations.