Let All the Nations Praise - Phil Johnson

Main message: Psalm 67 is a liturgical prayer calling God's people to pray for and display God's grace, glory, and goodness so that all peoples and nations will come to know, fear, and praise the one true God — a summons to faithful missionary witness rather than reliance on human strategies.

Key points:

• The psalm is a public, liturgical anthem (a “psalm” and a “song”) built around the repeated refrain “Let all the peoples praise you,” emphasizing a universal call to worship.
• The speaker outlines the psalm’s structure as a chiasmus: stanza one (vv.1–3, grace), a bridge (v.4, God’s glory/judgment), and stanza two (vv.5–7, God’s goodness), with the refrain tying it together.
• Three divine attributes are central to evangelistic persuasion here: God’s grace (the starting plea and motive), God’s glory (His sovereign, righteous rule), and God’s goodness (tangible blessings like the harvest).
• The psalm rebukes misplaced confidence in worldly evangelistic schemes and stresses that truth — the display of God’s grace, glory, and goodness — is the principal means God uses to draw nations.
• Practical application: pray for God’s blessing not merely for personal benefit but so His way and salvation will be known among all nations; support and testify to missions so that unbelievers see and are led to praise.

Scriptures mentioned: Psalm 67, Revelation 7:9–12, Isaiah 38:20, Psalms 120–134, Psalms 65–68, Mark 16:15, Matthew 28:19, 1 Corinthians 12:21, 1 Corinthians 3:19, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Romans 5:6, Romans 8:32, Hebrews 9:12, Hebrews 9:28, 1 Peter 3:18, Ephesians 1:17, Psalm 107 (vv.41–42), Psalm 85:12, Matthew 5:45, Psalm 145:9, Psalm 25:8, Nahum 1:7, Jeremiah 14:22, Deuteronomy 28:12, Romans 2:16, Romans 2:4, Psalm 97:10, Proverbs 8:13, Amos 5:15, Numbers 6.