Our Heart for the Nations
Our Heart for the Nations
Psalm 96
The first baptist missionary, Adoniram Judson, wrote to his then girlfriend, Ann Hasseltine’s father, asking for Ann’s hand in marriage. Judson wrote,
I have now to ask whether you can consent to part with your daughter early next spring, to see her no more in this world ? Whether you can consent to her departure to a heathen land, and her subjection to the hardships and sufferings of a missionary life? Whether you can consent to her exposure to the dangers of the ocean; to the fatal influence of the southern climate of India; to every kind of want and distress; to degradation, insult, persecution, and perhaps a violent death?
How would you respond to such a request? How would I respond? To give a daughter in forever marriage is one thing, but to give a daughter forever in marriage and to the mission field is another. Judson knew what he was asking Ann’s father. He had counted the costs for himself and for his family. Although his letter seems audacious and brash, it was actually incredibly kind to help Ann and her family count the cost of taking the Gospel to the nations. But Judson did not end his letter there. He went on to write,
Can you consent to all this for the sake of Him who left His heavenly home and died for her and for you; for the sake of perishing, immortal souls; for the sake of Zion and the glory of God? Can you consent to all this, in hope of soon meeting your daughter in the world of glory, with a crown of righteousness brightened by the acclamations of praise which shall resound to her Saviour from heathens saved, through her means, from eternal woe and despair?”
Would you give your daughter to Him who left heaven to die for her? Would you give your life to Him who left heaven to die for you? Is any sacrifice too great for the Lord and His glory? If God has given you 10,000 lifetimes in eternity through the precious blood of His Son, could you give your one life for His glory? Or, to put it more simply, “Is God worth it?”
This is probably a question to which all of us want to answer “yes”. But, when it comes right down to it, would we actually answer “yes”? Is God worth not seeing your daughter again in this life? Is God worth giving up your own wealth and comfort in order to send others to the nations? Is God worth giving up sleeping in on Sunday morning to gather with the saints? Is God worth giving two years of your life to the mission field? Is God worth it? I’m not asking if God is theoretically worth it? I’m asking if He is actually worth it? I believe He is, and I hope we’ll consider His glory and count the cost as we walk through Psalm 96.
Let the Nations Sing
In 1 Chronicles 16, the Ark of the Covenant had been brought to Jerusalem after the Philistines were defeated. King David had recently been anointed King of Israel and, with unashamed joy, he danced before the Ark of the Covenant and wrote a new song for God’s glory.
Sing to the LORD, all the earth!
Sing to the LORD, bless his name;
tell of his salvation from day to day.
Oh sing to the LORD a new song; Psalm 96:1–2
In these first two verses, we see five commands. Three times, we are commanded to sing to the Lord. Once, we are commanded to bless or praise His name, and once we are commanded to tell of His salvation. Psalm 96 is an invitation for all the nations to sing; verse 1b says, “sing to the LORD, all the earth!” David viewed the Ark of the Covenant, the very presence of God, coming to Jerusalem as a down payment on a future coming of God to rule over all the earth. David believed God would come to rule over all the earth, including the Gentiles. Since His salvation and rule was expanding, a new song needed to be written to commemorate and honor what the Lord had done.
Many scholars believe Psalm 96:1 is a foreshadowing of the new song in Revelation 5. At that time, all nations will gather around the throne to sing this new song of His salvation. Psalm 96 commemorates the Ark of the Covenant being brought to Jerusalem and God’s rule extending over all the earth. It culminates in God bringing salvation to all people through the life, death, and resurrection of His Son. Revelation 5:9-10 are the key verses, but because it is important that we get a sense of the joy that is evident in this new song, we will get a running start by beginning at verse 1.
Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”
And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying,
“Worthy are you to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
and they shall reign on the earth.” (emphasis added) Psalm 96:1–2
Sing to the Lord a new song, Sing to the Lord all the earth. Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, ransomed people from every nation; therefore, our desire is that every nation would sing of this salvation. But they could only sing of this salvation, if they had this salvation.
Psalm 96 and Revelation 5 command the people of God to sing a new song of His salvation and command that salvation is not only sung in Israel but to the ends of the earth. G. Campbell Morgan wrote of these verses, “If the song of the Lord begins in the heart, it always grows into the chorus in which others are included in its music.” Beloved, we should want all the earth to sing this new song.
Let His Name be Sung
The earth should sing this new song, but what and why should they sing? They should sing praising and blessing his Name. God deserves all worship and all praise. John Piper has famously said, “Missions exist because worship doesn’t.” Psalm 96 teaches that we must take the new song of the Gospel to all nations because our God deserves to be worshiped and praised among all the earth.
How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? Romans 10:14–15a
Paul could have easily added another question at the beginning of that verse, “How then will they sing to Him in whom they have not called?” We want all people to call on the name of the Lord so that they can sing to the Lord and bless His name. Missions exists because worship doesn’t. Missions exists because people don’t sing to the Lord. We want the Name of the Lord to be sung among all people.
Psalm 96 makes an exclusive claim that the LORD, the covenant God of Israel, is the only God. In our day, tolerance and acceptance are king. To say all other religions are wrong and false is an apparent slap in the face to all followers of other religions. It is decried as hateful, close-minded, and arrogant. Yet, this is exactly what the psalmist does,
For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised;
he is to be feared above all gods.
For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,
but the LORD made the heavens. Psalm 96:4–5
Do not be mistaken. When the Psalmist mentions that the LORD should be feared above all gods, he is not legitimizing other gods, exposing them. He calls them idols and idols means a “no-thing” or nothing. In Hebrew, this is actually a word play. One pastor notes, “The word for “gods” is “elohim”, and the word for “idols” is “elilim”. The writer is saying that the elohim of the Gentiles are elilim.” The gods of the Gentiles are nothing.
To say Buddha and Allah are nothing but worthless idols, to say the Mormon and Jehovah’s Witnesses religions are nothing, or to say the pantheon of Hindu gods are a “no thing” will bring anger and hatred. But this is what the Psalmist is doing. He is telling Israel to sing to the Lord so that the nations would not serve worthless idols but instead serve the Lord who made the heavens.
Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel
and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts:
“I am the first and I am the last;
besides me there is no god.” Isaiah 44:6
The Apostle Paul wrote to the church at Corinth about food offered to idols,
Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “an idol has no real existence,” and that “there is no God but one.” For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”—yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.
1 Corinthians 8:4–6
Because Paul was convinced that there is only one God from whom are all things, and one Savior, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, when he saw idols he was gripped to the heart,
Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. Acts 17:16–17
Seeing people worship and serve lies provoked Paul’s spirit, so he spoke of Jesus. He reasoned with everyone who happened to be there so that they would sing to the LORD because His name and His name alone deserves to be sung.
In Psalm 96, the Psalmist wants us to sing four things to the Lord and, by extension, to declare them to the nations.
For His Salvation God’s salvation must be shared. Psalm 96: 2b says, “tell of his salvation from day to day.” We should delight in sharing what God has done for us in Christ. If He has saved you in Christ, if He has forgiven your sins, if He has given you eternal life through the blood of the Lamb, you should sing to the Lord about it and tell others.
If you are a non-Christian, I wonder if you have ever considered that you may need salvation. Maybe you’re wondering, “Salvation from what?” The Bible is clear that you need salvation from God. Because of your sin against God, you are under judgment. You have committed high treason against the Creator, and you will have to answer for it. Please don’t think we are throwing stones at you. As Christians, we all acknowledge that we have sinned against a holy God and deserve to die for our sins. Confronting our sin and the evil in our own hearts has awakened us to turn to God through Jesus Christ.
We need salvation from God and His wrath, and because God is rich in mercy, He sent us salvation through His son Jesus Christ. As we read earlier, Jesus was slain as our ransom. His precious blood was shed, and He died to save us. But He didn’t die as a martyr, He died as our Lord and Savior and, three days later, He rose from the dead. God accepted His sacrifice on behalf of sinners. All sinners on earth, who repent of their sins and trust in Him, will be forgiven because of Jesus’ sacrifice. Friend, you need salvation from God, and He offers you this salvation through Jesus Christ. If you repent of your sins and call on Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you will be saved.
Beloved, if we are going to be a missions-minded church and take the Gospel to the nations, we must first take the Gospel to our neighbors and families. We must sing of His salvation and tell of it from day to day.
For His Works
Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples! Psalm 96:3
In this verse, the Psalmist gives another command. We must declare His glory among the nations and His marvelous works among all the peoples. The world needs to know about God’s wonderful works. They need to hear how He defeated Egypt with the plagues and parted the Red Sea. They need to know about His victories over the Philistines. They need to know how the Spirit worked in the early church, and they need to know how God is working in your life today. The works of the Lord should always be on our lips.
A sense of “nationalism” is expanding in America. “America First” has started to grow more and more in the public square. I have no interest in commenting on the current administration’s foreign policies but, as a pastor, I want to remind you that your citizenship is in heaven. Our nation is not of this world. We must live with a “God First” mentality, and we must not allow the current cultural movement to blind us to the desperate need for the Gospel to be taken to the ends of the earth. Our God deserves to be praised among all peoples. We must declare His glory and all His marvelous works to all nations.
For His Creation
For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised;
he is to be feared above all gods.
For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,
but the LORD made the heavens.
Splendor and majesty are before him;
strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength!
Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
bring an offering, and come into his courts!
Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness;
tremble before him, all the earth! Psalm 96:4–9
Only one God made the heavens. Only one God spoke this world into existence. We must praise Him for His creative work. Throughout Scripture, God’s creation was the sign that He alone is God. People may have their own ideas of how the world came into existence, but the Bible is clear. God created the world and, since He is the Creator, we, as His creation, owe Him our worship. It is His due. The Psalmist proclaims creation as a clear sign of God’s sovereignty over all the earth.
Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns!
Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved;
he will judge the peoples with equity.” Psalm 96:10
The Psalmist directly connects God’s work in creation to His ruling work. We should never divorce the two. The Lord reigns. He is the only sovereign, and He is in control of everything. Dutch Theologian, Abraham Kuyper, was correct when he wrote, “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, 'Mine!'"
For His Judgments
Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns!
Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved;
he will judge the peoples with equity.”
Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
let the field exult, and everything in it!
Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy
before the LORD, for he comes,
for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness,
and the peoples in his faithfulness. Psalm 96:10–13
Because this Psalm is sung by God’s people, it celebrates and rejoices in the judgments of God. Usually, when we hear judgment, we think of it negatively, but that is not the case here. God’s people rejoice in God’s judgment. We rejoice in what He has done and what He will do. We believe that, because He is the only wise God, His judgments are perfect and, when He comes, He will make all things right and usher righteousness over all the earth.
Christian, you have no need to fear His judgments because there is no condemnation in Christ Jesus.
And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. Hebrews 9:27–28
Beloved, whatever problems we are facing will one day end because our greatest problem, the problem of sin and death, has been dealt with by Christ. He offered His own body once to bear our sins and, when He comes again, He will fully complete our salvation. In 1 John, the Apostle John writes,
And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him. 1 John 2:28–29
We will not need to hide at His coming because we have confidence. But notice that this confidence is connected to practicing righteousness. If you are living for the Lord, you have no need to fear. But if you are living for worthless idols, you are in danger. If you are living in sin, repent. Practice righteousness so that you can be confident and rejoice when He comes.
Let the Nations be Served
The main reason we go to the nations is because we want Jesus Christ to be served and praised among all the people of the earth. We want all the earth to sing the new song of salvation promised in Psalm 96 and seen in Revelation 5,
And they sang a new song, saying,
“Worthy are you to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
and they shall reign on the earth.” Revelation 5:9–10
How can we be involved?
We believe the goal and the end of missions is the local church. If we can plant a healthy local church, then that local church will reach its community. All the disciples heard the Great Commission of Matthew 28,
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18–20
After hearing the Great Commission, they planted churches all throughout the known world. Paul’s ministry can be summarized in Acts 14,
When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed. Acts 14:21–23
Paul went to a city, preached the Gospel, made disciples, and established a church under elders who would carry on the teaching of the apostles. When Paul was satisfied that the church had been established, he wrote,
I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named.”he wanted to go to where the gospel had not been named,
Romans 15:19b-20
Our goal in missions is to declare God’s glory to the nations by establishing churches who will witness for Christ. We do this with two big buckets: Sending and Going
Through Sending Our church has supported churches in North and South America, in India, in Thailand, in Europe, and in Africa. We have given financially to support those churches, so they can reach people in their communities. We have made personal connections with like-minded churches that we can trust to help expand the work of their ministry. We have either focused on brand new works or on strengthening current works so those churches can reach more people. We must be intentional in supporting churches who view the Gospel, the Scriptures, and preaching and shepherding in the same way we do.
We give to the Cooperative Program of the Southern Baptist Convention that helps support missions all over the world. Currently, more than 3500 IMB missionaries are on the field taking the gospel across our national borders. Other mission agencies like Reaching and Teaching and the Pillar Network help support global missions. We always try to highlight how God is using our financial means to support His work throughout the world. We want you to be informed about what is going on in these works so you can pray for them and can give above and beyond their needs. If you want to develop personal relationships with people we support, please come talk to me so we can make those connections for you.
As a church, we want to give to those who are sent out from our church: Jay and Kristen Camp, Jennifer Baker, Hayley Potter, and the Dosters with Grace Deaf Missions. As elders, we are considering how to include the church body more in the process of preparing and sending our missionaries. We are growing in our training and caring of our missionaries. You can serve on a Rope Holding team to help support our missionaries through prayer and encouragement and to help keep our church body updated about what is happening on the front lines. In the coming months, we will be forming even more Rope Holding teams. Please pray about whether God would have you participate. Perhaps you could help put together a newsletter, visit missionaries in their respectives countries, or gather members regularly to pray. Some are senders, and some are goers.
Through Going We want to send our best to the nations. Recently, Grant and Amber Hinson shared with the church their desire to go to Bogota, Colombia, to strengthen and serve the church there. Grant and Amber both serve on staff here, and they will be a tremendous blessing to the church in Colombia. The Lord worked in and through them and opened a door for them to go to the nations. They are helping to lead the way, and we pray others will do the same. I pray that more and more of our members will desire to go to the nations because Jesus is worth it. Many people are worshiping false idols, and we want to reach them with the Gospel of the living God.
My prayer is that we would be able to send men and women from this church to go to unreached people groups. We want to send members to places where the name of Jesus is not known, so they can learn their language, translate the Bible, and start a church so these people can know God. Won’t you pray and ask if God is calling you?
If you want to go to the nations, grow in knowledge and wisdom. Know your Bible. Write it upon your heart. Over the last several years, as I have talked with many missionaries, they have shared that the greatest needs are on the topics of the doctrine of salvation and conversion and the doctrine of the church. If you want to be a missionary, know those doctrines well. Read books on them. Be prepared.
Also, if you want to go, be an outstanding member of the church. Serve the body with your gifts, be a faithful evangelist, make disciples, etc. We want to send our best. We want to send those who are lead disciple makers, so that they can be a great blessing to those in other places.
Some of you may be thinking, “I don’t feel called to be a church planter or a pastor, what does that mean for me?” Use whatever gifts God has given you to serve your church here. Some will be called to go. Others will be called to stay and help send those who are going. Ultimately, God decides who goes and who sends, but the world has many needs. This week, I heard about a need for a digital media specialist to work with a team in Africa and help strengthen the work there. If God is leading you to consider going to the nations, come talk to the elders. We will help you discern that calling.
Let the nations be served. We want the nations to know Christ, so we have to make Him known. Beloved, one of the challenges of being a sending church is that when we send our members, they will leave gaps that must be filled by the body. Right now, Grant and Amber and Jay and Kristen are actively serving the body. Who will help fill gaps when they are sent? The whole church is responsible for sending.We should all be praying for those we send and asking if God wants us to go or stay. If God wants you to go, get ready and, if God wants you to stay, serve well as a sender. This is the beauty of the church.
Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
Ephesians 4:15–16
When the church is working properly, meaning all members are using their gifts to serve one another in love, some will be built up to go, and others will be built up to send.
I don’t know what God is going to do in our church as we send some of our very best out to the nations. I don’t know how God will use it in our church or who God is going to raise up to meet the growing needs, but I am excited to see it. Being a sending church contains hidden costs. We will experience great sadness and great joy when we send our brothers and sisters to the nations. We will feel their loss, but Jesus is worth it, and He deserves to be praised by every nation.
Mr. and Mrs. Hasseltine read Judson's letter, but left the decision up to their daughter, Ann. In the end, Ann decided she was willing to consent to this, to a likely death in a foreign land for the sake of Christ her King? She wrote,
O, if Christ will condescend to make me useful in promoting his kingdom, I care not where I perform his work, nor how hard it be. Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.
The Judsons were married on February 5, 1822, and began their journey to India, confident it would end in their deaths. On February 22nd, 1822, Ann wrote in her journal,
O for a heart to live near to God, and serve him faithfully. I need nothing so much as ardent piety. I should feel happy in the consideration of having left my native land, and my father's house, if by making this sacrifice, the kingdom of Christ would be promoted. May it be my great object to live a useful, holy life, and prepare to die a peaceful death.
The world was not worthy of Ann Judson (Heb 11:38). She believed God was worth it, and she lived like it. I pray we do, too.