A Testimony of Praise and Blessing
Psalm 67
If someone were to describe you, what would they say? After spending even a short amount of time listening to someone – even for 5 minutes you generally get a fairly good handle on what the focal points and drivers are for someone. But if someone were to look over say the last year of your life, how would they describe you in a broad sense? This Psalm is short, but packed with what I believe should be in every believer’s life, especially as we witness baptisms and testimonies today.
Verse 1 says, “May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us.” It is an echo of what every Jew has outside their front doors and one of the first passages of scripture to memorise. It comes from Numbers 6:24-6. “The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.” It is called the Aaronic blessing; Aaron, Moses’ brother, was commanded by Moses to use it to bless Israel. I used these same words over a couple I married last weekend – It is a general blessing and declaration of the Lord’s gracious presence over our lives. Look at Him who looks at you. It’s God’s face. More than that, the Lord looks at you through Christ. He sees you as perfect, holy, blameless; therefore, His blessing and grace rests upon you. This is a fact for all those in Christ regardless of any outward circumstances.
The word, Selah, used 74 times in the Old Testament, mainly in the Psalms, means pause, generally considered a place to reflect, meditate and focus on what was just sung.
Why should we meditate on this, for what purpose? The rest of the Psalm gives the answer
A testimony on the earth. (Verse 2) “that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations.” The glory of the Lord will fill the earth. This is declared a number of times in the Old Testament and the New Testament. (Habakkuk 2:4) “the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.” How is this done? Jesus said, “I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.” (John 17:4) When Christ returns: “And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honour and glory and might forever and ever!"” (Revelation 5:13) This is what we celebrate today: God bringing a people to himself testifying to God’s goodness and grace.
When will Verse 3 happen? “Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!” There will be a restoration of the earth. This is happening now through the gospel; restoring people back from the fall of sin (Genesis 3). But also, in the Millennial kingdom.
Verse 4: “Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. Selah.” The nations will be judged by Jesus, as well as bring Jesus glory. Solomon wrote, “May his name endure forever, his fame continue as long as the sun! May people be blessed in him, all nations call him blessed! Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things. Blessed be his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory!” (Psalm 72:17-19) There will be no sun in the new heavens and earth, so this period refers to the period on earth before that. That’s now and in the Millenium.
This will not happen until the gospel is declared to the whole earth, as Jesus said in Matthew 24:14. “And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”
What is the result of the gospel being declared?
Verse 5 “Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!”
Verse 6 “The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, shall bless us.”
Verse 7 “God shall bless us; let all the ends of the earth fear him!”.
Doesn’t our Lord Jesus say the same “I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail” (Matthew 16:18)…but more than this; He gives authority to the church to rule. “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." This is the power of the gospel.
This is what we are declaring today through testimony and baptism. We are saying Sin and Satan have no authority over us. Satan is defeated, sin has been forgiven, death has no sting, the grave has no victory. Jesus has defeated sin on the cross, he has conquered death through His resurrection. We are saying that even now we rule and reign with Christ. Paul declared, “The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him.” (2 Timothy 2:11-13)
The Apostle John agreed (Revelation 5:9, 10) ““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.”
This is true for every believer; young and old. Let’s not fall back into believing lies or false claims from the devil. He is a defeated foe. He was made a fool on the cross. Look at what we are told: “God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by cancelling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers & authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.” (Colossians 2:13-15)
This what we are declaring today; this is the power of testimony. (Revelation 19:10) “The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy”.
So how would others describe you? Are you a living letter, testifying to Jesus? Making the earth to be filled with his glory as this Psalm declares. That’s your DNA in Christ.
These people have committed their lives to Christ and are declaring before you today that their lives belong to Jesus. What about you?