God desires and deserves every praise from every person in every place. This is the repeated refrain of Psalm 67. “Let all the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!” That concludes two stanzas, and in summation, “Let all the ends of the earth fear him!”
We praise God for HIS REDEMPTION FOR ALL PEOPLE (v.1-3). The chosen people plead for God’s grace and blessing in order to extend it to all nations. They want to experience God’s shining presence among the Jews that they might express God’s saving power among the Gentiles. God did not choose Israel to the exclusion of the others, but to be the means of inclusion. In this dispensation, the church is God’s missionary force. We declare His redeeming grace as available to all men everywhere. Jesus paid the price at Calvary, and God is glorified when people receive that forgiveness by faith.
We praise God for HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS FOR ALL PEOPLE (v.4-5). We rejoice in redemption because it is desperately needed by all people as none of us can meet God’s righteous standard and thus face judgment. God will judge everyone with equity. The perfect righteousness of Christ must be ours or we will experience the wrath our sins merit. So the question, “Will God judge those who have never heard the Gospel?” The answer of the book of Romans is that all are without excuse, as everyone has some knowledge of God. The problem is that sinners reject that light and turn to darkness. The question for those who have heard is why have we not told everyone everywhere? “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? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!’” (Rom. 10:14-15).
We praise God for HIS RICHES FOR ALL PEOPLE (v.6-7). The rains that water the fields of the just also produce crops for the unjust. The Lord gives a witness to His grace in the bounty of His blessings, leaving men without excuse if they do not turn to Him (cf. Rom.2:1-3). “Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?” (Rom. 2:4). The harvest from seed in earth is meant to yield a harvest of souls for eternity!
God’s people are to explain this and call all mankind to fear God. “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’” (Rev. 7:9-10)
