Below is the poem from my recent sermon on Psalm 67 which can be found on YouTube here. I wrote the poem to follow the structure of Psalm 67 including a stanza for each of the verses, a stanza for each “selah”, and a final stanza for the sermon’s concluding charge. And in many ways, I owe John Piper some credit for this poem.  

In the sermon I mentioned a couple books including Seeing Beauty and Saying Beautifully written by John Piper. Through this work Piper compelled my own heart toward the meditative value of pursuing poetic effort. John Piper is the reason why I have written poems for any passage of scripture or sermon conclusion. I would commend you this book and the meditative exercise of turning your own contemplation of scripture into poetry.  

The other resource I mentioned was Let The Nations Be Glad: The Supremacy of God in Missions also written by John Piper. It is evident that Psalm 67 has had a clear impact on John Piper’s thinking about missions, and that has trickled down into my own heart. I cannot recommend this book enough if you are interested in further study on missions in light of the recent sermon. Additionally, I would recommend you consider anew (or for the first time) the words of these songs: Facing the Task Unfinished, Let The Nations Be Glad, May the Peoples Praise You, and Sing.  

Thank you again for the honor and privilege of preaching on a passage I have come to love so much. I pray the impact of God’s Word on our hearts would continue to reverberate unto the ends of the earth for the glory of God alone.  

Missions: The Crescendo of Worship  

There is a meditation of the bard of old 

Upon the covenant to Abram told 

That the nations be blessed with more than gold 

Leading to a prayer of salvific trust 

Here we pause to contemplate. (pause) 

Blessed to bless, 

Grace and favor, 

When will come our blessed Savior? 

His hope does rise like the mountain’s height 

As he begins the climb to see the light 

Of salvation shine upon the darkened nights 

Of the lands where song is silent. 

The plea rings out, let them come and sing! 

The praises of the Messiah King! 

Let every nation, tongue, and tribe 

Reflect his glory and ascribe 

The worship due his name 

To the ends of the earth this we must proclaim. 

And as he crests the Summit’s peak 

He stands in awe at the grand mystique 

For God’s glory is, the joy we seek. 

And it is our greatest good. 

Again, we pause to meditate. (pause) 

Judge of justice, 

Shepherd and Guide, 

Will our souls in thee abide?  

The plea rings out, let them come and sing! 

The praises of the Messiah King! 

Let every nation, tongue, and tribe 

Reflect his glory and ascribe 

The worship due his name 

To the ends of the earth this we must proclaim. 

And as days of harvest come to close 

The prophet bard begins to doze 

He dreams of a better bounty he expects and knows 

Will one day come to be. 

Our God does bless that his reverence be sung 

By every people, tribe, and tongue 

A crescendo of worship and a joy that’s sprung 

In the hearts of those made glad. 

So, will we sing and pray and go? 

And as the church both prove and show 

The nations they must come to know 

The glory of our God.