All the Earth

I’m willing to bet that for most Christians the Old Testament is not the first thing she or he thinks of when evangelism comes up.

And yet we see many psalms that call all people, not just the people of Israel, to trust in God’s salvation. Psalms 65-67 set a global context for God’s wonderous works and give us beautiful pictures of God’s concern and care for all mankind and his purpose for Israel in spreading his glory.

In Psalm 65, David sings to God, “O you who hear prayer, to you all flesh shall come.” To this God who atones for transgressions, he adds, “Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts!” It is clear that the person God brings near could be anyone of “all flesh” not just of Israel. David then expands his theme to describe God’s power over chaos, calling him the “God of our salvation, the hope of all the ends of the earth.” Finally in verses 9-13, David devotes a lyrical passage to God’s provision that all the earth benefits from.

Continuing in this vein, Psalm 66 calls “all the earth” to worship and sing praises to God. In this context, the psalmist in verse 5 is asking everyone to “come and see what God has done.” Then the psalmist points to works God has done for Israel, bringing in the first person voice of the community, as if Israel is telling the world how God saved them (v.6-9) and how God has been faithful to sanctify them (v.10-12). In the latter half of the psalm, the individual voice comes in with a testimony to “all you who fear God,” not just Israel, of what God has done for him. The clear message is that both the community and the individual need to tell the world about God’s saving works for his people. In other words, he’s calling them to evangelize.

Finally in Psalm 67 (which we read this morning), the psalmist takes the blessing that God gave Aaron to speak to the congregation in Numbers 6:22-27 and gives it a global application. “May God be gracious to us and bless us . . . that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations.” Thus, the psalmist reminds us that the exodus of Israel and perpetuation of the nation are for the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis 12.3: “In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”