“Exalted over all the peoples is Yahweh;

Above the heavens is His glory!”

(Psalm 113:4)

Oh, beloved, how great is our Lord and how worthy he is to be praised.  He is higher than the heavens—as far as we can see, we cannot see beyond him.  If we extend our technology to fathom the breadth and depth of the great sea of space we call the universe, we cannot exceed Him or escape his power.  God’s glory is demonstrated in all of his creation and as we gaze upon that creation we should simply stare in awe at what our God has done, and that awe should drive us to worship.  Yet, what is more, God’s glory not only eclipses the glory of the universe, God is to be praised by all the peoples of the earth.  Everywhere that mankind has left his mark; God is to be exalted.

Yet, dear friends, how can that happen if God is not made known.  These psalms carry with them a missionary call.  God is commanding all of the peoples of the earth to proclaim His excellencies, thus, it falls upon our shoulders, as those who do know His excellencies, to share the truth with those who don’t.  That means the neighbor down the street who is living apart from faith, the coworker who is living in sin, the sister or cousin who has rejected God, and the people from far away nations where the Gospel ministry has been suppressed, oppressed, or otherwise barred from reaching. Loved ones, you who know the wonderful and sacrificial love of Christ, how we must tell the world of the marvelous sufficiency of our God.  Oh, how we are given a call to tell the nations—beginning with those nations that live in the house next door.

We’ve a story to tell the nations,

That shall turn their hearts to the right,

A story of truth and mercy,

A story of peace and light,

A story of peace and light.

For the darkness will turn to dawning,

And the dawning to noonday bright;

And Christ’s great kingdom shall come on earth,

The kingdom of live and light.

-Henry Ernest Nichol