W. Austin Gardner
Thy Kingdom Come!

Psalm 67:1 God be merciful unto us, and bless us; And cause his face to shine upon us; Selah. 2 That thy way may be known upon earth, Thy saving health among all nations. 3 Let the people praise thee, O God; Let all the people praise thee. 4 O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: For thou shalt judge the people righteously, And govern the nations upon earth. Selah. 5 Let the people praise thee, O God; Let all the people praise thee. 6 Then shall the earth yield her increase; And God, even our own God, shall bless us. 7 God shall bless us; And all the ends of the earth shall fear him.
This is the great missionary psalm, notice the words, all nations, all the people, and all the ends of the earth
This is the text preached for the first white American Baptist missionary to leave for the field, Adoniram Judson
The preacher said this psalm was a prayer to God that the world might know God’s way and His saving health
He was being sent forth to seek the salvation of all mankind because of the truths included here
Jesus tasted death for all men Hebrews 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
Jesus is the propitiation for the sins of the whole world I John 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
Whosoever will come make take of the water of life freely Revelation 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
The preacher told the congregation that they were very likely looking on the preacher for the last time as Judson went out to preach the truth that gave them comfort in life and hope in death
He said that God was about to do a marvelous work
This is also a millennial psalm
Notice the words judge and govern Psalm 67:4 O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: For thou shalt judge the people righteously, And govern the nations upon earth. Selah.
The Christmas verse you use promises a future time for the Messiah Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: And the government shall be upon his shoulder: And his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, Upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, To order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice From henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
This hasn’t happened yet, but will in the millennial kingdom, 1,000 year reign of Christ
The government has not yet been on His shoulders
He has not yet been the Prince of Peace, the first time He came, He brought a sword and not peace
He has not set up the throne of David yet
When you read Scripture you will often see two events very closely stuck together but one has happened and the other not, we call them mountain peaks of prophecy
Isaiah 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; Because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to them that are bound; 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all that mourn;
Jesus used this text as He began His ministry
He left off the last part about the day of vengeance because the verse speaks of two times
Jesus came as suffering servant but will return as a reigning king
The great need Psalm 67:1 God be merciful unto us, and bless us; And cause his face to shine upon us; Selah.
This is obviously a prayer from Israel to God
They needed God to work in their lives
They are and have always been completely surrounded by enemies
When Jesus comes back and sets up His kingdom they will experience the greatness of having His face shine on them
All the world needs mercy
People are dying without hope
Can you imagine being Hindu
They fully expect to die and come back to earth, reincarnation
How they are born and live is due to what they did in their last life
Their goal is self knowledge
Their lives are lived out based on karma, whether they have been good or bad
They can come back as a fly or a cow or wealthy and healthy
Can you imagine being a Muslim
They do not believe in reincarnation
They will live in their grave very likely looking towards their final destination
Their eternity is based on their complete obedience
Heaven will be a place of sensual pleasures
Hell is boiling water and fire.
Most of life is predetermined by Allah
Can you imagine being a Buddhist
When they die life is not over, death is a new beginning
They will be reborn, reincarnated, as a human, an animal, to heaven, or to hell, or as a hungry ghost
All is dependent on their actions, karma again
They can float around before returning for up to 7 years
The question is can I be good enough to get to heaven
Can you imagine being an atheist
What is life about? Who decides?
You are simply an evolved animal
You live for yourself and death just means the end of it all
You probably know better in your heart of hearts and there is at least a shadow of fear
Every person in the world is involved in a religion of works unless they believe in the grace of God
Everyone hungers for blessing on their lives from the divine Numbers 6:23 Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them, 24 The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: 25 The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: 26 The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
This prayer probably goes up all over the world from hearts that do not even understand what they are praying
It had been Israel’s responsibility since Abraham Genesis 12:1 Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
They were blessed to be a blessing. We have been greatly blessed to be a blessing to the entire world also
When God answers with His merciful blessing this is what the psalmist is asking
He asks that the way of God be known in all the earth Psalm 67:2 That thy way may be known upon earth, Thy saving health among all nations.
Israel had cried out for blessing to be a blessing
As a church we have been given this responsibility to make Him known in all the world
In the future born again Jews will be the greatest witnesses of all time
Most of the world does not know His way, 65% do not even claim to be Christian
Most are hurting in a religion that binds and damns them to hell and need the saving health that only Jesus offers
He wants all people to be able to praise God Psalm 67:3 Let the people praise thee, O God; Let all the people praise thee.
The prayer was for all people to praise God
They do not know about Him or what He can do in their lives so have no heart to praise Him
We must tell all people so that they can accept or reject the truth
He wants the heathen nations to know the truth and have joy Psalm 67:4 O let the nations be glad and sing for joy:
God let them know your truth
Let them be saved, have their sins forgiven
Wouldn’t it be great to hear songs of praise rising from China, India, Indonesia, Africa, and all the world
This is obviously talking about the millennial kingdom when Jesus will govern Psalm 67:4 For thou shalt judge the people righteously, And govern the nations upon earth. Selah.
The prayer we were told to pray said, They kingdom come, they will be done and that will happen one day
God will restore the kingdom of David, Israel, and Jesus will sit on the throne of David
When the world finally recognizes Jesus for who He is God’s blessings will come on the world
The prayer is that all may praise the Lord, be saved, believe in Him, desire to praise Him Psalm 67:5 Let the people praise thee, O God; Let all the people praise thee.
What is our prayer
What do we cry out to God for
When the witnesses go out and many are converted, then the end comes
12,000 witnesses from the 12 tribes will spread across the globe taking the truth of Jesus to the world
The gospel will be preached to the nations Matthew 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
After the end comes God will set up the kingdom with Jesus reigning
Hundreds of millennial promises will come true like great agricultural blessings Psalm 67:6 Then shall the earth yield her increase; And God, even our own God, shall bless us.
His kingdom will have come as we prayed Psalm 67:7 God shall bless us; And all the ends of the earth shall fear him.
Many will be cast into hell before this so you must believe now