“That your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations. Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! Let the nations be glad and sing for joy…” — Psalm 67:2–4

In the first post of a four-part blog series on Psalm 67, we explored a foundational question: Why has God blessed us? The text gave us a clear answer—so that his way may be known on earth, his saving power among all nations.

This week, we need to ask another crucial question: Who are the “peoples” and “nations” the psalm is talking about? Because understanding this unlocks a massive part of God’s global mission—and your role in it.

People or Peoples?

Growing up, I always assumed missions was about getting the gospel to as many people as possible. The more the merrier, right? But Psalm 67—and the whole story of Scripture—shows us something deeper: God isn’t just after more people. He’s after more peoples. He’s not just after numbers. He’s after nations—not in the geopolitical sense, but in the cultural, ethnic, and linguistic sense.

This psalm is a missionary psalm—a Spirit-inspired song that beats with God’s desire to receive worship from every tribe, tongue, and people group.

“Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!” (v. 3)

That’s not poetic redundancy. That’s divine intent.

What Does “Nation” Actually Mean?

In modern English, we hear “nations” and think countries—like Japan, Brazil, or the U.S. But that’s not what the Bible means. In the original context, “nations” (from the Hebrew goyim or Greek ethne) refers to ethnic groups—people with shared culture, language, and identity.

Think of it like this: the United States isn’t one people group. It’s hundreds. And some people groups span multiple countries. So, when Psalm 67 talks about “nations” and “peoples,” it’s referring to the ethnolinguistic groups across the earth.

Let Me Illustrate: Southern-Style

Obviously, being “Southern” isn’t an actual people group (though if you’ve ever been to Rose Hill, NC—the pig farming capital of the South—you might wonder). But you get the idea. Southerners share a culture, a dialect, and a way of life. Only in the South do you say, “bless your heart” and mean I don’t like you. Only in the South is it socially acceptable to drink Mountain Dew before 8 a.m. or to get the best chicken Philly cheesesteak of your life at a gas station (and if you’re near the Citgo north of I-40 on Hwy 68, you know).

Only in the South do we say things like:

  • “It’s so good, it’ll make you want to slap your grandma.”
  • “It’ll make a puppy pull a freight train.”
  • “If you put it on your head, it’ll make your tongue slap your brains out!”

That’s culture. That’s community. That’s a people. And God wants the gospel to go out to every people group across the world—with the same level of specificity and intentionality.

It’s Not About the Most People

This is why some people misunderstand missions when they say things like, “Why go overseas when people need Jesus right here?” It sounds reasonable…until you realize it’s built on a false assumption—that the goal of missions is simply to reach the most people. But the Bible is clear: the goal is not most people. The goal is all peoples.

  • “Make disciples of all nations…” — Matthew 28
  • “You will be my witnesses…to the ends of the earth.” — Acts 1:8
  • “This gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world…” — Matthew 24:14
  • “A great multitude…from every nation, tribe, people, and language…” — Revelation 7:9

God’s heart is not just to grow the crowd. His heart is for representation—from every people group under heaven. He is worthy of their praise, and he will have it.

The Glory of God Among the Nations

“Let the nations be glad and sing for joy…” — Psalm 67:4

Why gladness? Because our God is just. He judges with equity. He guides the nations with wisdom. And when the peoples of the earth come to know him, they don’t come out of fear or coercion—they come with joy. This is the heartbeat of missions: worship. As John Piper famously wrote in Let the Nations Be Glad, “Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t.”

God is seeking worshippers from all nations (John 4:23), because he is worthy of being worshipped by all peoples. Isaiah 43:7 tells us that we were created for his glory. And one of the clearest displays of his worth is when people from every culture, language, and background recognize him as worthy.

David Platt has emphasized this in his teaching on missions: when worship arises from every people group on earth, it magnifies God’s glory—because his value is affirmed across the full spectrum of human diversity.

God will be treasured by the nations—not just because of strategy, but because of his supremacy.

What Does This Mean for You?

This connects directly to where we landed last week: we are blessed to be a blessing. The blessings of God are not just about our comfort or success. They’re about spreading the knowledge of God to the peoples who have never heard.

  • That’s why we pray.
  • That’s why we give.
  • That’s why we go.

Because he is worthy. So, let me ask you: Does your heart beat for the nations of the world to know the glory of God? Not just the neighbors around you—but the unreached peoples across the earth? Not just the easy-to-reach—but the never-heard-of-Christ groups? God’s glory deserves their praise. And he’s chosen to send us to proclaim it.

Final Thought

Our God is glorious. We were created for his glory. And he is worthy of praise from all peoples. Missions isn’t optional. It’s not secondary. It’s not a niche for the super-spiritual. It’s the natural overflow of a heart that sees Jesus clearly and wants the world to join in the song. So yes—let the nations be glad. Let the peoples praise him. Let the whole earth see his saving power. Because he will have the worship he is worthy of.

Andrew Hopper