TL;DR:
John Piper declared that Psalm 48:10 envisions a world where God's praise resounds everywhere—a goal that still motivates global missions efforts today. Though there has been progress, the Joshua Project estimates that about 7,000 people groups remain unreached.
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"All over the earth people praise you" is how The Expanded Bible renders the key phrase of Psalm 48:10. We can read those words as a vision of a future in which God is praised throughout the earth. Today, that vision is increasingly being fulfilled. To the extent that this statement reflects the reality of today's global church, we can rejoice that world evangelism efforts across the years have borne good fruit.
More than two hundred years ago, Adam Clarke, author of a classic Bible commentary, understood Psalm 48:10 not simply as a statement of fact but as a declaration of God's will. The words of that verse, wrote Clarke, "outline the duty of God's people to praise and honor Him." That would mean, according to the verse itself, doing that "to the ends of the earth."
In 1993, Baptist pastor John Piper published a book titled Let the Nations Be Glad! People began quoting one sentence from that book: "Missions exists because worship doesn't." Piper meant that the divine plan was—and is—for God to be worshiped by people everywhere on the face of the earth. Sadly, that is not yet happening. Therefore, the Church is obligated to carry the good news to wherever Yahweh is not being worshiped.
While praise to God resounds today from places around the world, there are still places where He is not yet known and worshiped. According to the Pew Research Center, more than two-thirds of the world's population identifies with religions other than Christianity or with no religion. About 7,000 people groups remain unreached.
If we are to help advance the vision expressed in Psalm 48:10, we must work to see that God—and His great grace and mighty deeds—is proclaimed among every cultural group where that is not yet happening. We must help fellow believers understand that the work of world missions is necessary today so that God's praise will reach the ends of the earth.
If praise to God is a key goal of world evangelism, our task involves more than winning arguments or changing religious labels. Although right belief is important—because it helps nurture a deep and fulfilling bond with God—we believers are not simply promoting a belief system. We achieve very little if all we do is get people to change their stated identity from Muslim, Buddhist, or religiously unaffiliated to Christian.
We must lift up the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who came in Jesus Christ to reconcile the world to Himself. We must call people everywhere to worship Him. We must do that so that God will be praised and worshiped all over the earth.
— Howard Culbertson, hculbert@snu.edu
This article about a Bible passage related to world missions is one of more than three dozen articles in the "Heart of God" series published in Engage, a monthly online magazine. The series examines what the Bible says about cross-cultural missions.
We proclaim God's grace and mighty deeds so that people everywhere may know and worship Him. Psalm 48:10 gives us a picture of that worldwide praise and a reason to carry the good news to people who have not yet heard it.
E — Every tribe and tongue must hear His name,
N — Nations far away are called to praise His name.
D — Declaring from Zion salvation's worth,
S — Spreading light to the ends of the earth.
O — Over seas and deserts wide and far,
F — Faithful witnesses shine like stars.
T — Tidings of peace to lands scarcely known,
H — Hope for the lost where seeds are sown.
E — Eternal love sent down from above.
E — Each corner cries for grace and light,
A — All are invited to walk in His light.
R — Righteousness marches with holy mirth,
T — Till glory fills the ends of the earth.
H — His kingdom comes; His will is done on earth.
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Note: In addition to Psalm 48:10 and Acts 1:8, several other Bible verses use the phrase "ends of the earth" in contexts describing where God is to be known and praised. These passages include Psalm 22:27, 65:5, 67:7, 98:3, Isaiah 5:26, 24:16, 42:10, 45:22, 52:10, Micah 5:4, and Acts 13:47. They use "ends of the earth" in contexts involving God's worldwide rule, praise, salvation, judgment, or witness.
Memorable Quotes About Other Bible Verses
