Thursday: That Your Salvation May Be Known
Daily Lesson for Thursday 29th of May 2025
Read Psalms 67:1-7. How does this hymn of praise inform your understanding of the role of God’s people in Revelation 14:6-12?
Engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have created a new black coating that renders objects painted with it nearly invisible. Created from nanotubes, it is many times darker than any black material previously created. This new material can absorb 99.995 percent of all visible light. Even the brightest light fails to make objects covered in this coating visible.
Image © Review & Herald Publishing from GoodSalt.com
Psalms 67:1-7 begins with an appeal for God to “cause His face to shine upon us, that Your way may be known on earth” (Psalms 67:1-2, NKJV). In the plan of salvation, God has provided a way for sinners to be readmitted to His immediate, glorious presence without being destroyed by His glory; and even now, in this life, the cross of Christ makes it possible for God’s face to shine on us.
But there is more: God intends that we reflect His light to the rest of the world. This was the task given to Israel: the temple was to be a house of prayer for all nations: “ ‘Even them I will bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on My altar; for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations’ ” (Isaiah 56:7, NKJV).
In this psalm, David reminds us that God wants His “way [to] be known on earth, [His] salvation among all nations” (Psalms 67:2, NKJV). Tragically, God’s people have often failed in this task. Israel’s record in the Old Testament contains some dark chapters, as does the record of the Christian church during the past two millennia. It is as if we have painted our hearts with an ultra-dark substance, content to absorb God’s light without reflecting it.
Sometimes, we treat God’s last-day movement as a kind of privileged departure lounge reserved for spiritual frequent flyers, and we seem quite content that the rest of the world must sit in the noisy, uncomfortable gate lounge, unprepared for the journey ahead. The remnant church of Revelation 14:1-20, however, is not content just to stand on Zion with Christ, basking in His presence. Instead, they fly across the face of the earth, urging the world to join them on God’s holy mountain.
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What obligations should we as a church, and as individuals, feel toward teaching others the truths that we love so much? |
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Psalm 67 is missional Psalm where the psalmist desires God’s blessings and His ways not only for Israel but for the whole earth. The Psalmist pleads with God that the whole world might come know and worship Him. It is wonderful to note that the Psalmist is having a global mission in mind. He desires that all the nations of the earth may be blessed God’s grace. “That Your way may be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations” (Psalms 67:2, NKJV). It is very possible that the psalmist has witnessed God’s blessings, and he wanted God to extend the same to all mankind. Is this not truly wonderful that once we have received God’s blessings, we intercede God to bless others? This is the substance of the gospel mission. The whole world should come to know the joy of salvation that we enjoy. Can we be silent and be selfish not share the salvation of Jesus Christ?
As we praise God for both material and spiritual blessings, others should share our blessing too. A blessing shared is a double blessing. It is important to note the spiritual sentiments behind this psalm. At all times we should express our gratitude to God for His blessings. We should not take God’s blessings for granted but we should humbly request for them (Psalm 67:1). We need to understand that God’s blessings have a purpose, and they are far beyond self. They are not an end to themselves but a means by which God will accomplish His divine purpose. Therefore, we should not frustrate God’s divine purpose by being selfish. This psalm has got the great commission (Matthew 28:18–20) and the three angels’ messages (Revelation 14:6-12) are firmly embedded. In our little ways, we should be agents bringing God’s grand plan come to pass. Let us pray:
“Lord, bless me—not for my sake alone, but that your name may be known and praised in all the earth.” - Amen
It is a privilege that the Creator of the universe would dwell among us and in us, work in us, and use us, so that His salvation may be known across the earth. This is what I take as a personal blessing and a global calling. "Let the peoples praise You, O God; Let all the people praise You. That Your way may be known on the earth, Your salvation among all nations." — Psalm 67:2.
A certain man originating from very humble beginnings in Kentucky, worked his way up through some deputy law enforcement position, until his diligent work was noticed by some “highers up” and he was finally appointed as a Secret Service agent, detailed to guard the President of the United States. This was such a great privilege: he would get to go wherever the President went, all over America and all around the world; he had many privileges associated with being a Secret Service agent.
But along with that came an awesome responsibility. He had the duty of guarding the life of the President of the United States from harm. He had to literally be ready, at any moment’s time, to “take a bullet” for the President. Being a Secret Service agent was a great privilege, but it was also an awesome responsibility.
And what we need to realize is that this is exactly the way it is with us and God. Scripture says here: “It is GOD who is at work in us”! What a privilege! GOD HIMSELF is working in us! He wants YOUR worship; He speaks to us in His word; He will use us in His ministry to further His kingdom here on earth. It doesn’t get any better than that! It is an amazing privilege!
When Scripture says, “It is GOD who is at work in you” (Philippians 2:13), it is a powerful declaration of divine purpose and relationship. God is not distant or disengaged — He is actively working within us, shaping our hearts, renewing our minds, and guiding our steps. Why? So that His glory, grace, and salvation can be made known through your life.
"That Your Salvation May Be Known" (Psalm 67:2)- This verse reflects a prayerful desire — that the world would come to know the saving power of God through the lives and testimonies of His people. He who died for us was ready to take our sins away. When God works in us, it’s never just for our benefit alone. It’s so that His salvation can be displayed through us, to a world in need.
Psalm 67:1-7 begins with a prayer for blessing—not for selfish gain, but so that God's way may be known on earth and His salvation among all nations. It is a Psalm of praise rooted in missional purpose. David clearly understands that the light of God shining on His people is not meant to be absorbed and hidden—it is meant to be reflected, shared, and lived out for the sake of the world. This aligns powerfully with the calling in Revelation 14:6-12, where the remnant is seen proclaiming the everlasting gospel to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people.
The metaphor of MIT's new black coating that absorbs 99.995% of light is sobering. In spiritual terms, it is a warning: we can receive God's light but fail to reflect it, becoming so insulated by privilege, theology, or tradition that we no longer illuminate the world. We become ultra-dark surfaces instead of mirrors of His glory.
But this was never God’s intent.
In Revelation 14, the three angels' messages are a loud cry to the entire world, not just to the church. These messages—proclaiming judgment, calling for worship of the true Creator, and warning against false worship—are not meant to stay within church walls or denominational echo chambers. They are urgent truths meant for all humanity.
Psalm 67 reminds us why this must be so:
> “Let the peoples praise You, O God; Let all the peoples praise You.” (Psalm 67:3, NKJV)
God’s purpose has always been global, inclusive, redemptive.
The blessing of knowing God carries a divine obligation. If we have seen the light of truth—Sabbath rest, salvation by grace, the sanctuary, the Second Coming—then we are stewards of light, not collectors of privilege. The remnant message in Revelation 14 is not about exclusivity, but about urgency, mission, and love. If we understand it correctly, it should make us more humble, more compassionate, and more active, not more self-satisfied.
The church today, like ancient Israel, is called to be a light to the nations. But we must ask ourselves:
Have we painted over our hearts with spiritual darkness?
Are we content to sit in the "departure lounge," forgetting that millions remain unprepared for the final journey?
When I was an undergraduate student in physics, lasers were just being developed. We studied their theory and were impressed by their power. At that time they cost and arm and a leg and were not the thing that you let undergraduate students play with. About 10 years later, while I was a physics teacher we purchased a gas laser. It was robust enough for high school students to use, carefully (They had to wear protective glasses) We could do some of the physics experiments like Young's double-slit easily.
Nowadays, lasers are so commonplace that we often use them without even knowing it. I am connected to the Internet through a fibre connection that is driven by lasers. They have changed from being an object of theoretical speculation to utility devices that make a useful contribution to our lives.
The Glory of God is often expressed in terms of powerful light. Sometimes he is described as lightning, one of the most powerful and frightening light sources that the ancients encountered. But it is worth noting that light is also used to illustrate our spiritual responsibility.
In the secular world we live in, where the power and glory of the light of God's presence is hidden we need to be the light others can see. That is the Gospel commission.
The illustration of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology engineers’ black coating is a powerful metaphor. If we as God’s people, absorb His blessings but fail to reflect them, we become like objects painted with this coating, almost invisible and failing to shine God’s light into the world.
As a church, we are called to take the truths God has given us and share them with the world, not keep them to ourselves. As individuals, we are called to share these truths in our daily interactions, through personal testimony, acts of kindness and evangelism.
We are blessed so that we may bless others. Each of us is called to let our light shine, making God’s salvation known to all nations and fulfilling the vision of both Psalms 67 and Revelation 14.
If we continue to take in the blessings of God and not dispense them to our circle of influence, then we will spiritually become the Dead Sea. We were intended to be the Jordan River which distributes it's blessings in abundance as it flows.
God didn't bless us with spiritual blessings to horde them to ourselves so that we become His "frozen chosen." No, God has blessed us to be a blessing to others. Jesus used the metaphor of His people being both salt and light. This "little light of mine" when combined with the little lights of others can illumine the whole world, but we have to stop hiding it "under a bushel."
For the "salt" to preserve or season society, it can't remain in the shaker or it will lose it's saltiness. At the close of last Sabbath's message our pastor gave to each family, a filled salt shaker as a reminder to be the "salt of the earth" that Jesus has called us to be.
Let's keep reflecting the light of God’s Glory and "stay salty," in a good way.