When CMS began 200 years ago it had a vision to take the good news of Jesus to ‘the heathen’, those who had never heard of him. We no longer use the word ‘heathen’ but that may lead us to forget that there are still many who have little, if any, chance to hear the message, or even the name, of Jesus.

Such people may live in remote areas of the world but they may equally be a specific ethnic group in one of our own cities. They may be a particularly poor group or a particularly wealthy group. They may even be a group with a particular disability, mental or otherwise, that isolates them. One

area of the world where this is especially true, and where CMS has long worked and built up much expertise, is the Islamic world. We believe that all people have a right to hear the message of Jesus in a way that’s most appropriate and effective for them, and that we still have a role in helping to achieve this.

CMS’ General Council last month was on the theme "Where the name of Jesus is rarely heard" and was an opportunity to think afresh about what our mission might be to such groups. We heard stories from those who are, or have become, Christians and live in situations where it is not easy, or even safe, to share their faith. We wrestled with the dilemmas of how we might support them, how much we dare say about them and their work, what strategies we should use in such different parts of the world, and how we might best recruit people to work there.

In today’s "politically correct" society it is often not seen as acceptable to share one’s religious beliefs with others who have their own faith. The Bible, however, obliges us to share,sensitively and with respect, the Good News. In his exposition of Psalm 96, Chris Wright shows how this compulsion to proclaim God’s love and God’s truth to all nations has been a part of being‘the people of God’ from the earliest times. Richard Steel

Chris Wright is Principal of All Nations’ Christian College (ANCC) and an expert in the Old Testament. He will be leaving ANCC in 2001 to take forward work begun by John Stott.

Psalm 96

Sing, sing, sing; Praise, proclaim, declare!(verses 1-3). This is the dynamic opening of a psalm that celebrates the universal reign of Yahweh, God of Israel. It matches the dynamic effects that the new song will have.
 

1. A new song that remixes the old words (verses 1-3)

Verse 1 describes it as‘a new song yet the contents are as ancient as Israel itself: his name —revealed at Sinai: his salvation — the great exodus deliverance; his glory —visible in the tabernacle or temple; his marvellous deeds — the ongoing story of God’s victories. All this is the old, old story of Yahweh and his love. So what’s new? It will be new in the places where it is to be sung —all the earth, among the nations, among all peoples. All that God had done for Israel was to become the new song of the nations. It is a mission vision, even if it was also a mystery vision before the coming of Christ and his great commission to the Church. Mission makes the old songs new for it brings their truth and joy to new places and new peoples.
 

2. A new song that displaces the old gods (verses 4-9)

The song is for Yahweh, the one, unique, living God, for ‘the LORD is God and there is no other’ (Deuteronomy 4.39). So the psalm calls for the radical displacement of the old gods of the nations who cannot be compared in power, strength or glory with Yahweh. Only Yahweh is worthy of praise, only he is to be feared as Creator and Redeemer. Reading verses 4-9 with an emphasis on ‘he’, ‘him’ and ‘his’ will bring out this claim.

Mission transforms the religious landscape as it challenges the old gods and their dominant world-views. It does so not just by adding another god to the list but by replacing all other gods with Yahweh, now known through the incarnate Jesus of Nazareth. In Christian terms, this means to declare that Jesus is Lord, fully, uniquely and universally — even in those places ‘where the name of Jesus is rarely heard’. The process of displacing the old gods may happen rapidly in one generation or it may take centuries, but our psalm envisages it as the inevitable goal of the new song we are called to sing now.
 

3. A new song that transforms the old world (verses 10-13)

Verse 10 is the climax and keynote of the psalm — the vital proclamation among the nations of the good news of the Kingdom of God: The LORD reigns! But this reign of God is then described in a way that ‘undescribes’ the world as it is now — the old world order.

The new song proclaims a world of reliability (v. 10 b). But our old world is a place of instability, chaos and falling apart. "Things are gonna slide, slide in all directions"(Leonard Cohen). Yes, but the new song of the kingdom declares an inversion, an invasion of that world with the solid rock that cannot be moved.

The new song anticipates a world of righteousness (verses lOc, 13). But our old world is a place of injustice, oppression and suffering. Yes, but when the LORD comes, it will be to put things right at every level of life on the planet. Our mission works towards that day in hope.

The new song pictures all creation rejoicing (verses 11-13). But our old world is a place of grief and sorrow for billions of people, and indeed for creation itself. The new song that mission sings already brings joy in anticipation of the new creation. "Hope is the ability to hear the music of the future. Faith is the courage to dance to it today."(Bishop William Frey)

So our psalm calls for a new song of world-transforming power, celebrating in advance the end of the old world and the coming of the new. It is a new song that rekindles the truth of the old words of God’s salvation; that challenges and replaces the old gods and releases their grip on people’s hearts; that celebrates in advance the transformation of this old world through the reign of God. If mission is the singing of this new song, then we might summarise it:

Mission keeps the old words true
Mission makes the old gods blue
Mission makes the old world new.
The lyrics could be improved but it’s a song worth singing!

Chris Wright
Principal, All Nations’ Christian College

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