Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!

More from Piper's Let the Nations Be Glad. . .

"The beauty and power of praise that will come to the Lord from the diversity of the nations are greater than the beauty and power that would come to Him if the chorus of the redeemed were culturally uniform. The reason for this can be seen in the analogy of a choir. More depth of beauty is felt from a choir that sings in parts than from a choir that only sings in unison. Unity in diversity is more beautiful and more powerful than the unity of uniformity. This carries over to the untold differences that exist between the peoples of the world. When their diversity unites in worship to God, the beauty of their praise will echo the depth and greatness of God's beauty far more exceedingly than if the redeemed were from only one or just a few different people groups."

Worshiping in another language always reminds me of this. . . and makes me excited!

This morning I visited one of the churches off the compound that has both a service in English, and then an hour later one in Chichewa.
The English service was very small - maybe fifteen Malawians and a few missionaries from the U.S., U.K., and New Zealand. We sang familiar songs: "Lord, I Lift Your Name On High", "Shout to the Lord", "Isn't He?", and then there was a short message on Exodus 14:14- "The LORD will fight for you, and you only have to be silent."
I'll be honest with you - I probably understood about half of it, because I'm still picking up the ear for the English here. . .but it is coming, just like driving stick on the other side of the road! :)
After the service I enjoyed meeting new people and watching the children who had set up mats outside and gathered around their Sunday school teachers. They were clapping and singing praise songs in Chichewa - it was precious! Little hearts that love the Lord melt my heart.
When it was time for the Chichewa service I started walking into the building and heard beautiful singing in Chichewa echoing through the church - so many gorgeous harmonies! And I thought about Piper's quote. English worship and Chichewa worship are only 2 of the choir parts.
May all His people, His full choir, blend together beautifully to echo the depths of His beauty this day. . . . and forevermore!

Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!
Psalm 67:3