“Praise
the Lord, all you nations; extol Him, all you peoples. For great is
His love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.
Praise ye the Lord.” –Psalm 117:1-2 (ESV)
Psalm
117 is the shortest chapter in the Bible and the shortest of the
Psalms. It is also at the very center of the Bible, the middle
chapter. It is significant that this Psalm, placed exactly where it
is in the canon of our Scriptures, has both a global invitation to
all peoples to praise, extol and honor God and a grand explanation of
why all peoples should honor God.
Paul
quoted Psalm 117:1 in his epistles to the Romans (15:11). His point
was that from the very beginning of time with Adam and Eve in the
Garden of Eden, God had a worldwide purpose of redemption. Because
of God’s love for mankind and His provision of salvation, peoples
everywhere ought therefore to praise and extol Him. This is the
“global invitation” to all peoples to come to Him in faith.
The
grand explanation of why God is due our worship and praise is given
in verse two. Great is God’s love for us. His love is faithful.
God does not fall out of love with us. We may prove unfaithful to
God and wander far away from Him, but still His love for us is
enduring, even when we are unworthy of it. Because of God’s
redemptive kindness to us and because of his enduring truth, we
therefore should praise the Lord.
Let
us read again the doxology recorded in Psalm 117. I can remember
years ago when I was taking a course on the Psalms at Mercer
University when I was studying for my AB degree that I learned this
Psalm was in the middle of the Bible, with all that preceded it and
all that followed it being pivotal to our understanding the necessity
of all peoples coming to God the Father in faith. No peoples on
earth have a monopoly on praise to God. He invites us all to come to
Him, rely on Him, praise Him and be faithful to him.
I
like the way Eugene Peterson in his The
Message
Bible translates Psalm 117:
“Praise
God, everybody” Applaud God, all people! His love has taken over
our lives; God’s faithful ways are eternal. Hallelujah!”
On
this Lord’s Day, may we renew our zeal in seeking and thanking God
for His steadfast care and love for us. –Ethelene Dyer Jones July
26, 2015
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