Psalm 117 Part 1

You might have looked at this little psalm and thought I would cover it easily. Not so! This psalm reminds us that to worship God, it is not necessary to be lengthy, sometimes just a few words say what is necessary. This doxology is so profound that I have an extra page of notes glued into my Bible next to it! That Jesus sang this doxology at the conclusion of the Passover meal makes it even more sublime and adds to its grandeur. Martin Luther’s commentary on this psalm covers 36 pages!

The psalm itself is composed of just 2 parallelistic couplets with only 17 Hebrew words (10 less than the English.) 
Previous psalms called on Israel to give praise to Yahweh, but here all the gentiles are called to praise Him. This showed a largeness of heart that God intended Israel to have from the beginning, pointing to the truth that in Abraham all the peoples of the world were to be blessed (Gen 12:3). From the fire ignited in Israel, there was meant to be a universal diffusion as all nations were to have a share in the warmth of what God did in Israel.

Where the love of God is strong in the heart, it overleaps the bounds of custom and racial prejudice, and yearns that all the world should know and love the Saviour. The Psalm was an intimation to Israel that the grace and lovingkindness (Chesed v2) of their God, were not to be confined to one nation, but would in happier days be extended to all of humanity. The last proclamation of the Gospel goes to “every nation, tribe, tongue, and people.” (Rev.14:6). Jesus said “this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached throughout the whole world, as a testimony to all nations, and then the end shall come. (Matt 24:14). On the eve of His crucifixion, we know that Jesus had all humanity in mind. Through His work on the cross and victory over death at the empty tomb, God would call a people to Himself from every nation, tribe, and language. His lovingkindness is great towards you and me!