Lord’s Day, Vol. 3 No. 20
Thoughts on Psalm 117
Psalm 117:1-2 O praise the LORD, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people. 2 For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the LORD endureth for ever. Praise ye the LORD.
Psalm 117 is the shortest psalm, the shortest chapter and located in the mid-point of the Bible. It is a written testimony of God’s people in relation to their experience with Him. We have not seen God nor touch Him but He is real, He exists, He manifests Himself in the life of His people by His great love and by His everlasting Word. This short psalm gives punch to the message – an invitation to a lifetime of blessings with the living and true God.
(1) The Invitation to Praise (v1)
This is a call to God’s people in every nation, who acknowledge Him as “LORD”, to come before Him in grateful worship.
“To praise” is to worship with a heart of thanksgiving. There is great jubilation to this praise like a shout for joy that cannot be contained. It is a call to believers of all nations to testify, to shine and be a witness for Him.
It is a call to give the rightful tribute to the LORD for who He is. To acknowledge that man is made in the image of God and God has an interest for a deep and meaningful relationship with man, despite man’s sinful rebellion against God that we see in the world.
It is a call to blessing as we acknowledge our sins before Him and receive forgiveness. There is peace and joy, a great calmness in our soul that attest to this relationship. We praise!
(2) The Intent of Praise (v2)
- His Great Love – “For his merciful kindness is great toward us” (v2a)
The word “merciful kindness” is rich in meaning. It means kindness, mercy, goodness, faithfulness and love show forth by action. God reaches out with the exceeding riches of His love and grace by sending His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to save us. The Old Testament saints looked forward to the coming Messiah whilst we look backward in time to Jesus’ finished work on the cross reconciling undeserving sinners, such as us, to a holy God.
The Apostle Paul expressed the “merciful kindness” of God toward us in Galatians 4:4-7 as follows, “4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. 6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. 7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.”
It open the way for us to approach God at any time, to make right with Him by confessing our sins before Him in prayer through the merits of His Son. 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
As the eyes of our understanding are enlightened, it must cause us to love God with all our heart, soul, strength and mind. It must cause us to love our neighbours as we love ourselves.
The psalmist invites us to experience this blessed life in Psalm 31:19, “Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men!” Psalm 34:8, “O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.”
Having experienced God’s goodness, we praise Him in humble worship.
2. His Everlasting Word – “and the truth of the LORD endureth for ever“(v2b)
God is faithful to His promises. He changes not – Matthew 24:35, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.”
The word “truth” speaks of the truthfulness or faithfulness of God to His covenant or promise or word. It speaks of reliability and sureness; stability, continuance; He is the God of truth, truthfulness and faithfulness in that He does not lie – “it was impossible for God to lie” (Hebrews 6:18), “If we believe not, yet He abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself” (2 Timothy 2:13).
God’s truth is absolute! There is no negotiation with the truth. The truth of Scripture is faithfulness, reliability, integrity, and consistency. A direct application of this doctrine is the submission of every believer to the truth of God, walking in it for his blessings – 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.”
May we grow toward spiritual maturity and spiritual mindedness, doing good and bearing the fruit of the Spirit, to His honour and glory. Praise ye the LORD. Amen.
Yours lovingly,
Pr. Lek Aik Wee