Beloved, I am glad to share with you today the above theme from Ps 117:1 and 2. Indeed, if the Lord is precious to us (Ps 116), we will invite others to worship Him with us. So will Israel. Once so jealous of his privileges, full of contempt for the nations, he himself will invite them to universal praise (verse 1; Romans 10:16-21; Rom 15:7-12). God’s goodness and truth are again named together (verse 2; Ps 108:4-6; Ps 115:1-3). They are the double manifestation towards men of the essential characteristics of God: love and light. What an inexhaustible subject of meditation contains this precious little psalm (which happens to be the central chapter of the Bible).
For in Psalm 118, it is the goodness of the Lord that is the theme of praise. Surrounded and threatened by the whole world, Israel will experience that the help of man and princes is in vain (verses 8, 9; Ps 108:11-14). The name of Jehovah will be his only backup. He kept our feet of fall (verse 13; Ps 116:7-9). And man will not be able to do anything either against us (verse 6) or for us (verse 8) because the Lord is our strength (verse 14).
Here the earth is invited to take part in the songs of joy and praise of the resurrection, and to celebrate “goodness and truth” as the people of Israel then came back to life. Israel, and then its resurrected leader, made their hallelujah heard one after the other; the nations are now in turn invited to add their voices to the holy harmonies of this concert. This psalm, the shortest portion of God’s book, is quoted — and its importance emphasized — in Romans 15. In this regard, it has been profitably pointed out that “this is a short portion of Scripture that we would perhaps pass slightly over. But the Holy Spirit does not act this way. He collects this precious testimony of grace to the Gentiles, and compels us to pay attention to it.”
‘Praise the Lord, you all nations.’ Since the Holy Spirit, through the prophet, exhorted all nations to celebrate the praises of God’s mercy and faithfulness, Paul, in his epistle to the Romans, rightly regards this as a prediction respecting the call of the whole world(Rom 15:11.) How can unbelievers be qualified to praise God, who, although not entirely devoid of his mercy, is nevertheless insensitive to it, and ignores his truth? It would therefore be useless for the prophet to address the pagan nations unless they were gathered in the unity of faith with the children of Abraham.
For there is no reason for the attempts censored, by their sophisticated arguments, to refute Paul’s reasoning. Indeed, the Holy Spirit calls mountains, rivers, trees, rain, winds and thunder elsewhere, to resound the praises of God, because all creation silently proclaims Him as his Creator. It is in a different way that he is praised by his rational creatures. The reason given is that God’s mercy and truth provide materials to celebrate His praises. Moreover, the prophet does not mean that God will be praised everywhere by the Gentiles, because the knowledge of his character is confined to a small part of the land of Judea, but because it was to be spread throughout the world. First, he enjoins God to be praised, because His goodness is increased, or strengthened. Second, because His truth remains unwavering forever: How, then, are they qualified to celebrate His praises, which, with brutal insensitivity, pass over His goodness, their ears closed before His heavenly doctrine?
God’s truth in this passage is correctly presented as an attestation of His grace. For it can be true even when it threatens the whole world with perdition and ruin. Now the prophet, however, placed his mercy first so that his faithfulness and truth, including an assurance of his paternal goodness, could encourage the hearts of the pious: His power and righteousness are also commendable; but as men will never cordially praise God until they are attracted by a foretaste of his goodness, the prophet chooses precisely the mercy and truth of God, which alone open the mouth to those who are mute to engage in this exercise. When it is said that his truth is eternal, it is not opposed to his mercy, as if it, after flowering for a season, was instantly extinguished. The same reason would prove that she was small compared to her mercy, which is said to be abundant. For the meaning is that God’s mercy is rich towards us, flowing in an eternal current, because it is united with his eternal truth. If we read, His mercy is confirmed, then constancy and stability will adorn both His mercy and His truth.
The following verses have been compiled for your edification and grouped together for your better understanding.
Eternal Praise:
- Praise be to God, ordained
-With the songs Ps 9:12 Sing to the Lord, who dwells in Zion, Publish among the people his high deeds!
-With the musical instruments Ps 33.2 Celebrate the Lord with the harp, Celebrate him on the ten-stringed lute.
-Universal Ps 67:4 The people praise you, O God! All people praise you. Isaiah 42:12 Let the Lord be given glory, and let his praises be published in the islands!
-Perpetual Hb 13:15 Through him, let us constantly offer God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name.
-Four reasons to express 1 Pet 2:9 You, on the contrary, are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, an acquired people, that you may proclaim the virtues of the one who has called you from darkness to his admirable light,
- Benignity (faithfulness, benevolence) of God
Ps 17:7 Signal your goodness, you who save those who seek refuge, and who by your right deliver them from their adversaries! Ps 26:3 For your grace is before my eyes, and I walk in your truth. Isaiah 63:7 I will publish the graces of Jehovah, the praises of Jehovah, according to all that Jehovah has done for us; I will say his great kindness to the house of Israel, which he treated according to his compassions and the richness of his love. Jer 31:3 From afar the Lord shows himself to me: I love you with eternal love; That is why I keep my goodness to you.
- Singing, a religious duty
Ps 81:2 Sing with joy to God, our strength! Cry out with joy to Jacob’s God! Ps 95:1 Come, let us sing with joy to the Lord! Let us cry out with joy to the rock of our salvation. Isa 30:29 You will sing like the night when the feast is celebrated, You will have a joyful heart like the one who walks to the sound of the flute, To go to the mountain of the Lord, to the rock of Israel. 1 Cor 14.15 What to do then? I will pray with the spirit, but I will also pray with the mind; I will sing with the spirit, but I will also sing with intelligence. Eph 5:19 maintain yourselves through psalms, hymns, and spiritual hymns, singing and celebrating with all your heart the praises of the Lord; John 5:13 Is anyone among you in suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone in joy? Let him sing hymns.
- God the Truth
Dt 32:4 He is the rock; his works are perfect, for all his ways are just; He is a faithful God without iniquity, He is just and upright. 2 Sam 7:28 Now, Lord Lord, you are God, and your words are truth, and you have announced this grace to your servant. Ps 33:4 For the word of the Lord is right, and all his works are done faithfully; Ps 146:6 He made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is there. He keeps fidelity forever. Rm 3.4 Far from it! May God, on the contrary, be recognized as true, and every man as a liar, according to whether it is written: That you may be found righteous in your words, and that you may triumph when you are judged. Tt 1:2 which are based on the hope of eternal life, promised from the earliest times by the God who does not lie, Hb 6:18 so that, by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we find a powerful encouragement, we whose only refuge was to grasp the hope that was proposed to us.
From all of the above, we note that what threatens us is essentially the lusts of our poor hearts (James 1:13-17). Many times we have been on the verge of falling, but God has been in our rescue. Isn’t there much joy in considering how throughout the New Testament the Spirit brings into full light this or that obscure verse of the Old Testament writings that one might not pay attention to — for example, Hosea 11:1; Amos 5:26 and 9:11; Hab. 1:5; Prov. 25:22; Nahum 1:15. But it is a confirmation of the precious truth that “all scripture is inspired by God.” In this firmament of glories, a star differs from another star in size, but all are the work of one and the same hand. There is not, we can say, a book of the Old Testament that is not either expressly quoted, explicitly recalled or tacitly mentioned in the New. (Passages quoted respectively in: Matt. 2:15; Acts 7:42–43; 15:16-17; 13:41; Rom. 12:20; 10:15.). Then Ps. 117 is the invitation to other nations and peoples to come and celebrate the Lord, who from now on will be king over all the earth. The people rejoice and are fortunately introduced into this relationship, Jehovah having revealed Himself to them through His ways to Israel. Here, as always, goodness comes first; and the truth remains forever, no fall of the people putting an end to it. Like the previous Psalms, this one is a “Hallelujah”. For He kept our feet of fall. And man will not be able to do anything against us or for us because the Lord is our strength. Our prayers are with you all.
PRAYER OF ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR
I now invite every person who wants to become a new creation by walking in the truth, to pray with me the following prayer:
Lord Jesus, I have long walked in the lusts of the world ignoring your love for humans. I admit to having sinned against you and ask your forgiveness for all my sins, because today I have decided to give you my life by taking you as Lord and personal Savior. I recognize that you died on the cross of Calvary and rose from the dead for me.
I am now saved and born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lead me every day to the eternal life that you give to all who obey your Word. Reveal yourself to me and strengthen my heart and faith, so that your light may shine in my life right now.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for accepting me into your divine family, so that I may also contemplate the wonders of your kingdom.
I will now choose a nearby waterpoint to baptize myself by immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
All adoration, power and glory are yours, now and for centuries of ages. Amen!
I would be happy to respond to any questions and comments you may have, before sharing with you tomorrow ” all of Jehovah’s servants must praise Him – Contrast between God and idols.”
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you abundantly.
David Feze, Servant of the Almighty God.