Psa 117:1 O praise the LORD, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people. Psa 117:2 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. Yet, it is a messianic psalm. This short psalm was quoted by the apostle Paul in Romans 15:11: “Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud him, all ye people.” Psalm 117:1 is a prophecy that the messianic kingdom will include the Gentiles. Paul, in writing Romans, show the Jews that God is also the God of the Gentiles: “Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also” (Romans 3:29). It was of great importance to show the Jews that this calling of the Gentiles was foretold in their own Scriptures. Psalm 117 is a call on “all” nations to praise God. The psalmist, prophesying in the Spirit of God, foretold that the Gentiles should become the people of God. It was never God’s plan that the Hebrew people should be the only people for His eternal kingdom. Paul reminded the Jews that the universal gospel was first preached to their great ancestor Abraham when God said: “And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 22:18). Paul, in making his argument for the universal gospel, quoted Genesis 12:3 and 22:18: “And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed” (Galatians 3:8). In fact, the word “nations” in this psalm is the Hebrew word for Gentiles. It is the same Hebrew word found in Genesis 22:18. Hence, when God told Abraham that in his seed, shall all nations be blessed, He was really saying that in Abraham’s seed, all the Gentile nations will be blessed. Our Lord Jesus, agreeing with Psalm 117, mentioned the gospel of salvation to include all Gentiles in Matthew 24:14: “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations.” That prophecy of Psalm 117 is fulfilled in Revelation 7:9: “After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hand.” Picture that scene, when you will be standing side by side with the redeemed from every nation, tribe, people and language, as we all face the throne of God in joyous worship and praise! What a worship service that will be! But that’s not all. Psalm 117:2 contains an important message. Notice the little word “for” in verse 2. “For” suggests the reason all nations are to praise God. The expression “merciful kindness” is equivalent of the New Testament word grace. Psalm 117:2 is saying: “His grace is great toward us.” Grace means unmerited favour. Indeed, the grace of God is one reason we should be praising God. And the second part verse 2 says: “And the truth of the LORD endureth for ever.” Can you see two wonderful elements in this verse? They are grace and truth. What comes to your mind next? John 1:17: “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” Why should the nations of the earth praise God? Because of the grace and truth of God which came by Jesus Christ. Psalm 117 is a messianic message about Jesus Christ for the world. Palm 117 is a little psalm with a BIG message for the world. It is a glorious message; a message of hope. Indeed, we should praise the LORD because of His loving grace and His truth revealed for our salvation.