Day 503: Truth in a nutshell – Psalm 117

1 Praise the Lord, all nations! Extol Him, all peoples! 2 For great is His steadfast love towards us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures for ever. Praise the Lord! Psalm 117 English Standard Version

There’s an old saying that 'big things often come in small packages'. The size of something doesn't always indicate its value. How true that is of this little Psalm which is only two verses long! It also, appropriately, happens to be the middle 'chapter' of the King James Bible. What does the writer call mankind essentially to do in vs 1?

He calls all people in every nation on earth to give praise to God! To extol someone means to raise them aloft and to set them on high. We'll see why people should do that in the next verse, but we need to first note that it is not just any god people are called to praise, but it is the God who made Himself known to Abraham and to Moses; the One who sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, into the world to show His love for the people of the whole world.

Sadly, mankind hasn't always praised this God. The apostle Paul said that men and women everywhere knew the truth about God because He had made it obvious to them. Ever since the world was created they'd seen the earth and heavens, and through everything God made they could clearly see His invisible qualities – i.e. His eternal power and divine nature. Because of this, Paul said they had no excuse for not knowing God and for not worshipping Him as God, and for not giving Him the thanks He is worthy of. In fact, they foolishly formed their own ideas of what God is like and ended up worshipping idols made to look like mere people, birds, animals and reptiles. (You can read all that in Romans 1 vs 18-23) Idolatry, and rushing after things this world has to offer, is the inevitable result if we lose sight of God’s glory and don’t praise Him as we ought to do.

Apart from the fact that He is our Creator and we owe everything to Him - what’s the other reason the writer gives why everyone in the world should praise God? (vs 2)

He tells us that God’s love is powerful, faithful and enduring. He was writing as an Israelite and will have known how often his people had failed God, forgotten His promises, and followed sinful ways. Yet God’s love had persevered and would ultimately result in sending the Messiah. No wonder Paul was able to give Christians the encouragement he does in 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 when he says: “Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. God will make this happen, for He who calls you is faithful.” God is glorious, and He is faithful. Shouldn't we then delight to extol Him and praise Him every day of of our life?

By the way, if you were asked what the middle verse of the King James Bible is, I'm told the correct answer is that as it has an even number of verses, it doesn’t have a single middle verse. The “middle verses” would be Psalm 103:1-2 which say: “Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.” How beautifully that ties in with with why we should live for God’s praise every day. He is perfectly holy and His benefits abound. We breathe the air He made, eat food from the crops He sends, and gaze with wonder at the many beautiful things He designed. And we look by faith to Calvary, and see His amazing love displayed in a way we never deserved and could never have imagined. No wonder the apostle Paul wrote: “May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  (Romans 15:5-6)