Praise The LORD, All You Nations!
Devotional
Companion to the Psalter
A Devotional Guide to the Psalms
Object:
Praise the LORD, all you nations!
Extol him, all you peoples!
For great is his steadfast love toward us,
and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever.
Praise the LORD!
-- Psalm 117
Theme: A missionary psalm
Outline
1 -- A call to all nations and peoples to praise Yahweh.
2 -- The reason: his mighty love for us all and his faithfulness prevails forever! Therefore, praise him!
Notes
• Praise
• One of the Hallel Psalms (113-118).
• A call to all nations and peoples to join Israel in praising Yahweh, emphasizing the vocation of covenant people, God's missionaries to the whole world. (See Genesis 12:3 [to Abraham] "In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." See also Isaiah 49:6; Galatians 3:8; Romans 15:8-12.)
• This is a truly messianic psalm. Luther believed that the whole book of Acts was written because of this psalm.
• This is the shortest psalm and chapter in the Bible, and like a gem, precious.
• Psalm 67 also shares this missionary vision.
For Reflection
• In 1530, Luther wrote a pamphlet expounding the message of this psalm. "This is a short, easy psalm, doubtless made this way so that everyone might pay more attention to it and remember better what is said." Luther sees in it four things:
a. a prophecy of the gospel and the kingdom of Christ;
"We heathen are assured that we, too, belong to God and in heaven ... even though we are not Abraham's flesh and blood."
b. a revelation of the kingdom of Christ;
It is spiritual, heavenly, and eternal, "ruled without and above all laws, regulations, and outward means." In Ephesians 3:5, Saint Paul says it was revealed to the apostles that the heathen could be God's people without the Law of Moses.
c. instruction; and
It teaches us the greatest wisdom on earth ... the wisdom of faith. It sings out: "God's steadfast love toward us prevails," for instance, God's grace "rules" over us, "more powerful in and over us than all anger, sin, and evil." Grace retains the upper hand and dominion.
d. exhortation.
"Since of ourselves we are nothing but have everything from God, it is easy to see that we can give Him nothing; neither can we repay Him for His grace ... The only thing left, therefore, is for us to praise and thank Him ... Then out with it, and freely and openly confess this before the world -- preach, praise, glorify, and give thanks!"1
• What could happen to a Christian's outlook and life if this psalm is prayed often? Is this important for the church in our day?
Prayer
Lord God, you called us to a great vocation, to be agents of your promised blessing to the whole world, witnesses to the surpassing great gift to all of your Son, Jesus Christ the Lord, and of your enduring grace for all. May your Holy Spirit cause us to hold dear your great love and faithfulness, and give us the humility and courage to fulfill our calling in Christ. Bless the whole world. Amen.
____________
1. Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 14 (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1956), pp. 3-39.
Extol him, all you peoples!
For great is his steadfast love toward us,
and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever.
Praise the LORD!
-- Psalm 117
Theme: A missionary psalm
Outline
1 -- A call to all nations and peoples to praise Yahweh.
2 -- The reason: his mighty love for us all and his faithfulness prevails forever! Therefore, praise him!
Notes
• Praise
• One of the Hallel Psalms (113-118).
• A call to all nations and peoples to join Israel in praising Yahweh, emphasizing the vocation of covenant people, God's missionaries to the whole world. (See Genesis 12:3 [to Abraham] "In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." See also Isaiah 49:6; Galatians 3:8; Romans 15:8-12.)
• This is a truly messianic psalm. Luther believed that the whole book of Acts was written because of this psalm.
• This is the shortest psalm and chapter in the Bible, and like a gem, precious.
• Psalm 67 also shares this missionary vision.
For Reflection
• In 1530, Luther wrote a pamphlet expounding the message of this psalm. "This is a short, easy psalm, doubtless made this way so that everyone might pay more attention to it and remember better what is said." Luther sees in it four things:
a. a prophecy of the gospel and the kingdom of Christ;
"We heathen are assured that we, too, belong to God and in heaven ... even though we are not Abraham's flesh and blood."
b. a revelation of the kingdom of Christ;
It is spiritual, heavenly, and eternal, "ruled without and above all laws, regulations, and outward means." In Ephesians 3:5, Saint Paul says it was revealed to the apostles that the heathen could be God's people without the Law of Moses.
c. instruction; and
It teaches us the greatest wisdom on earth ... the wisdom of faith. It sings out: "God's steadfast love toward us prevails," for instance, God's grace "rules" over us, "more powerful in and over us than all anger, sin, and evil." Grace retains the upper hand and dominion.
d. exhortation.
"Since of ourselves we are nothing but have everything from God, it is easy to see that we can give Him nothing; neither can we repay Him for His grace ... The only thing left, therefore, is for us to praise and thank Him ... Then out with it, and freely and openly confess this before the world -- preach, praise, glorify, and give thanks!"1
• What could happen to a Christian's outlook and life if this psalm is prayed often? Is this important for the church in our day?
Prayer
Lord God, you called us to a great vocation, to be agents of your promised blessing to the whole world, witnesses to the surpassing great gift to all of your Son, Jesus Christ the Lord, and of your enduring grace for all. May your Holy Spirit cause us to hold dear your great love and faithfulness, and give us the humility and courage to fulfill our calling in Christ. Bless the whole world. Amen.
____________
1. Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 14 (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1956), pp. 3-39.
