Praise the LORD,
all nations;
Laud Him, all peoples!
For His lovingkindness is great toward us,
and the truth of the LORD is everlasting.
Praise the LORD!
(Psa 117:1-2).
The key word in Psalm 117 is "key" (כִּי),
a Hebrew word that means "for" or "because."
Why are the nations of earth commanded to praise the LORD? Because
(1) the lovingkindness of God has completely prevailed over Israel
(= "us") and, therefore,
(2) everything God promised by the mouth of his prophets to Israel has and/or will come true.
Psalm 117, the shortest psalm in the Bible,
is an invitation to all nations to become avid students of biblical history and prophecy,
to fall in love with the Old Testament, to discover that
Israel's God doesn't bully his people into submission
but loves them into submission;
that trusting in God's promises isn't like pussy-footing over thin ice, but
stomping with all our might upon an
immovable rock.
This psalm tells us that Israel's history was never
intended to be a story for Israel alone because God
has always
desired to be praised and enjoyed by the
peoples of the world!
Do you desire to praise and laud God more?
Then grab a cup of coffee, sit down with an open Bible, and you will soon discover that the miraculous story of God's lovingkindness and truth to Israel was written to and for you!
"He has remembered
His lovingkindness and His faithfulness to the house of Israel;
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth;
Break forth and sing for
joy and sing praises"
(Psa 98:3-4).
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