Read Psalm 117
1 Praise the Lord, all you nations;
extol him, all you peoples.
2 For great is his love toward us,
and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.
Praise the Lord.
Go Deeper
Yes, that’s the whole chapter. Two verses. Psalm 117 is the shortest chapter in the Bible, but despite it’s length, we can still learn a lot from it this morning. So go read it again (it shouldn’t take too long), or as many times as it takes to let the words sink in, and then let’s dive in together.
Our reading today begins with a simple command to all the nations: Praise the Lord. This command is repeated in the next line, and the last line of the chapter. When the Bible repeats something, it means we should be paying attention. It’s the author’s way of telling you something in a way that you can’t miss or ignore. It’s a simple command, but despite how clearly the Bible commands us to do this, many of us fail to do so. As we see this command, we should think about how often we praise the Lord and how we can do so more consistently.
For some of us though, we might not see the point. “Why should I praise God? What has He done for me recently that gives me a reason to praise Him? What makes Him worthy of my time and praise?” We only need to look into the second verse to find reasons–His unfailing love is powerful, and His faithfulness endures forever. His love doesn’t fail. Ever. And His faithfulness endures. Forever. He doesn’t love us until we mess up or fall short. He doesn’t stop being faithful even when we turn away from Him.
So now we know that we should praise God, and we know why. But what exactly does that mean? This is what GotQuestions.org says in response to the question “What does it mean to praise the Lord?”:
Whom do we praise? The Lord alone (Psalm 148:13). How do we praise Him? With singing (Psalm 149:1), with dancing (verse 2), with musical instruments (Psalm 150:3), with our words (Psalm 35:28), with our actions (Colossians 3:17), with our uprightness (Psalm 119:7), and with all our hearts (Psalm 86:12).
Today’s reading was shorter than normal, but that doesn’t mean we spend less time with God. With this extra time, challenge yourself to really go through the questions, and write down your answers somewhere. Use the rest of your time praising the Lord, because His love never fails.
Questions
- On a scale of 1 to 10, how successful are you at living a life of praise? Why did you pick that number?
- How have you seen God’s unfailing love and faithfulness in your life?
- What is your favorite way to praise God? This could be listening to worship music, serving His people, or thanking Him in prayer.
Did You Know?
Psalm 117 is not just the shortest chapter in the Bible, but also the middle chapter. It is the 595th chapter, with 594 chapters before and after it. The command to Praise the Lord is literally at the center of the Bible.
4 responses to “Psalm 117”
LOVE GRACE TRUTH
To praise God is more than songs, or dancing. To praise God we use our whole selves. Our actions, which are said, they speak louder than words, show our true intentions and character through actual behavior. Are my actions showing love, grace and truth?
Praise is more than, it’s a manner of life – an attitude that overflows from a heart full of love and devotion towards our God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.
God loves us beyond our comprehension and made a way for us to be His children. He gave His one and only son, who lived a perfect life through and by His Heavenly Father. Then Jesus was crucified and died the worst death. Jesus did so because He loved and followed God’s will. God then raised Jesus from the dead so that the law was fulfilled.
‘Him God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly … to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead. To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.’ (Acts 10:40-43)
God loves
God gives us that grace.
God shows us His word which is truth.
God thank You for Your love, grace and truth. God thank You that I can put Your love goggles on to see others as You see them. God Your word is truth and we are to study to show ourselves approved(2 Tim 2:15), rightly dividing Your word. Study and search, to make it my own. Your word is a lamp to my feet and light to my path.(Psalm 119:105) ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.’ (John 6:68,69) So God I will look to Your word for my answers and endeavor to search it. God continue to open up and reveal Yourself and what I need to navigate this world for these minutes of this day, to love people, have grace for myself and others and read and study Your word, in Jesus name amen.
WOOHOO!!!
Truthfully, my heart can be prone to grumble. The key for me is flipping the script instead to gratitude. Intentionally shifting my mindset to praise starts as my feet hit the floor in the morning, continues as I dialogue with Christ throughout the day by noticing & crediting his goodness and mercy in big and small ways, and always thankful for his faithfulness as I end the day.
Yes!
Thanks to “Did You Know?”! Fascinating that Psalm 117 is the shortest book in the Bible AND right in the middle of all the 1,189 chapters. Wow!
This is a chapter that I have committed to memory over the years. Here is a song that is helpful for memorizing it:
https://open.spotify.com/track/3vYzHHaRj5nfHWM6lWvWa3?si=8AtxZppEQe66rDuwpkEZ8Q&utm_source=copy-link&rowId=a1bd8ae673fad557