Scripture Daily

Context No. 2467 of 4322 · Psalms

Context · Reflection

Psalms 117:1-2: in context

1Praise the LORD, all you nations! Extol him, all you peoples! 2For his loving kindness is great toward us. The LORD’s faithfulness endures forever. Praise the LORD!

This psalm runs only two verses, and it wastes no words. Praise the LORD, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples. And then the reason, just as compact: for his loving kindness is great toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. A call as wide as the world, grounded in two unshakable things.

Look at the reach and the ground. The reach is every nation and people, not one tribe's private praise but a summons to the whole earth. The ground is God's steadfast love toward us and his faithfulness that never runs out. That is all the reason the psalm needs, and it is enough. Paul would later quote this very psalm to show that God always meant the nations to praise him. A small psalm carries a vast vision: a whole world drawn into worship by a love that holds and a faithfulness that lasts.

Is my praise as wide as this psalm's vision, and does it rest where the psalm rests, on God's steadfast love and unfailing faithfulness?

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