Psalms 117

Psalms 117

DESCRIPTIVE TITLE

All Nations Invited to Join in Israel's Tribute of Praise.

ANALYSIS

By Synonyms of Unmistakable Universality, All Nations are Invited to Praise Jehovah for his Kindness and Faithfulness to Israel.

(P.R.I.) Praise ye Yah!

1

Praise Jehovah all ye nations,

laud him all ye tribes of men:

2

For his kindness hath prevailed over us,

and the truth of Jehovah is to the ages.

(Nm.)[572]

[572] See Psalms 118 (beginning).

PARAPHRASE

Psalms 117

Praise the Lord, all nations everywhere. Laud Him, all the peoples of the earth,
2 For He loves us very dearly, and His truth endures. Praise the Lord.

EXPOSITION

This is the shortest psalm, and it has frequently been described as the grandest: it certainly is very significant. On the one hand, its appeal for universal praise to Jehovah is unequivocal: in the other, the ground of that appeal is abundantly worthy, though perhaps not at once perceived to be so special as it really is. As soon, however, as due prominence is given to the undoubted factsthat Israel as a nation is the speaker giving this invitation to the other nations of the earth; that the invitation comes from the heart of a nation met in solemn festival especially to memorialise and celebrate the Divinely achieved triumphs of her own history; and then the precise terms are given their proper value by which the especial reason for universal praise is conveyed, then it must be admitted by the candid and trained readertrained in the history of Israel and in the course of the psalms hithertothat the pronoun us of the psalm means specifically ISRAEL. The speakers sayHis kindness hath prevailed over US, and there is no reason to doubt that they mean exactly what they say; and though to some minds, this conclusion may occasion a feeling of momentary disappointment, that the basis of invited praise is not made wider, as by sayingFor His kindness hath prevailed over YOU, yet a few moments-' reflection may suffice to convert this feeling into one of admiration for the very precision of the reference to Israel. There need, of course, be no apprehensionthat the nations whose mouths are to be opened to celebrate Israel's mercies will be closed to the joyful acknowledgement of their own. But the point of the psalm is,and it is in every way a triumphant pointa note worthy to be resounded through all the earth,that Israel belongs to the nations, that her triumph is their triumph and benediction; that in her national history more than in their own, the kindness and faithfulness of Jehovah will have been displayed in a manner worthy to occasion, not only universal, but never-ending, adoration. We of the nations to whom the privilege has been given to anticipate that coming triumph,how can we enter into the spirit of this psalm unmoved? By all our grief over Israel's long-protracted obstinacy, and over the suffering judicially permitted for that obstinacy,are we moved with joy to look forward to this coming Divine triumph: when Jehovah's kindness willdeep down in Israel's heart, and all abroad in unmistakable openness of national demonstrationPREVAIL OVER ISRAEL. To look forward to such a Victory of Love, is to know a feeling akin to ecstasy; and that we should receive an invitation to indulge in so unselfish an anticipation from Jewish lips, in Jewish homes and Jewish synagogues, is to be conscious of an additional satisfaction which will one day be appreciated by our brethren of the Twelve-tribed-nation. We heartily thank them for this their Passover Invitation preserved in their Hallel.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1.

This is the shortest psalm and in some way the grandest. In what way? Discuss.

2.

Is there here a promise of the general turning of Israel to Jehovah in some future time? If so what effect is it to have on the rest of the nations?