Praise the Lord!

O. T. #1344  "Praise The Lord!"
Dec. 14, 2018
Psalm 117
O Praise the LORD, all ye nations: praise Him all ye people.
For His merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the LORD endureth forever. Praise ye the LORD. Ps. 117:1-2

LET IT GLOW

Thank you dear friends for joining me as I study through the psalms. I am learning so much and hope you are, also.
Even though this chapter is only composed of two verses, it says a lot to us. Look at the three distinguishing features which MacArthur points out:

1. It is the shortest psalm.
2. It is the shortest chapter in the Bible.
3. It is the middle chapter of the Bible.

Can you find the answer to this question? What are the two reasons for praising the Lord?

1. God's merciful kindness and
2. His eternal truth, are found in verse 2.

In Christ, God has shown mercy mixed with kindness in the very highest degree. Nothing has ever blessed the hearts and minds of the nations of the earth as the message of the gospel of Christ has. (Falwell)

It is the mercy, kindness, and truth of God which lead us to praise Him. If God did nothing else for us, He would still be worthy of our highest praise. So amidst our hustle and bustle of the season, let us keep praising our Savior, and thanking Him for showing us mercy, kindness, and truth.


LET IT GROW

For ages the Jews of Judah were the only ones who knew about God and praised Him. The mystery of the Gospel of grace has been made known to us Gentiles. Paul wrote to the Ephesian believers that they were fellow-heirs. All nations of believers will make up The Church.

What is the writer calling us to do? Praise the LORD.

There are two different Hebrew words used for praise in the first verse.

1. Shabach, the first mention, means to address in a loud tone; triumph; glory.
2. Halal, second mentioned praise, means celebrate; glory. 

The Gentile nations are invited to glorify the God of Israel, Jehovah. Then with all the various languages, people are praise God with loud voices. So it is appropriate to shout "Praise the Lord" and "Hallelujah" in a church service.

LET IT GO

Give thanks to the Lord, His love never ends; and all the people said "Amen!"

Praise the Lord, for His mercy endureth forever!

Jesus, You are worthy of all the honor and all the praise!

Thank You, Savior, for providing salvation to us through faith!