Psalm 117: Lessons Regarding Jesus’ Universal Offer of Salvation

Introduction: Psalm 117 holds several distinctions that make it noteworthy. For those using a Protestant Bible with its 66 books and its 1,189 chapters, it is the 595th or middle chapter of the entire Bible. This two-verse chapter is also the shortest chapter in the 150-chapter Psalter and the entire Bible.1 As the bridge point of the Bible, it is also the first chapter to focus on God’s plan for universal salvation. It is also part of the “Hallel” (הַלֵּל) Passover praises when the Jews celebrated how the blood of the Passover lamb allowed death to pass over them. Jesus Christ is not mentioned in this chapter. But everything points to Him. He is the Passover lamb, the Messiah, and the King of Kings for all the nations. Although unstated in the text, the promise of an offer of salvation is given to the Jews. This implied that they had a central role as God’s witnesses and light to the nations. The British preacher Charles Spurgeon once remarked: “This Psalm, which is very little in its letter, is exceedingly large in its spirit; for, bursting beyond all bounds of race or nationality, it calls upon all mankind to praise the name of the Lord.”2 Martin Luther was so moved by this chapter that he wrote 36 pages of commentary on its two verses.3

Psalm 117 states: “1 Praise the Lord, all nations; sing His praises, all peoples! 2 For His mercy toward us is great, and the truth of the Lord is everlasting. Praise the Lord!” (Ps. 117:1-2).

This psalm reveals five truths about God, with two additional truths revealed through the New Testament. First, God’s direction for all the nations to praise Him reveals His plan for universal salvation. Second, God’s description of both Jews and gentiles praising Him foreshadows the united praise and worship He will receive in heaven. Third, believers will celebrate God’s “hesded”. This is His covenant mercy, grace, and love. Fourth, believers will also celebrate God’s truth and His triumph over evil. Fifth, the everlasting praise for God points to both His everlasting reign and His everlasting faithfulness. Sixth, because God had the Jews sing this psalm after the completion of the Passover, it pointed to Jesus’ completed work at the cross. He is the fulfillment of God’s promise to make His covenant with Abraham available to all the gentile nations. Finally, this offer of salvation to the gentiles exists within a Jewish book of Psalms. Thus, they had an important role in fulfilling His plan for universal evangelism.

1. Universal Salvation: God Planned to Offer All Nations Salvation. Ps. 117:1.

  • God’s planned for the Jews and gentiles to be able to stand before Him. God wanted all the people of the Earth be reconciled and be able to be in His presence: “1 Praise the Lord, all nations; sing His praises, all peoples!” (Ps. 117:1). The apostle Paul also pointed to Psalm 117 as proof of God’s master plan to offer all salvation: “And again, ‘Praise the LORD all you gentiles, and let all the peoples praise Him.”’ (Ro. 15:11).

Lifting My Eyes.: Where's the line to see Jesus?

Believers from all the nations will be united in worship in heaven4

  • God offered to make the blessing of Abraham available to all.  In the book of Genesis, God’s blessing to Abraham also included a prophetic promise to bless all the nations of the Earth through him:  “3 and I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”  (Gen. 12:3).  “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you will be the father of a multitude of nations.” (Gen. 17:4).  “Since Abraham will surely become a great and mighty nation, and in him all the nations of the earth will be blessed?”  (Gen. 18:18).  “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”  (Gen. 22:18). “I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven, and will give your descendants all these lands; and by your descendants all the nations of the earth shall be blessed;”  (Gen. 26:4). “Your descendants will also be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and in you and in your descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed.” (Gen. 28:14). “Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River, and led him through all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his descendants and gave him Isaac.”  (Josh. 24:3). “Look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who gave birth to you in pain; when he was but one I called him, then I blessed him and multiplied him.”  (Is. 51:2). “The psalm is a call for all nations to praise the LORD for His faithful covenant love. Here is another confirmation that from the very beginning God’s plan included Gentiles (see Gen. 12:3). The apostle Paul quoted this psalm to reiterate the point in Romans 15:11: in Christ the Love of God is now fully revealed to both Jews and Gentiles.” (Allen Ross on Ps. 117).5

  • God planned for the Messiah to reconcile all the people of the Earth. How could the gentiles be reconciled to be in Yahweh’s presence if they did not follow His Law? This was a mystery for the Jews. But other psalms expressed God’s plan for the Messiah to rule over all the nations. “Ask it of Me, and I will certainly give the nations as Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth as Your possession.” (Ps. 2:8). “And may all kings bow down before him, all nations serve him.” (Ps. 72:11). “The princes of the people have assembled as the people of the God of Abraham, for the shields of the earth belong to God; He is highly exalted.” (Ps. 47:9). “When the peoples are gathered together, and the kingdoms, to serve the LORD.” (Ps. 102:22). Isaiah also made clear God’s offer of universal salvation. “Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.” (Is. 45:22). “Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.” (Is. 60:3). Jesus came to fulfill these promises.

  • Jesus most likely sang this psalm just before His death. The Bible tells us that Jesus sang a psalm with His disciples when He went to the Mount of Olives before He was betrayed and crucified: “And after singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.” (Matt. 26:30). Many believe that He sang Psalm 117 to meditate on the offer of universal salvation that He was about to fulfill: “Since this is one of the six Egyptian Hallel Psalms (113-118), sung as part of the Passover service, Jesus would have sung Psalm 117 with His disciples (Matthew 26:30, Mark 14:26). Therefore, on the eve of His crucifixion, we know that Jesus had all the peoples, all the Gentiles in mind. Through His work on the cross and victory over death at the empty tomb, God would call a people to Himself from every tribe and tongue.” (David Guzik on Ps. 117:1) (italics in original).6

2. Universal Praise: People From All Nations Will Praise God in Heaven. Ps. 117:1.

  • Those who accept God’s offer of celebration will joyfully celebrate with Him in heaven. The psalmist prophetically commanded the assembly of nations to worship God: “sing His praises, all peoples!” (Ps. 117:1). “The idea is that God has a claim to universal worship, and that all the nations of the earth are under obligations to adore him as the true God. He is not the God of the Hebrew people only, but of all people; his praise should be celebrated not merely by one nation, but by all. This is one of the passages in the Old Testament, anticipating what is more fully disclosed in the New Testament, in which the sacred writer extends his vision beyond the narrow boundaries of Judea, and looks to the world, the whole world, as the theater on which the true religion was to be displayed, and for which it was designed.” (Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible, Ps. 117).7

  • God had always planned for all the nations to be able to worship before Him. Although Psalm 117 is the only psalm devoted to just the gentiles, His plan for all the nations to worship Him together is repeated throughout the psalms: “All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations will worship before You.” (Ps. 22:27). ‘“All the earth will worship You, and will sing praises to You; they will sing praises to Your name.’ Selah” (Ps. 66:4). “May the peoples praise You, God; may all the peoples praise You.” (Ps. 67:3). “Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth, sing praises to the Lord, Selah” (Ps. 68:32). “All nations whom You have made will come and worship before You, Lord, and they will glorify Your name.” (Ps. 86:9). “Ascribe to the LORD, you families of the peoples, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.” (Ps. 96:7). “A Psalm for Thanksgiving. Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth.” (Ps. 100:1). Isaiah repeated this prophecy. ‘“And it shall be from new moon to new moon and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all mankind will come to bow down before Me,’ says the LORD.” (Is. 66:23). The book of Revelation promises its fulfillment. “Who will not fear You, Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy; for all the nations will come and worship before You, for Your righteous acts have been revealed.” (Rev. 15:4). The nations will gather to celebrate the salvation that Jesus made possible.

Angels Praising God In Heaven

All believers will gather together to offer Jesus joyful praise in heaven8

3. God’s Covenant: The Nations Will Celebrate God’s Covenant Love. Ps. 117:2.

  • God’s covenant love is unbreakable, and it will last for all eternity. In heaven, the saved believers will celebrate God’s covenant mercy, love, grace, and truth for all times: “2 For His mercy toward us is great, and the truth of the Lord is everlasting. Praise the Lord!” (Ps. 117:2). The first half of this praise focuses on God’s great “Ḥesed” aka “Chesed” (חֶסֶד). In the NASB, the KJB, and the NKJB, God’s great “mercy” is celebrated. In the NIV, His great “love” is praised. In the Aramaic English Bible, God’s great “grace” is celebrated. This Hebrew word is hard to translate. But it is rich in its meaning when referring to God. According to Hebrew scholars, “Hesed” or “Chesed ‘steadfast love’ generally refers to an act of kindness from a more powerful figure in a relationship—in this case God—to a less powerful one. . . When used of God and Israel, it is often associated with God’s covenant or בְּרִית with Israel, as in Isaiah 54:8–10:  In slight anger, I hid My face for a moment from you; but with kindness (chesed) everlasting I will take you back in love—said YHWH your Redeemer.… ‎”9 All will celebrate the fullness of this covenant love in heaven. ‘The Lord, who changes not, will not fail to perform his faithful promises to the world’s end. Therefore let us all join in praises to our common Benefactor.”’ (Joseph Benson Commentary on Ps. 117:1-2).10

  • God’s mercy is first needed to allow mankind to experience His eternal love. Each English translation helps to understand the reasons for the peoples to praise God. Sin cannot be in His holy presence. “Your eyes are too pure to look at evil, and You cannot look at harm favorably. Why do You look favorably at those who deal treacherously? Why are You silent when the wicked swallow up those more righteous than they?” (Habb. 1:13). Any sin in His presence will be burned up: “for our God is a consuming fire.” (Heb. 12:29). It is only His mercy, made possible through Jesus, that will allow people to be in His holy presence. “For Your mercy “Hesed” is great above the heavens, and Your truth reaches to the skies.” (Ps. 108:4). “For his merciful kindness is great towards us,.... Not us Israelites only, of whom David was, but Gentiles also; or otherwise there would be no force in the reason why all people and nations should praise the Lord: but it respects the time when these should become one people, partaking of the same grace, blessings, promises, and privileges; in which the grace, mercy, and lovingkindness of God, greatly appeared;” (John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible, Ps. 117:2).11

  • Give thanks that God is merciful. Even though every person deserves to be judged for their sins, you can give thanks that God is filled with mercy each time you repent and return to Him: “The Lord’s acts of mercy indeed do not end, for His compassions do not fail. 23 They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.” (Lam. 3:22-23). “Then you will say on that day, “I will give thanks to You, LORD; for although You were angry with me, Your anger is turned away, and You comfort me.” (Is. 12:1). “For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with great compassion I will gather you.” (Is. 54:7). He is merciful in the face of our sins because he is filled with compassion and love: “For the LORD your God is a compassionate God; He will not abandon you nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant with your fathers which He swore to them.” (Dt. 4:31). God loves you and does not want you to suffer from your sins. Thus, He deserves your praise.

  • God’s love will also pour out upon His peoples in heaven. The same covenant is based upon God’s love for mankind. When God’s people experience this covenant love in heaven, they will sing with joy and amazement. “Your love “Hesed”, LORD, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies.” (Ps. 36:5) (NIV). “For great is your love “Hesed”, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies.” (Ps. 57:10) (NIV). “I will sing of the LORD’s great love “Hesed” forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations.” (Ps. 89:1) (NIV). “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;” (Ps. 103:10). Love is part of God’s character, and true love comes from Him: “The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” (1 Jo. 4:8). It was His love for us that prompted Jesus to be sacrificed at the cross: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.” (Jo. 3:16). Thus, you have many reasons to sing God’s praises and worship Him.

  • God’s love for you includes kindness and compassion. God’s love includes “kindness” to you whenever you seek Him out: “Love is patient, love is kind, . . .” (1 Cor. 13:4). “so that in the ages to come He might show the boundless riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” (Eph. 2:7). “But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared,” (Titus 3:4). “Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and restraint and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?” (Ro. 2:4). “Then the LORD passed by in front of him and proclaimed, ‘The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in faithfulness and truth;”’ (Ex. 34:6). “For the LORD will vindicate His people, and will have compassion on His servants, when He sees that their strength is gone, and there is none remaining, bond or free.” (Dt. 32:36). “We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.” (Jam. 5:11). Thus, you don’t need to wait to get to heaven to experience God’s love and kindness.

4. God’s Truth: The Nations Will Also Celebrate God’s Truth in Heaven. Ps. 117:2.

  • God’s covenant is based upon His everlasting faithfulness. God’s covenant is a truth that is dependable and unbreakable, lasting for all eternity: “2  . . . and the truth of the Lord is everlasting.” (Ps. 117:2). “God’s ‘truth’ is here, as so often, his faithfulness to his promises, the promises being especially those made to Abraham and David. His ‘mercy and truth’ to Israel were an indication of what the Gentiles might expect of him in his dealings with them (comp. Romans 15:8, 9).” (Pulpit Commentary on Ps. 117:2).12

  • God’s Word is true, dependable, and always fulfilled. In heaven, believers will marvel and celebrate the fulfillment of every promise in the Bible. “Not one of the good promises which the LORD had made to the house of Israel failed; everything came to pass.” (Josh. 21:45). “But it will come about that just as all the good words which the LORD your God spoke to you have come upon you, so the LORD will bring upon you all the warnings, until He has eliminated you from this good land which the LORD your God has given you.” (Jo. 23:15). “Blessed be the LORD, who has given rest to His people Israel in accordance with everything that He promised; not one word has failed of all His good promise, which He promised through Moses His servant.” (1 Kgs. 8:56). Thus, you can trust in God’s promises and find comfort in them during your trials.

Your Word is Truth - Encouragers for Christ

God’s truth is made known to everyone through His Word13

  • God’s truth was made known through His Word. In heaven, believers will also celebrate that God shared His truths with mankind through His Word. “Now then, Lord GOD, You are God, and Your words are truth; and You have promised this good thing to Your servant.” (2 Sam. 7:28). “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.” (Jo. 17:17). Although the world is filled with the devil’s lies, God’s truth is always available to you.

  • God’s truth and love were made known through Jesus. In heaven, the people will also celebrate that Jesus is the truth: “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.”’ (Jo. 14:6). “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us; and we saw His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth . . . For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.” (Jo. 1:14, 17). His lovingkindness and truth work together to protect us and lead us to salvation. “Lovingkindness and truth are fundamental attributes of Jehovah’s character (Psalm 115:1, and often). St Paul unites them in the proposition in support of which he quotes Psalm 117:1. “I say that Christ hath been made a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, that he might confirm the promises given unto the fathers, and that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy” (Romans 15:8-9).” (Alexander Kirkpatrick on Ps. 117:2).14

5. God’s Eternal Reign: The People’s Will Celebrate God’s Eternal Reign. Ps. 117:2.

  • God is everlasting. You can also trust in God’s covenant because He will reign supreme for all eternity: “2  . . . the Lord is everlasting.” (Ps. 117:2). Jesus never changes. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, and forever.” (Hebr. 13:8). Thus, you can also trust that He will always be present to keep His promises to you.

  • God has and will continue to reign supreme forever. Throughout the Bible, God is revealed to have existed forever. Moses called Yahweh “the Everlasting God.” (Gen. 21:33). God will also reign forever: “The LORD shall reign forever and ever.” (Ex. 15:18). “Your throne is established from of old; You are from eternity.” (Ps. 93:2). “Your throne, God, is forever and ever; the scepter of Your kingdom is a scepter of justice.” (Ps. 45:6). “But You are the same, and Your years will not come to an end.” (Ps. 102:27). “I issue a decree that in all the realm of my kingdom people are to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel; for He is the living God and enduring forever, and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed, and His dominion will be forever.” (Dan. 6:26). “You, LORD, rule forever; Your throne is from generation to generation.” (Lam. 5:19). “Behold, God is exalted, and we do not know Him; the number of His years is unsearchable.” (Job 36:26). “But regarding the Son He says, ‘Your throne, God, is forever and ever, and ever, and the scepter of righteousness is the scepter of His Kingdom.” (Heb. 1:8). Thus, you can God trust to keep His many promises to you.

  • The Messiah will come to restore His rule over all the nations. Although mankind has struggled under evil and oppression, the psalmists promised that God’s Messiah was coming to judge the nations and then reign forever with mercy, truth, and love: “Before the LORD, for He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples in His faithfulness.” (Ps. 96:13). “And He will judge the world in righteousness; He will execute judgment for the peoples fairly.” (Ps. 9:8). “May the nations be glad and sing for joy; for You will judge the peoples with fairness and guide the nations on the earth. Selah” (Ps. 67:4). “Those who contend with the LORD will be terrified; against them He will thunder in the heavens, the LORD will judge the ends of the earth; and He will give strength to His king, and will exalt the horn of His anointed.” (1 Sam. 2:10). “And all the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, just as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats;” (Matt. 25:32). “It is a psalm in which there is celebrated the universal reign of Jesus Christ, who shall come to reign over all the earth.” (Chuck Smith on Ps. 117).15

  • You can trust Jesus’ faithfulness. David once stated that God’s “faithfulness reaches to the skies.” (Ps. 36:5). “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him.” (Ps. 103:11). “For His mercy toward us is great, and the truth of the LORD is everlasting. Praise the LORD!” (Ps. 117:2). “For Your goodness is great to the heavens and Your truth to the clouds.” (Ps. 57:10). You can give thanks that His mercy knows no bounds. “Oh, the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!” (Ro. 1:33). The enemy will put thoughts in your head that your sins are too big to be forgiven. But God is faithful to keep His promises of mercy and forgiveness.

6. Jesus is the Messiah: Jesus Christ Came to Fulfill the Promises of Psalm 117.

  • Psalm 117 is a prophecy of a universal offer of salvation that Jesus fulfilled. Many assume that Psalm 117 is incomplete. Thus, many have tried to merge it with Psalm 116 or Psalm 118. But the Bible contains no mistakes. Psalm 117 was made complete when Jesus came to fulfill its promises. Martin Luther famously observed: “This is a prophecy concerning Christ; that all peoples out of all kingdoms and islands, shall know Christ in his kingdom; that is, in his church; in that kingdom where mercy and grace, and the remission of sins, and eternal life, and everlasting consolation, shall be preached against sin, death, the power of the devil, and all evil.” (Martin Luther on Ps. 117).16

Love For His People: Redeemed by Jesus. Our Passover Lamb.

Jesus is the Lamb of God, who took our sins upon Himself to offer eternal life17

  • Jesus was the Lamb of God, whose sacrifice made possible eternal salvation. The Jews sang this psalm during Passover. They unknowingly sang in anticipation of Jesus’ sacrifice. “The next day he saw Jesus coming to him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (Jo. 1:29). “But He was pierced for our offenses, He was crushed for our wrongdoings; the punishment for our well-being was laid upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed . . . He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; like a lamb that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so He did not open His mouth.” (Is. 53:5, 7). “and He Himself brought our sins in His body up on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness; by His wounds you were healed.” (1 Pet. 2:24). Through faith, persons anywhere can be saved: “if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;” (Ro. 10:9).

  • Jesus fulfilled the promises of the Abrahamic covenant.  Through His sacrifice, Jesus also fulfilled God’s offer of a universal blessing through Abraham:  “And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.”  (Gal. 3:29). “It is you who are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed all the families of the Earth shall be blessed.”’ (Acts 3:25). “The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ‘All the nations will be blessed in you.’”  (Gal. 3:8).  “For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all,”   (Ro. 4:16).  “And the truth of the Lord endureth forever. He has kept his covenant promise that in the seed of Abraham should all nations of the earth be blessed, and he will eternally keep every single promise of that covenant to all those who put their trust in him. This should be a cause of constant and grateful praise, wherefore the Psalm concludes as it began, with another Hallelujah, Praise ye the LORD.” (Charles Spurgeon on Ps. 117:2). Like Abraham, you did nothing to deserve His blessings.  Have you given thanks for your undeserved right to share in this blessing?

  • Jesus is the merciful, just, and loving King of Kings who will reign for all eternity.  Jesus is also our righteous judge  (2 Tim. 4:8).  “I can do nothing on My own initiative.  As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”  (Jo. 5:30).  “But even if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone in it, but I and the Father who sent Me.”  (Jo. 8:16).  While David, Solomon, and Israel’s other kings sinned, Jesus never will.  His reign will be perfect, just, and righteous. “1 Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch from his roots will bear fruit. 2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding . . . with righteousness He will judge the poor, and decide with fairness for the humble of the earth; . . . 5 Also righteousness will be the belt around His hips, and faithfulness the belt around His waist.” (Is. 11:1-5). “There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore.” (Is. 9:7; 16:5).  “Behold, a king will reign righteously, and officials will rule justly.” (Is. 32:1). ‘“Behold, the days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘When I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; and He will reign as king and act wisely and do justice and righteousness in the land.”’  (Jer. 23:5; Is. 24:15; 42:4; Zech. 9:9-10).  Thus, you have every reason to celebrate. You don’t need to wait for heaven to do so.

  • All nations will bow before Jesus to praise and worship Him. The Psalms remind believers to give thanks for Jesus’ blessings: “But I have trusted in Your faithfulness; my heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.” (Ps. 13:5). “12 I will give thanks to You, Lord my God, with all my heart, and I will glorify Your name forever.” (Ps. 86:12). “The truths stated in Ps. 117 are the foundations for confidence that Yahweh will do all he has promised in the old covenant, and they are likewise the foundation for God’s triumph over Satan, death, hell, and the rival gods of the nations through Christ in the new covenant. All nations owed him praise before Christ came, and all nations owe him praise now.” (James Hamilton on Ps. 117).1819 Thus, Jesus deserves your eternal praise.

7. Evangelism: All Are Called Upon to Share God’s Offer of Universal Salvation.

  • Psalm 117 was a call to evangelism to the Jews. Some Jewish writers have observed the difficulty in understanding what the Jews were meant to do with a psalm directed to the gentiles and suggest that the psalm must have been accidently separated from Psalm 118. “Psalm 117 is one of the more difficult psalms. . . It makes little sense as a private psalm, recited by an individual worshiper, as there would be no one to hear the exhortation. Imagining it as a public psalm recited at the Jerusalem Temple before large crowds of worshipers hardly solves the problem. Although non-Jews could enter the Temple, it is difficult to imagine a situation where all the nations, or even the representatives of all the nations, would have heard this psalm.” (Prof. Marc Zvi Brettler on Ps. 117, The Torah.com).20 But the Bible contains no mistakes. This was a call to action for the Jews to share God’s Word with the gentiles across the world to fulfill this prophecy.

  • Psalm 117 is an evangelism psalm. Although many may not have understood its purpose, “This is a gospel psalm. The apostle, Ro 15:11, quotes it as a proof that the gospel was to be preached to the Gentile nations, and that it would be entertained by them. For many ages, in Judah only was God known, and his name praised; this call was not then given to any Gentiles. But the gospel of Christ is ordered to be preached to all nations, and by him those that were afar off are made nigh.” (Matthew Henry on Ps. 117).21

  • God always meant for the Jews to share His light with the gentiles. When God brought the Jews out of Egypt, He planned for them to serve others as His priests: ‘“and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel.” (Ex. 19:6). As His priests, they were meant to share His light with the lost gentile world. “I am the LORD, I have called You in righteousness, I will also hold You by the hand and watch over You, and I will appoint You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the nations,” (Is. 42:6). As His light, His offer of universal salvation would be known to all the nations, and Psalm 117 would be fulfilled: “He says, “It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the protected ones of Israel; I will also make You a light of the nations so that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”’ (Is. 49:6). “For so the Lord has commanded us, I have appointed you as a light to the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the end of the earth.”’ (Acts 13:47). “For my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared in the presence of all the peoples: A light for revelation for the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.” (Lk. 2:30-32).

  • Be a light to the lost. As part of Jesus’ Great Commission, everyone is called upon to share His offer of salvation: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit teaching them to follow all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matt. 28:18-20). “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;” (Matt. 5:14). Are you fulfilling Jesus’ calling for you?

  1. Because the chapters are of different length, the actual middle verse of the Protestant Bible is Psalm 103:1-2. The Middle Book, Chapter, Verse in the Bible (graceambassadors.com). There are seven Catholic books that are not found in the Protestant Bible because the Jews did not consider them to be part of their canonized Masoretic Hebrew books. The seven “deuterocanonical” Catholic books (which are not counted as part of this Bible midpoint analysis) include the books of: (1) Tobit, (2) Judith, (3) Wisdom, (4) Sirach (Ecclesiasticus), (5) Baruch, (6) 1 Maccabees, and (7) 2 Maccabees. 7 Books in the Catholic Bible Not Found in the Protestant Bible - Christian Gist. Hebrews 11:35 possibly references 2 Maccabees 7. But this is arguably the only direct reference to one of these books in the New Testament.↩︎

  5. Allen Ross, A Commentary of the Psalms: Volume 3(90-150), Kregel Academic (2016) p. 436.↩︎

  9. Praise YHWH All You Nations: Psalm 117 - TheTorah.com; citing Katharine D. Sakenfeld, The Meaning of Hesed in the Hebrew Bible: A New Inquiry, Harvard Semitic Monographs 13 (Missoula: Scholars Press, 1978; reprinted in, Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2002); Elinoar Bareket, “Chesed a Reciprocal Covenant,” TheTorah (2017); Carlsten Ziegert, “What is חֶסֶד? A Frame-Semantic Approach,” JSOT (2020).↩︎

  14. Regius Professor of Hebrew, Cambridge University (1882-1903), Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges, Psalm 117 Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (biblehub.com)↩︎

  19. James M. Hamilton Jr., Evangelical Bible Theology Commentary Psalms (Vol. II: Psalms 73-150) (Lexham Academic 2021) p. 330.↩︎