Praise the Lord, all nations extol him. All peoples for great is his steadfast love toward us and the faithfulness of the Lord and endures forever. Praise the Lord.
– Psalm 117:1–2
And there it is, the shortest chapter in the Bible. Two verses, and isn’t it interesting? These two verses in the shortest chapter in the Bible, summarize the story of all the Bible.
Psalm 117:1–2 Commands Us to Praise God
Think about it. Praise the Lord all nations. That’s how it starts. Extol him, all peoples, and it ends by saying, praise the Lord. That’s the point of the Bible, to lead us, to see and savor and enjoy and exalt God as our creator, as our king, as our Lord, as our savior, as our Father. Praise the Lord. All of the Bible points to the praiseworthy nature of God.
God revealing himself to us in his word for his glory and not just to certain ones of us. Praise the Lord. All nations extol him. All peoples God is worthy of praise among all the nations, all the peoples of the world. It’s clear from the beginning of the Bible and it’s clear in the end of the Bible. This is where all of history is headed toward every nation, every people, every language, every tribe, praising the Lord. That’s where all of history is headed. God being extolled by all the peoples.
For what reason? Verse two, “for great is his steadfast love toward us.” This is the theme of the Bible. God has not left sinners alone in their sin and their judgment, their condemnation, God steadfast in his love towards sinners. He has made away through Jesus, his son, for sinners to be saved by his steadfast love and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.
Psalm 117:1–2 Summarizes the Story of Redemption
This is the story from cover to cover in scripture. God is faithful. He’s loving me. Merciful and his faithfulness will last forever and ever and ever. Praise the Lord God. We praise you for Psalm 117. We praise you for your word and for the themes in your word that are so clearly reflected in these two verses, near the center of the Bible that summarize it all. So we say, yes, God, we praise you, we extol you, we worship you. You are the center of our lives. You’re the center of the world. God, you’re the center of history. You’re the center of it all, and you deserve all glory, all honor, all praise. We join with the choruses in revelation, all wealth and wisdom and might and glory and honor, and power belong to you. For great is your steadfast love for us.
God, we praise you for your steadfast love for each of us. We praise you for your faithfulness to us, for never leaving us alone, for never forsaking us, for your promises and your purposes that will always stand forever. Your faithfulness endures forever. So we praise you, we pray for the spread of your praise among all the nations, among all the peoples.
Praying for the Iraqi Arabs
We pray specifically today for the 19 plus million Iraqi Arabs. God, we pray, bring multitudes more Iraqi Arabs to praise you, to extol you for your steadfast love. In Jesus, we pray for disciples who made in churches to be multiplied among Iraqi Arabs and among thousands of other people, groups who’ve yet to be reached with the gospel.
God, we pray for the good news of your steadfast love, for your faithfulness to spread to them that they might praise you, extol you for your salvation. We pray that for all the nations, all the peoples, and we pray that you would spend our lives today, every day toward that end, for the spread of your praise right around us, all around the world to share your steadfast love and tell others of your faithfulness that endures forever. We pray all of this in light of your word, this chapter in Psalm 117. In Jesus name, in the name of the one who is at the center of all your word. Amen.
David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder and Chairman of Radical, an organization that helps people follow Jesus and make him known in their neighborhood and all nations.
David received his B.A. from the University of Georgia and M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Some of his published works include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, and Don’t Hold Back.
He lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children.
