The Shortest Psalm

Most people know that Psalm 119 is the longest Psalm. Another bit of trivia for us can be answered today. Psalm 117 is the shortest Psalm in the Bible. It is also the shortest chapter in the Bible. The brevity of the Psalm does not take away from it at all. It’s a beautiful Psalm. It’s included among the Egyptian Hallel. This means it was and is sung during the Passover celebration. It begins and ends with the familiar phrase of the Egyptian Hallel: Praise the Lord!

I think it’s appropriate that the preaching of this Psalm falls upon the last evening service before we celebrate Thanksgiving. The providence of God never ceases to amaze me. God has in eternity past orchestrated it so that we would be reminded to praise the Lord during this season. Let’s dive into the text.

1. We should both remind people to praise God and praise God ourselves.

The Psalm begins and ends the same way- “Praise the Lord!” But there is a distinction between the opening and the closing of the Psalm.

It opens with the Psalmist telling others to praise God. It ends with the Psalmist praising God Himself.

How do we remind others to praise God?

We teach our children that all blessings come from God.

When someone shares good news with us, we say “Praise God.” That may seem simple, but it’s important. It should come naturally to us. It’s as easy as recognizing the hand of God at work in the lives of other people.

They share:

Good news about a health issue they had

An accomplishment of one of their children

A job or and advancement in a job

A good grade

A time of refreshment

A new car, home, etc.

Helping others see the hand of God actively moving in their lives is a way to teach people.

Saying something like, “God sure has been good to you” when they share something is an easy way to help people be reminded to praise God.

It goes without saying that we are to praise God ourselves. We would be hypocrites if we encouraged people to praise God but did not do so ourselves. The Psalmist praises the Lord after he lists some character traits of God. Worship is not something we only do when we gather. Worship is to be our lifestyle.

How many times a day do you praise God?

Quietly, to yourself: through prayer, through meditation.

Publicly- aloud. Pointing people to the source of your blessings.

Look at the word “extol” in verse 1. In some versions, like the KJV, the word is translated as “praise”. The reasoning is the meaning of the Hebrew words “praise” and “extol” are very similar. But the words in this same are different Hebrew words.

“Praise” is Hallel in Hebrew

“Extol” is shabach in Hebrew.

The meaning of extol is to make exuberant statements as to the excellence of someone. It is to commend, to glory. We should speak about God in a way we do not speak about anyone else.

We have heard too much praise heaped upon people.

Perhaps it was two people newly in love speaking about one another.

Perhaps it was a coworker trying to get a raise or a job.

Perhaps it was a starstruck person glorying over a celebrity.

The praise of people is at times enough to make us sick. But when it comes to God, we cannot heap to much praise on Him. We should speak of Him in a way that we do not speak of anyone else.

We should use our memory when praising God- remember!

We should use our mind when praising God- think!

We should use our vocabulary when praising God- Adjectives and words you don’t normally use.

2. Israel was to remind all nations to praise God.

In Romans 15:11 Paul quotes verse 1. He quotes this verse to enforce a point he is making. His point is that through Jesus Christ the Gentiles will be saved and praise God for His mercy.

“All nations” includes Israel but points toward the Gentile nations.

“All peoples” refers to all of the ethnicities on earth.

God will accomplish His will in saving people form all nations and all ethnicities. We see this clearly in the book of Revelation.

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands,- Revelation 7:9

It has always been God’s intent that all nations worship Him. Speaking to Abraham in Genesis 12:3 the Lord said:

I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Why should all people praise the God of Israel?

He is their Creator- in Adam.

He is their Sustainer- rain on just and unjust.

He is their Savior- Christ died for the sins of the world

He is their Judge- Hebrews 9:27

Israel lost their sense of mission. We could argue they never really had it. They were a self-centered nation. It’s hard to understand how they forgot their mission when the Lord gave them some rich missional songs to sing.

When they sang this Psalm at Passover, they were telling the Gentiles to worship their God. This was an invitation to the covenant. The truth is most of the Jewish people would not have received a Gentile if one had taken them up on the offer. But they had no problem singing Psalms like this.

It’s important that we evaluate what we are singing. We should be honest with ourselves and ask:

Do I believe what I am singing?

Do I mean what I am singing?

Do I practice what I am singing?

If Israel meant what they were singing, they would have been trying to win the Gentiles to the Lord.

If we mean what we are singing, we will be faithful Christians. What we sing should be a form of discipleship. It should shape us into faithful Christians. If it is not, then our singing is merely ritualistic.

3. We should praise God because His love is great.

His love is toward us. The word used for love here speaks of the kindness of God. God has directed His kindness towards us. His love is steadfast. It is reliable. But I want to focus on the greatness of His love.

It is great in its measure- knowns no end. Sin did abound grace did much more abound.

It is great in its power- conquers the power of our sin.

It is great in its demonstration- the cross.

It’s great in its accomplishment- salvation of untold numbers of people.

There is nothing greater than to be loved by God. That is the most wonderful thing about you. No matter who you are, that is the greatest thing about you.

When Jesus was at the funeral of Lazarus He cried. The Jews saw Jesus crying and they said, “Behold how He loved him” (John 11:36).

That was the greatest thing that could be said about Lazarus:

Not, he had good sisters.

Not, Jesus had been in his home.

Not, Jesus came to His funeral.

Not, he rose from the dead.

Unbelieving Jews said the greatest thing that could be said about Lazarus. They said, “Behold how He loved Him.” What was true of Lazarus is true of all of God’s children. He loves us. That is the greatest compliment we could ever get. We should praise God because He loves us.

Thank you for loving me, Lord!

Thank you for loving me so much Lord!

4. We should praise God because His faithfulness is forever.

The Hebrew word for faithfulness used here is “emeth”. It is sometimes translated as “truth” as in the KJV. The words “faithfulness” and “truth” are similar because they convey the idea of trustworthiness.

God is faithful because He is truth. Jesus said “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life…”

God is faithful because He will never change. What God is today He will always be. We can trust Him. You don’t ever have to worry about waking up one morning and not recognizing the Lord. that happens with people.

Someone who was a friend no longer is.

Someone who was kind no longer is.

Someone who was a hard worker no longer is.

It’s not uncommon for us to look at someone and say, “They’ve changed.” That can be good, or it can be bad. No one will ever look at the Lord and say He has changed.

God has promised He will never leave us or forsake us. He will always be with us. We ought to praise Him for that. We ought to talk to him about that.

Lord, You should have left me a long time ago.

Lord, You have been faithful to me when I have not been faithful to You.

Do you ever think about how faithful God has been to you?

I’ve tested many of God’s promises. I have always found them to be true.

If you test them you will find the same thing.

There is a line in the hymn “What a Friend we have in Jesus” that says:

Can we find a friend so faithful

who will all our sorrows share?

Jesus knows our every weakness;

take it to the Lord in prayer.

One of my favorite hymns is Great is Thy Faithfulness. It says:

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;

there is no shadow of turning with Thee;

Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;

as Thou hast been, Thou forever wilt be.

Great is Thy faithfulness!

Great is Thy faithfulness!

Morning by morning new mercies I see;

all I have needed Thy hand hath provided:

great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,

Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;

strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow:

blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

Do you praise God for His faithfulness in your life? It is never ending. Therefore our praise to him for it should be never ceasing.