Did you know that Psalm 117 is the shortest chapter in the entire Bible? Did you know that Psalm 117 is also the exact middle chapter of the entire Bible? Did you know that Psalm 117 is a song that is sung at the Passover Feast to praise the Lord for His gracious and merciful work of redemption? If your answer to any of these questions is no, well… now you know!
In certain forms of Hebrew writing, the opening and closing verse express the same concept, and the middle verse expresses the major point and message of the entire passage. It is safe enough to say, although I could be wrong, that what is expressed in Psalm 117, being the middle chapter, is the major point and message of the entire Bible. The message is Praise the Lord! In the beginning, God and man dwelt together in perfect peace in a life of worship, fellowship, and harmony with God. In the end, God will dwell with His redeemed people from all nations of the earth, and we will worship Him for eternity.
So, the major message is that for His unfailing love and faithfulness we praise Him!
Psalm 117 was sung at Passover to celebrate how death passed over the Hebrews and Israel was delivered from the oppression of Egyptian slavery. However, God’s covenant with Abraham, the patriarch of Israel was that all nations would be blessed through him and the lineage of his promised son, Isaac. Isaac was the father of Jacob. Jacob’s name was changed to Israel, and he fathered twelve sons who became the patriarchs of the twelve tribes of Israel. Israel’s son Judah, whose name means praise, is the ancestor of King David. King David is the ancestor of Jesus Christ, the Messiah and Savior of Israel, and everyone from any nation, who by grace through faith, receives the free gift of salvation that He offers. Through the sacrifice of Jesus, the eternal Passover Lamb of God, all who believe are delivered from the oppression of sin, reconciled with God, restored to a life of fellowship with God, and are free to worship without hindrance or shame until the end of time, just as God designed from the beginning. For this, we praise the Lord!
Jesus Christ has crushed the head of the ancient serpent who tempted mankind to sin back in the beginning in the Garden of Eden. Jesus Christ has conquered sin and death, He has overcome the works of the devil, He has redeemed all who believe in Him from the pit of destruction, He has paid for our sins by His blood which was shed on the cross, He has invited us to share in His eternal inheritance, and He has atoned for our lives so that God does not remember our sins any more but only delights to bless us. Through faith in the finished work of Jesus, we have life to the fullest measure, and we live in perfect harmony with God until the end of time, just as God designed originally in the Garden of Eden.
Can anyone say Praise the Lord!?!
Read Psalm 117 with fresh perspective. Think of the Israelites praising God for their deliverance from death and bondage on the original Passover. Then take a moment and praise the Lord for delivering you from death and bondage and restoring you to fellowship with Him through your Passover Lamb, Jesus.
Praise the Lord! That’s pretty much the whole point!
Psalm 117 (New Living Translation)
Praise the Lord, all you nations.
Praise him, all you people of the earth. For he loves us with unfailing love;
the Lord’s faithfulness endures forever.
Praise the Lord!
Originally published as: "Praise the Lord - Psalm 117" - Reprinted from The Obedience of Faith Blog - Copyright © 2013 Wendy Bowen – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED WORLDWIDE