Psalms 117 commentary

Here is a solemn call to all nations to praise the Lord, and proper matter for that praise is suggested. We are soon weary of well-doing, if we keep not up the pious and devout affections with which the spiritual sacrifice of praise ought to be kindled and kept burning. 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. We are among the persons to whom the Holy Spirit here speaks, whom he calls upon to join his ancient people in praising the Lord. Grace has thus abounded to millions of perishing sinners. Let us then listen to the offers of the grace of God, and pray for that time when all nations of the earth shall show forth his praises. And let us bless God for the unsearchable riches of gospel grace.

PSALM 117

Psalm 117:1-2

1. Praise Jehovah, all ye nations; magnify him:, all ye peoples. “That all the nations here, and in the next word all peoples, signify, in the greatest latitude, all the nations, all people of the Gentile world, even πᾶσαν κτίσιν, ‘the whole creation,’ and κόσμον ἅπαντα, ‘the whole world,’ Mark 16:15, appears both by Matthew 28:19, where, parallel to those phrases in St Mark, is no more than πάντα τὰ ἔθνη, ‘all the nations,’ as here; but especially by Romans 15, where, for a proof of God’s purpose that the Gentiles should be received into the Church, and join with the believing Jews in one concert of Christian love and faith, and praise God together in the same congregation, the proof is brought, as from several other texts, so from these words in this psalm. And this not only by expressly citing, verse 1, ‘And again praise the Lord, all ye nations, and laud him, all ye people;’ but also in the front of the testimonies, by the phrases, ‘for the truth of God,’ verse 8, ‘for the mercy or pity of God,’ verse 9, both which are here mentioned, verse 2.” — Hammond. 2. Because his mercy is strengthened “Ou, multipliee.” — Fr. marg. “Or, multiplied.” towards us: and the truth of Jehovah remains for ever. Praise ye Jehovah.

1 Praise Jehovah, all ye nations. The Holy Spirit having, by the mouth of the prophet, exhorted all nations to celebrate the praises of God’s mercy and faithfulness, Paul, in his Epistle to the Romans, very justly considers this as a prediction respecting the calling of the whole world, (Romans 15:11.) How can unbelievers be qualified for praising God, who, though not entirely destitute of his mercy, yet are insensible of it, and are ignorant of his truth? It would therefore serve no purpose for the prophet to address the heathen nations, unless they were to be gathered together in the unity of the faith with the children of Abraham. There is no ground for the censorious attempting, by their sophistical arguments, to refute the reasoning of Paul. I grant that the Holy Spirit elsewhere calls upon the mountains, rivers, trees, rain, winds, and thunder, to resound the praises of God, because all creation silently proclaims him to be its Maker. It is in a different manner that he is praised by his rational creatures. The reason assigned is, that God’s mercy and truth furnish materials for celebrating his praises. Besides, the prophet does not mean that God shall be praised everywhere by the Gentiles, because the knowledge of his character is confined to a small portion of the land of Judea, but because it was to be spread over the whole world. First, he enjoins God to be praised, because his goodness is increased, or strengthened, for the Hebrew term admits of both meanings. Secondly, because his truth remains steadfast for ever How, then, are those qualified to celebrate his praises, who, with brutal insensibility, pass over his goodness, and shut their ears against his heavenly doctrine?

PSALM 117

Psa 117:1, 2. This may be regarded as a doxology, suitable to be appended to any Psalm of similar character, and prophetical of the prevalence of God's grace in the world, in which aspect Paul quotes it (Ro 15:11; compare Psa 47:2; 66:8).

2. is great toward us--literally, "prevailed over" or "protected us."

O praise the Lord, all ye nations - Let all the Gentiles praise him, for he provides for their eternal salvation.

Praise him, all ye people - All ye Jews, praise him; for ye have long been his peculiar people. And while he sends his Son to be a light to the Gentiles, he sends him also to be the glory of his people Israel.

For his merciful kindness is great - גבר gabar, is strong: it is not only great in bulk or number, but it is powerful; it prevails over sin, Satan, death, and hell.

And the truth of the Lord endureth for ever - Whatsoever he has promised, that he will most infallibly fulfill. He has promised to send his Son into the world, and thus he has done. He his promised that he should die for transgressors, and this he did. He has promised to receive all who come unto him through Christ Jesus, and this he invariably does. He has promised that his Gospel shall be preached in every nation, and this he is doing; the truth of the Lord remaineth for ever. Therefore, Praise ye the Lord!

1 O Praise the LORD , all ye nations: praise him, all ye people.

Acknowledge the true God, and serve him onely, and cast away all your Idols.

Marginal references: Rom. 15. 11.

2 For his merciful kindness is great towards us : and the truth of the LORD endureth for ever. Praise ye the LORD.

Either, 1. towards us Jews, to whom he hath given those peculiar priviledges which he hath denied to all other nations. But this may seem an improper argument to move the Gentiles to praise God for his mercies to others from which they were excluded. Or, 2. towards all of us, all the children of Abraham, whether carnal or spiritual, who were to be incorporated together, and made one body and one sold by and under the Messias, Iob. 10. 16. Eph. 2. 14. which mystery seems to be insinuated by this manner of expression.

INVITATION TO THE PEOPLES TO COME INTO THE KINGDOM OF GOD.

Psa 117:1-2 The thanksgiving Psalm ending in Hallelujah is followed by this shortest of all the Psalms, a Hallelujah addressed to the heathen world. In its very brevity it is one of the grandest witnesses of the might with which, in the midst of the Old Testament, the world-wide mission of the religion of revelation struck against or undermined the national limitation. It is stamped by the apostle in Rom 15:11 as a locus classicus for the fore-ordained (gnadenrathschlussmässig) participation of the heathen in the promised salvation of Israel.

Even this shortest Psalm has its peculiarities in point of language. אמּים (Aramaic אמיּא, Arabic umam) is otherwise alien to Old Testament Hebrew. The Old Testament Hebrew is acquainted only with אמּות as an appellation of Ismaelitish of Midianitish tribes. כּל־גּוים are, as in Psa 72:11, Psa 72:17, all peoples without distinction, and כּל־האמּים all nations without exception. The call is confirmed from the might of the mercy or loving-kindness of Jahve, which proves itself mighty over Israel, i.e., by its intensity and fulness superabundantly covering (גּבר as in Psa 103:11; cf. ὑπερεπερίσσευσε, Rom 5:20, ὑπερεπλεόνασε, 1Ti 1:14) human sin and infirmity; and from His truth, by virtue of which history on into eternity ends in a verifying of His promises. Mercy and truth are the two divine powers which shall one day be perfectly developed and displayed in Israel, and going forth from Israel, shall conquer the world.

All Nations Admonished to Praise God.

1 O praise the Lord , all ye nations: praise him, all ye people. 2 For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the Lord endureth for ever. Praise ye the Lord .

There is a great deal of gospel in this psalm. The apostle has furnished us with a key to it (Rom. xv. 11), where he quotes it as a proof that the gospel was to be preached to, and would be entertained by, the Gentile nations, which yet was so great a stumbling-block to the Jews. Why should that offend them when it is said, and they themselves had often sung it, Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and laud him, all you people. Some of the Jewish writers confess that this psalm refers to the kingdom of the Messiah; nay, one of them has a fancy that it consists of two verses to signify that in the days of the Messiah God should be glorified by two sorts of people, by the Jews, according to the law of Moses, and by the Gentiles, according to the seven precepts of the sons of Noah, which yet should make one church, as these two verses make one psalm. We have here,

I. The vast extent of the gospel church, v. 1. For many ages in Judah only was God known and his name praised. The sons of Levi and the seed of Israel praised him, but the rest of the nations praised gods of wood and stone (Dan. v. 4), while there was no devotion at all paid, at least none openly, that we know of, to the living and true God. But here all nations are called to praise the Lord, which could not be applied to the Old-Testament times, both because this call was not then given to any of the Gentile nations, much less to all, in a language they understood, and because, unless the people of the land became Jews and were circumcised, they were not admitted to praise God with them. But the gospel of Christ is ordered to be preached to all nations, and by him the partition-wall is taken down, and those that were afar off are made nigh. This was the mystery which was hidden in prophecy for many ages, but was at length revealed in the accomplishment, That the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs, Eph. iii. 3, 6. Observe here, 1. Who should be admitted into the church—all nations and all people. The original words are the same that are used for the heathen that rage and the people that imagine against Christ (Ps. ii. 1); those that had been enemies to his kingdom should become his willing subjects. The gospel of the kingdom was to be preached to all the world, for a witness to all nations, Matt. xxiv. 14; Mark xvi. 15. All nations shall be called, and to some of all nations the call shall be effectual, and they shall be discipled. 2. How their admission into the church is foretold—by a repeated call to praise him. The tidings of the gospel, being sent to all nations, should give them cause to praise God; the institution of gospel-ordinances would give them leave and opportunity to praise God; and the power of gospel-grace would give them hearts to praise him. Those are highly favoured whom God invites by his word and inclines by his Spirit to praise him, and so makes to be to him for a name and a praise, Jer. xiii. 11. See Rev. vii. 9, 10.

II. The unsearchable riches of gospel-grace, which are to be the matter or our praise, v. 2. In the gospel, those celebrated attributes of God, his mercy and his truth, shine most brightly in themselves and most comfortably to us; and the apostle, where he quotes this psalm, takes notice of these as the two great things for which the Gentiles should glorify God (Rom. xv. 8, 9), for the truth of God and for his mercy. We that enjoy the gospel have reason to praise the Lord, 1. For the power of his mercy: His merciful kindness is great towards us; it is strong (so the word signifies); it is mighty for the pardon of mighty sins (Amos v. 12) and for the working out of a mighty salvation. 2. For the perpetuity of his truth: The truth of the Lord endures for ever. It was mercy, mere mercy, to the Gentiles, that the gospel was sent among them. It was merciful kindness prevailing towards them above their deserts; and in it the truth of the Lord, of his promise made unto the fathers, endures for ever; for, though the Jews were hardened and expelled, yet the promise took its effect in the believing Gentiles, the spiritual seed of Abraham. God's mercy is the fountain of all our comforts and his truth the foundation of all our hopes, and therefore for both we must praise the Lord.

PSAL. CXVII.

PRaise Iehovah all ye Gentiles; laud him all ye peoples. For his mercy is mighty towards us; and the faithfulnesse of Iehovah endureth for ever; Halelu-jah.

Annotations. GEntiles] or nations; all which are exhorted to glorifie God, for obtaining mercy by Christ, who hath received us into the glory of God; as the Apostle sheweth from this Scripture, Rom. 15. 7.—11.

PSAL. CXVII.

VErſ. 1. O praiſe the Lord all yee Nations] viz. For Chriſt that gift, Joh. 4 10. that benefit, 1 Tim. 6.2. that deſire of all Nations, Hag. 2.7. that good tidings of great joy to all people, Luk. 2.10 who are by him received into the glory of God,Kimchi. Rom. 15.7, 11. where the Apoſtle thus applyeth this Scripture; and the Jew-Doctors confeſſe that this ſhort and ſweet Pſalm, is to bee underſtood de beneficiis Meſſiae, of Chriſt, and his benefits.

Praiſe him all yee people] Laudationibus commendate eum, ſo Tremel: rendreth it, praiſe him with a force, and as it were with a violence, with all your might, ye cannot poſſibly over-do.

Verſ. 2. For his merciful kindneſſe is great] Invaluit, hath prevailed over us, breaking through all obſtacles and impediments, whether within us or without us; eating its way through all rocks and remoraes, and though wee would put it back, yet it will overcome us: his grace is irreſiſtible, neither can it ever bee taken away.

And the truth of the Lord] As his mercy alone moved him to make promiſe, ſo his Truth bindeth him to perform the ſame. See 2 Sam. 7.18, 21. The word of promiſe bindeth God, and therefore it may ſeem to bee ſtronger than God. If his merciful kindneſſe prevail over us, as verſ. 1. his truth prevaileth over him. The Jew doctors obſerve that the word Emeth, here uſed for truth, conſiſteth of Aleph, the firſt letter of the Alphabet;Midrach. [illegible: 1 letter]illine. M[illegible: 2 letters] the middlemoſt letter thereof, and Tan the laſt: to ſhew that as God is Alpha and Omega, ſo the truth of God is the All in all of our comfort. Grace and Truth came by Jeſus Chriſt this is the ſum of all the good news in the World.

O praise the LORD, all ye nations. This is an exhortation to the Gentiles to glorify Jehovah, and a clear proof that the Old Testament spirit differed widely from that narrow and contracted national bigotry with which the Jews of our Lord's day became so inveterately diseased. The nations could not be expected to join in the praise of Jehovah unless they were also to be partakers of the benefits which Israel enjoyed; and hence the Psalm was an intimation to Israel that the grace and mercy of their God were not to be confined to one nation, but would in happier days be extended to all the race of man, even as Moses had prophesied when he said, "Rejoice. O ye nations, his people" (De 32:43), for so the Hebrew has it. The nations were to be his people. He would call them a people that were not a people, and her beloved that was not beloved. We know and believe that no one tribe of men shall be unrepresented in the universal song which shall ascend unto the Lord of all. Individuals have already been gathered out of every kindred and people and tongue by the preaching of the gospel, and these have right heartily joined in magnifying the grace which sought them out, and brought them to know the Saviour. These are but the advance guard of a number which no man can number who will come ere long to worship the all glorious One. Praise him, all ye people. Having done it once, do it again, and do it still more fervently, daily increasing in the reverence and zeal with which you extol the Most High. Not only praise him nationally by your rulers, but popularly in your masses. The multitude of the common folk shall bless the Lord. Inasmuch as the matter is spoken of twice, its certainty is confirmed, and the Gentiles must and shall extol Jehovah —all of them, without exception. Under the gospel dispensation we worship no new god, but the God of Abraham is our God for ever and ever; the God of the whole earth shall he be called.

For his merciful kindness is great toward us. By which is meant not only his great love toward the Jewish people, but towards the whole family of man. The Lord is kind to us as his creatures, and merciful to us as sinners, hence his merciful kindness to us as sinful creatures. This mercy has been very great, or powerful. The mighty grace of God has prevailed even as the waters of the flood prevailed over the earth: breaking over all bounds, it has flowed towards all portions of the multiplied race of man. In Christ Jesus, God has shown mercy mixed with kindness, and that to the very highest degree. We can all join in this grateful acknowledgment, and in the praise which is therefore due. And the truth of the Lord endureth for ever. 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.

Whole Psalm. A very short Psalm if you regard the words, but of very great compass and most excellent if you thoughtfully consider the meaning. There are here five principal points of doctrine.

First, the calling of the Gentiles, the Apostle being the interpreter, Ro 15:11; but in vain might the Prophet invite the Gentiles to praise Jehovah, unless they were to be gathered into the unity of the faith together with the children of Abraham.

Second, The Summary of the Gospel, namely, the manifestation of grace and truth, the Holy Spirit being the interpreter, Joh 1:17.

Third, The end of so great a blessing, namely, the worship of God in spirit and in truth, as we know that the kingdom of the Messiah is spiritual.

Fourth, the employment of the subjects of the great King is to praise and glorify Jehovah.

Lastly, the privilege of these servants:that, as to the Jews, so also to the Gentiles, who know and serve God the Saviour, eternal life and blessedness are brought, assured in this life, and prepared in heaven. Mollerus.

Whole Psalm. This Psalm, the shortest portion of the Book of God, is quoted and given much value to, in Ro 15:11. And upon this it has been profitably observed, "It is a small portion of Scripture, and such as we might easily overlook it. But not so the Holy Ghost. He gleans up this precious little testimony which speaks of grace to the Gentiles, and presses it on our attention." From Bellett's Short Meditations on the Psalms, chiefly in their Prophetic character, 1871.

Whole Psalm. The occasion and the author of this Psalm are alike unknown. De Wette regards it as a Temple Psalm, and agrees with Rosenmueller in the supposition that it was sung either at the beginning or the end of the service it the temple. Knapp supposes that it was used as an intermediate service, sung during the progress of the general service, to vary the devotion, and to awaken a new interest in the service, either sung by the choir or by the whole people. Albert Barnes.

Whole Psalm. In God's worship it is not always necessary to be long; few words sometimes say what is sufficient, as this short Psalm giveth us to understand. David Dickson.

Whole Psalm. This is the shortest, and the next but one is the longest, of the Psalms. There are times for short hymns and long hymns, for short prayers and long prayers, for short sermons and long sermons, for short speeches and long speeches. It is better to be too short than too long, as it can more easily be mended. Short addresses need no formal divisions: long addresses require them, as in the next Psalm but one. G. Rogers.

O praise the Lord, etc. The praise of God is here made both the beginning and the end of the Psalm; to show, that in praising God the saints are never satisfied with their own efforts, and would infinitely magnify him, even as his perfections are infinite. Here they make a circle, the beginning, middle, and end whereof is hallelujah. In the last Psalm, when David had said, "Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord, "and so in all likelihood had made an end, yet he repeats the hallelujah again, and cries, "Praise ye the Lord." The Psalmist had made an end and yet he had not done; to signify, that when we have said our utmost for God's praise, we must not be content, but begin anew. There is hardly any duty more pressed in the Old Testament upon us, though less practised, than this of praising God. To quicken us therefore to a duty so necessary, but so much neglected, this and many other Psalms were penned by David, purposely to excite us, that are the nations here meant, to consecrate our whole lives to the singing and setting forth of God's worthy praises. Abraham Wright.

All ye nations. Note: each nation of the world has some special gift bestowed on it by God, which is not given to the others, whether you have regard to nature or grace, for which it ought to praise God. Le Blanc.

Praise him. A different word is here used for "praise" than in the former clause: a word which is more frequently used in the Chaldee, Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic languages; and signifies the celebration of the praises of God with a high voice. John Gill.

For his merciful kindness is great toward us. We cannot part from this Psalm without remarking that even in the Old Testament we have more than one instance of a recognition on the part of those that were without the pale of the church that God's favour to Israel was a source of blessing to themselves. Such were probably to some extent the sentiments of Hiram and the Queen of Sheba, the contemporaries of Solomon; such the experience of Naaman; such the virtual acknowledgments of Nebuchadnezzar and Darius the Mede. They beheld "his merciful kindness"towards his servants of the house of Israel, and they praised him accordingly. John Francis Thrupp.

For his merciful kindness is great toward us. Albeit there be matter of praise unto God in himself, though we should not be partakers of any benefit from him, yet the Lord doth give his people cause to praise him for favours to them in their own particular cases. David Dickson.

For his merciful kindness is great. rbg, gabar, is strong:it is not only great in bulk or number;but it is powerful;it prevails over sin, Satan, death, and hell. Adam Clarke

Merciful kindness... and the truth of the LORD. Here, and so in divers other Psalms, God's mercy and truth are joined together; to show that all passages and proceedings, both in ordinances and in providence, whereby he comes and communicates himself to his people are not only mercy, though that is very sweet, but truth also. Their blessings come to them in the way of promise from God, as bound to them by the truth of his covenant. This is soul satisfying indeed; this turns all that a man hath to cream, when every mercy is a present sent from heaven by virtue of a promise. Upon this account, God's mercy is ordinarily in the Psalms bounded by his truth; that none may either presume him more merciful than he hath declared himself in his word; nor despair of finding mercy gratis, according to the truth of his promise. Therefore though thy sins be great, believe the text, and know that God's mercy is greater than the sins. The high heaven covereth as well tall mountains as small mole hills, and mercy can cover all. The more desperate thy disease, the greater is the glory of thy physician, who hath perfectly cured thee. Abraham Wright

Whole Psalm. The universal kingdom.

1. The same God.

2. The same worship.

3. The same reason for it.

Merciful kindness. In God's kindness there is mercy, because,

1. Our sin deserves the reverse of kindness.

2. Our weakness requires great tenderness.

3. Our fears can only be so removed.

Verse 2 (last clause)

1. In his attribute —he is always faithful.

2. In his revelation —always infallible.

3. In his action —always according to promise.