Thoughts for the Day

Saturday, 9th September 2023: The power of the shortest psalm

Promise Gentiles Praise Psalm 117 Jesus

Reading : Psalm 117

Psalm 117

Universal Call to Worship

Praise the Lord, all you nations!
Extol him, all you peoples!
For great is his steadfast love towards us,
and the faithfulness of the Lord endures for ever.
Praise the Lord!

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

This, the shortest of all the psalms is quite amazing. It's perhaps sufficient to say that Martin Luther devoted thirty-six pages of writing to it. How on earth did he do that, you might ask? Well let's have a look! Firstly, the writer calls on all nations to praise Yahweh (God). Other psalms called upon the people of Israel to praise Him, but Psalm 117 goes one further and asks all nations to praise Yahweh. The promise He made to bless all nations through Abraham (Genesis 12.3) is still there. God's grace and mercy was not to be restricted to one people, but was for all tribes, peoples and tongues!.

Secondly, we are to praise Him because His love and faithfulness is constant and prevails. The original Hebrew word for 'great' is a strong word, and can be used of the winning side in a battle, or when the waters of the flood in Genesis, prevailed for 40 days. After thousands of years His promises to all people still continue, they are as fresh as they were when they were first made.

Thirdly, our response should be two-fold. We are to praise God for His promises to us through Jesus Christ. But just as important we are responsible for sharing God's promises to others. For as St Teresa of Avila said "We are Christ's body". If we are his hands and feet, then we are also his voice!

Prayer

Lord God,
it is all too easy to see the psalms
as something that belong to the past
or only to church worship.
But may we see that Your words in scripture
are for all eternity,
and that they are not just for someone
else to act upon,
but for all Your people to play their part.
Amen.

Follow Up Thoughts

You might like to meditate upon St Teresa's words:

  • Christ has no body but yours,
    No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
    Yours are the eyes with which he looks
    Compassion on this world,
    Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,
    Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.
    Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
    Yours are the eyes, you are his body.
    Christ has no body now but yours,
    No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
    Yours are the eyes with which he looks
    compassion on this world.
    Christ has no body now on earth but yours.
    (St.     Teresa of Ávila)

Or listen to this:

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