A Psalm of Praise.
1 Praise the Lord, all nations;
Laud Him, all peoples!
2 For His lovingkindness is great toward us,
And the truth of the Lord is everlasting.
Praise the Lord!
(Psalm 117)
We began our worship service yesterday with this, the shortest psalm in the psalter. As short as it may be, it is full of wonder and amazement for the one who knows just how great the Lord’s lovingkindness is toward him. The Hebrew word for “lovingkindness” is defined by the Lord’s love for His people as they relate to Him in the covenant. The covenant made between God and Abraham, which was a greater picture of His promise to Adam, is the covenant that undergirds all other covenants. It includes the promise of blessing, land, an innumerable people, kings, and ultimately the promise of salvation which is realized in Jesus Christ.
The lovingkindness of the Lord is great toward us because it includes His forgiveness for our sins. He is always faithful to His promise. The psalmist says, “the truth of the Lord is everlasting.” The truth or faithfulness of the Lord is the reason you have hope in Him. His unchanging nature provides you with assurance of salvation, even when you disobey one of His commands. In His lovingkindness, the Lord promises to set you back on your feet when you stumble and fall. He is the covenant keeping God, who told Abraham that He would be his God and that he would be His people.
By faith, Jews and Gentiles are granted a righteous standing before God. The Apostle Paul writes, “And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise” (Gal. 3:29). You and I are able to read this psalm, written some 2,500 years ago, and be encouraged in the character of God. By faith, we who have looked to the saving mercies of God, are able to find peace in the lovingkindness of the Lord. It is for this reason that the psalmist commands that “all nations” “praise the Lord!”
He is worthy of your praise and mine. He is the one who bases our standing before Him, not on our ability to obey His righteous commands, but on His ability to forgive our sins. I want to encourage you to look to the Lord, even when you disobey. Our adversary tempts us to think that God won’t forgive us this time, but he is a liar and a murderer from the beginning. The truth is, God has promised to forgive us and has bound Himself to us by His promise.
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 Jn 1:9)