Letters to the Family of God
by Joe Franzone | November 11, 2021 | Pastor's Blog
November 11, 2021
Praise the Lord, all you nations;
extol Him, all you people.
For great is His love toward us,
and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.
Praise the Lord.
Dear friends,
There is often in the Bible a humble reminder in the call to worship that the worship of God does not begin with us. Human beings may worship a god or something which is a god to us. Therefore, not only do we need to be told to worship the right God, but we also need to be told to worship the right God for the right reasons. Psalm 117 helps make this plain.
In this short Psalm, the whole world (all nations)—is given a massive message to praise and extol God for His great love and forever faithfulness.
What
Halal and shabach, praise and extol, are two descriptive words that tell us what our praise is to do. Our praise is to draw complete attention to God, by the boasting of God, in the presence of God in worship.
Why
Why do we praise God? Because! If you are a parent, you’ve probably exercised that line of reason with your children. Here is God’s because. For great is His love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.
The word great has the idea of being unsurpassed. And the word faithfulness means permanent or everlasting. Therefore, in this one verse, you have foundational and ongoing truth about God. God’s love and God’s faithfulness reign enormously in unsurpassed permanent fashion over His people.
The Christian can look at this as a Psalm praising and worshiping Christ in His kingdom because in His kingdom nothing reigns but grace and truth, that is, the forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and all the joy and comfort, over sin, death, and all evil.
This short song expresses the inexhaustible power and goodness of God. It renews and refreshes the heart, it restores, it relieves, it comforts, and it strengthens us constantly.
The God we are to worship is unmeasurably good. His love is unsurpassed. It’s better than the best the world has to offer—indeed, even if it is given all at once. His faithfulness is eternal. It never stops. God’s faithfulness never finds a condition in His people where it would cause Him not to be faithful.
Loved ones, may God give us the grace to swim in this truth, praising and exalting Him for His very nature because one day, the whole world will.
God exalted Him to the highest place
and gave Him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Grace and peace to you overflowing,
Pastor Joe