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117 Praise the LORD, all nations!
Extol him, all peoples!
For great is his steadfast love toward us,
and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever.
Praise the LORD!
(ESV)
Although short, this psalm packs a heavy punch.
God calls all people to worship Him. The calling of the Gentiles (all people other than Jews) was in the plan of God from the beginning. Through His relationship with Israel, the Gentile nations saw His goodness and power revealed in miraculous ways. Paul quotes this psalm in Romans 15.
And again, “PRAISE THE LORD ALL YOU GENTILES, AND LET ALL THE PEOPLES PRAISE HIM.”
Romans 15:11 NASB
The other application that sticks out for me is the grace and truth paradox. Once you begin to read Scripture through the lens of both grace and truth, you start to see it everywhere. Verse 2 states that His love is great toward us and His truth is everlasting. When Jesus came in the flesh, He embodied these two characteristics simultaneously.
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:14 NASB
For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.
John 1:17 NASB
We must consider if we also embody grace and truth. If we swing too far one way or another, we miss the fullness of Christ and possibly lead others down a false path.
“Instead of the world’s apathy and tolerance, we offer grace. Instead of the world’s relativism and deception, we offer truth. If we minimize grace, the world sees no hope for salvation. If we minimize truth, the world sees no need for salvation. To show the world Jesus, we must offer unabridged grace and truth, emphasizing both, apologizing for neither.”
Randy Alcorn