FRIDAY 14th
Psalm 117
NIV (all) ‘Praise the LORD, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples. For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD.’
ESV (all) ‘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!’
This psalm which is the shortest of the collection of the 150 psalms is simple and straightforward in its application – ‘Praise the LORD.’ And why? Because of God’s steadfast love and because of his faithfulness.
You will recall (or may recall) a few weeks back I mentioned a short chorus that had really blessed me while we attended Brooklyn Tabernacle while on holiday, it is such a simple song, but it touched me immensely, I used the phrase ‘it blew the sock off me’ for at that moment God really touched me in the depth of my being. The song is, ‘Sometimes hallelujah, sometimes praise the Lord, sometimes gently singing our hearts in one accord.’ That is it, it wasn’t a new song to me, but there on that occasion and so many times since it has really blessed me, as I have sung it over and over again, in a sense it is a little like this psalm, short but powerful, a short psalm that calls the people of God to praise, and the song is a short song that calls the people to lift their voice in praise, ‘hallelujah’ and why because of all that God has done and is doing for us. And sometimes it may be a simple ‘Hallelujah’, it may be a ‘praise the Lord’, it may be while alone, but it may also be while we are together, gently singing, our hearts in one accord.
He is worthy, he is wonderful, he is amazing in his love, he is amazing with his grace and his mercy, so sometime during today, bring a hallelujah, bring a praise the Lord, gently sing, lift your heart in worship, and envelope yourself in his presence. For the Lord is great, his steadfast love is toward you, his faithfulness endures forever.