“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.” Psalm 117

Psalm 117 is the shortest Psalm and the shortest chapter in the Bible. It is quoted in its entirety above, just 29 words. But it has a big and significant message. It reemphasizes and reinforces that it was God’s plan from the beginning to use Israel to bring blessing to all nations and all peoples.

God set Israel apart as his chosen nation, but not to bless Israel and curse the other nations. The Bible tells us that God set Israel aside in order to demonstrate his love and faithfulness to all peoples, and through Israel to provide the savior of the world, Jesus Christ. Psalm 117 is a succinct summary of the great truth expressed throughout the Old Testament that the destiny of all nations was directly involved in what God was doing through and for the nation of Israel.

God’s promise to bless all nations was first given to Abraham in Genesis 12:3. This promise is echoed throughout the Old Testament and in Romans 15:11 the Apostle Paul cites Psalm 117:1 as evidence that from the beginning it was God’s intent to provide salvation through Abraham’s seed (Jesus) to all nations, and to make that salvation available to all who believe, to all who call upon the name of the Lord.

Praise the Lord, for great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord!