Psalm 117. This is the shortest Psalm in the Psalter, but it is full of deep feeling! In this Psalm we have the expressions of the restored nation of Israel leading the united earth in the praises of Jehovah. The nations will come up to Jerusalem to worship Jehovah (Isaiah 2:2; Zech. 14:16), and Israel will function as a “a kingdom of priests” (Ex. 19:6) in the Millennium, according to their original calling, and as such will conduct the worship of the nations who will come up to Jerusalem.

 

 

vv.1-2 The Nations Called to Praise Jehovah. Here we have Israel leading out the praises of all nations and peoples of the earth for Jehovah. The old animosity between Jew and Gentile will then be removed. Note that Paul quotes this v.1 in Romans 15:11, because it shows God’s purpose to bless the Gentiles. However, this Psalm does not rise up to the truth of the Mystery which is expressly stated to be hidden in God, not revealed in the Old Testament (Rom. 16:25; 1 Cor. 2:7; Eph. 3:9; Col. 1:26). It looks on to the Millennium when the Gentiles will join with Israel in the praise of Jehovah. This is the fruit of the gospel of the kingdom going out in the tribulation period. By prefacing these quotations with “according as it is written” the apostle shows that, while the specific fulfillment of these scriptures is yet future, the blessing of Gentiles in the present time is consistent with God’s purpose. The theme of the praise is Jehovah’s great loving-kindness toward Israel, and also the faithfulness of Jehovah to His own purposes and promises. Israel will own before the world that their blessing is not through their own merit, but through the grace of Jehovah. Thus they own their relationship to Him, and call on the nations to praise Jehovah. The Psalm closes with a fitting “Hallelujah!”.