Praise the LORD, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples. – Psalm 117:1

Today’s Scripture Reading (July 22, 2019): Psalm 116 & 117

One of the original struggles of the church that Jesus left behind had to do with its identity. Who were these people who had become worshippers of the Jewish Messiah? From outside of the church, these followers of Jesus were primarily seen as a Jewish sect. These were Jews or Gentiles who had either converted to Judaism or were in the process of converting to Judaism, who made up this group of believers who followed Jesus Christ. Outside the church, this was settled fact. But inside the church, a war was being waged. On one side were the converted Pharisees, sometimes referred to as the Judaizers, who believed that to become a Christian a person had first to adopt the laws of Judaism, including the controversial law that required that all the men had to be circumcised. On the other side of the argument was a new convert to Christianity from Judaism named Paul and a few of his close associates who asserted that while Christianity was connected to the Jewish faith because it worshiped the Jewish Messiah and because it took its historical and prophetical framework from Judaism. But Paul believed that Christianity had superseded its predecessor and become a faith on its own merits.  

The Psalmist would seem to agree. Psalm 117 is the shortest Psalm in the Psalter. In English, it consists of two verses, and in Hebrew, it is just sixteen words. And the Psalm begins with this assertion; every nation should praise God. This is not directed at only one group of people or one faith system. Yahweh is not only the national God of Israel. He is Lord over all of the earth, and his concern is for all of the people of this planet. Therefore, it follows that all of the people should praise him.

Paul insists that the promises that God gave to Abraham were for all of the world, through Jesus Christ. To the Galatian Church, Paul writes this; “The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. Scripture does not say “and to seeds,” meaning many people, but “and to your seed,” meaning one person, who is Christ” (Galatians 3:16).

The promises of God are fulfilled through Jesus, not just to Israel, but to all of the world. God’s purpose for Abraham was that the whole world would be blessed through him, and Paul argues that that blessing comes through Jesus. And as we are blessed, it is natural that we would want to give our praise to him. Yahweh remains the God of all of the nations, and all of the many peoples who inhabit those nations. Give him your praise.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 118