Psalms — Chapter 117

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1Praise the LORD, all you nations! Extol Him, all you peoples!

2For great is His loving devotion toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. Hallelujah!

1O praise the LORD, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people.

2For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the LORD endureth for ever. Praise ye the LORD.

1O praise Jehovah, all ye nations; Laud him, all ye peoples.

2For his lovingkindness is great toward us; And the truth of Jehovah [endureth] for ever. Praise ye Jehovah. Psalm 118

1Praise the Lord, all you nations. Applaud him, all you foreigners.

2For his loyal love towers over us, and the Lord’s faithfulness endures. Praise the Lord.

1Praise Yahweh, all you nations! Extol him, all you peoples!

2For his loving kindness is great toward us. Yahweh’s faithfulness endures forever. Praise Yah!

Summary
Authorship & Background
Commentary
Videos
Articles
Reflection

Summary

The shortest chapter in the Bible, this psalm is a brief but sweeping call for every nation and people to praise the LORD (v. 1), grounded in the greatness of his steadfast love toward his people and the eternal endurance of his faithfulness (v. 2).

Authorship & Background

Author: Multiple authors — primarily David (73 psalms attributed), plus Asaph (12), Sons of Korah (11), Solomon (2), Moses (1), Heman (1), Ethan (1), and anonymous. The Psalter was compiled over approximately 1000 years and served as Israel's hymnal and prayer book. The book is divided into five 'books' (1-41, 42-72, 73-89, 90-106, 107-150), paralleling the five books of Moses.
Classification: Hymn of Praise / Hallel Psalm
Attributed Author: Anonymous
Key Themes: Universal praise from all nations, God's mercy (hesed) toward His people, God's eternal truth, the brevity and completeness of praise
Historical Context: Psalm 117 is the shortest chapter in the Bible — only 2 verses, 33 words in Hebrew. Yet it carries enormous theological weight. It is also the middle chapter of the Bible (with 594 chapters before it and 594 after). It calls all nations and all peoples to praise Israel's God — making it one of the most universalist statements in the Old Testament. Paul quotes this psalm in Romans 15:11 as proof that God always intended to include the Gentiles in His redemptive plan. Despite its brevity, it contains both reasons for praise: God's hesed (merciful kindness/steadfast love) and His emet (truth/ faithfulness). Small psalm, infinite theology.
O Praise the LORD, All Ye Nations (v.1): O praise the LORD, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people. Two verses is the whole psalm, the shortest chapter in the Bible, and the first of them addresses everyone who is not Israel. Paul quotes it in Romans 15:11 as one of four texts proving that the Gentiles were always in view, and it is his shortest proof and his plainest.
His Merciful Kindness Is Great Toward Us (v.2a): For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the LORD endureth for ever. The reason given to the nations for praising is what God has done for someone else, and the psalm sees no difficulty in that. The two words are hesed and emet, covenant kindness and reliability, the pair that stands behind grace and truth in John 1:14.
Praise Ye the LORD (v.2b): Praise ye the LORD. The single word hallelujah closes the psalm, and in a poem of two verses it is a sixth of the whole. It is the same word that opens and closes the last five psalms of the psalter, so this short psalm ends the way the book will.

Commentary

  • Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Verse-by-verse commentary on this chapter, written for the everyday reader and freely available online.
  • Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871): blueletterbible.org A critical and explanatory commentary on the whole Bible, more concise than Matthew Henry and closer to the Hebrew and Greek, with attention to historical and geographical detail. Public domain.
  • Matthew Henry's Exposition (1710): blueletterbible.org A devotional verse-by-verse commentary in the Puritan tradition, still among the most widely read three centuries on. Public domain.

Videos

Psalm 117 - Calling All Peoples to Praise the LORD
David Guzik

Psalm 117 | Good News for All Nations | Bible Study
Spoken Gospel

Articles

  • GotQuestions.org: gotquestions.org On the whole book: an overview of Psalms -- who wrote it, when, why, and how it fits the rest of Scripture.

Links open on the publisher's own site. Nothing here is reproduced on this page.

Reflection

  • A Call to Every Nation (v.1) — All nations and all peoples, not just Israel, are called to praise the LORD in this shortest of all psalms. Is your circle of who you expect to worship God too small?
  • Steadfast Love and Enduring Truth (v.2) — The reason for praise is God's merciful love toward His people and His truth that endures forever. Which do you need to lean on more right now — His steadfast love, or His unchanging truth?