Psalm 117:1 says – Praise the LORD, all nations! Extol him, all peoples! The Hebrew word translated as praise means to celebrate the magnificence of God. The word LORD is capitalized, as it refers to the covenant name of God, and speaks of the character and nature of God. The psalmist is calling on all people to worship God because of who God is.
And it is going to happen. This psalm is a prophecy of when all peoples will praise the Lord. The Hebrew word translated as nations refers to the Gentiles. And in Romans 15:11, when the Apostle Paul makes his case that the Gentiles are included in the grace of God, he quotes Psalm 117:1. As Revelation 5:9 and 7:9-10 tells us, people from every tribe and language and nation are included in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and will sing before the throne of God. In the end, the Gospel wins. Praise the LORD!
Have you ever wondered just who you are? Well, Ephesians 1:1 says that if you are a Christian, then you are a saint. That is what God says, regardless of what others say. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says that you are the righteousness of God in Christ....[ abbreviated | read entire ]
The Bible clearly says that God is love, but what that means needs to be rightly understood. Because God is love, but love is not God. Love is not all that God is. Rather, God defines what love is. Instead of us deciding what love is. If you start...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
The presence of God isn’t about feeling God in your physical senses, it’s about knowing God in your spirit. And the Bible describes it as a love beyond knowledge (Ephesians 3:19), a joy inexpressible and filled with glory (1 Peter...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
I’m sure you’ve heard that if you want to be a winner, you’ve got to separate from the losers. You’ll have to disassociate with the less affluent, educated, successful, or influential. You have to hang with your own crowd....[ abbreviated | read entire ]
A lot of people are haunted by guilty feelings. Even when you do good now, it doesn’t erase the bad you did then. But people say Jesus will pay for your sins. But you still did the bad stuff. And you still feel guilty. And no legitimate...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
1 Peter 4:1-2 says – Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
How you relate to others is a direct reflection of how you relate to God. Jesus said – This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. The Apostle Paul said – Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
In Luke 6:21, Jesus said – as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them. That’s the Golden Rule. You honor God by honoring people. But sometimes people turn the Golden Rule into a golden weapon, against God, and against...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
People are made in God’s image. Yet your lips can bless God, while also cursing those made in God’s image. James 3:9 says no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
