Jews and Gentiles Praise the Lord
Many believe that God’s plan to save the Gentiles was an afterthought, in response to Israel’s rejection of their Jesus their Messiah. This is not true. It was always God’s intention to include Gentiles in His plan of salvation. In Genesis 12:3, Abraham was told by God that through his linage all the nations of the world will be blessed. In Romans 15:9-12, Paul quotes several Old Testament passages to describe the mission of the Messiah to bring Gentiles into the family of God.
One of these passages is Palms 117. It is to this psalm that we come to today. This is the shortest psalm and the shortest chapter in all the Bible. Yet this psalm is of immense importance in its call for all the nations to worship the one true God, Yahweh. The psalm calls both Gentiles and Jews to praise Yahweh. Make no mistake, this is a command from God for Israel (“us” in v.2), and all the peoples of the earth.
How can unbelievers be qualified to praise God who are ignorant of God’s mercy and truth? It makes no sense to call unbelieving nations to worship unless they are believers gathered together with all God’s people. The world we live in now is a world that lies in the power of the evil one (1 John 5:19). Satan controls world religions (2 Cor 4:4), and influences world governments to oppose God’s will and His people (the church—Eph 6:12). This psalm looks ahead to the day when all who remain on earth are peoples who love God and worship the Lord Jesus Christ (Zech 14:16-21). This is God’s plan since before the foundation of the world (Eph 1:4), to redeem a people for Himself (Titus 2:14).