Today we read the shortest chapter in the bible Psalm 117, along with Psalm 118 and these 2 Psalms end several Psalms that are usually sung at the Passover meal.
Psalm 117 New Living Testament bible "1Praise the Lord all you nations. Praise him, all you people of the earth. 2For he loves us with unfailing Love; the Lord's faithfulness endures forever. Praise the Lord!'
Sometimes less is more. Psalm 117 is one of those psalms that eloquently expresses our praise to God. We don't need to come up with long prayers to praise God, just a short heartfelt prayer of praise to God is all that matters. Help us today to remember that we can stop for a quick moment to offer up a quick prayer of praise to you God.
Psalm 118
The theme for this psalm is having confidence in God's unchanging Love.
Verse 1 begins with Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his love endures forever. This is part of chorus of a favorite praise song today. The tune is full of life and energy - and this is how we should praise God.
Verses 2-4 Israel, the house of Aaron and those of us who fear the Lord can say His Love endures forever. The psalmist starts with a nation, then the priestly line that came through Aaron, and lastly to us to praise and worship God.
Verse 5-7 When I call out to the Lord he will come to me, he will be my helper, and I will not fear for he is on my side.
Verses 8-9 It is better to trust in God than in man. Wise words. And it is better to take refuge with God than to trust in princes.
Verses 10-12 God destroys hostile nations surrounding me. We can apply this to our own personal battles too.
Verses 13-14 God helps me when I am backed up against a wall. He is my strength and my salvation.
Verses 15-16 We can shout victory - the Lord's right hand has done many things.
Verses 17-18 I will not die but live, God punished me severely but did not let me die. When we accept Christ into our heart we have eternal life with God. We will be punished for our wrongs but he will forgive us and we will be with him through out eternity.
Verses 19-21 I will enter into the gates of righteousness and give thanks for God allowing me to come in. God gives us the law and wisdom to help us walk in righteousness.
Verses 22-23 Jesus is the capstone - the cornerstone of the church today. Jesus refers to these verses in Matthew 21:42, Mark 12:10 and Luke 20:17. Jesus was rejected by his own people even though he is the cornerstone that holds the church as a whole today.
Verse 24 "This is the day that the Lord has made - let us rejoice and be glad in it" Are you singing along with me?
Verse 25-29 - The psalmist continues with praise to God. His light shines in us. If we are excited about anything we just want to bubble over and tell everyone our good news. Let us be bold enough to let God's light shine through me and tell everyone the good news of Jesus Christ.
Father God, I thank you today for including in the bible words to praise you with, through song and the poetry of the psalms. Help me to personalize the words of the psalmist so I can praise you with what you have done in my life. We learn today that we can praise you with two simple verses or long stories of what you have done for us. It doesn't matter the content or eloquent words but what is in our heart. Let us be bold and praise God to everyone around us this day. In your name we pray. Amen.
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