Psalm 117:1-2
Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles! Laud Him, all you peoples! For His merciful kindness is great toward us, And the truth of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord!
This beautiful short Psalm is part of a six-psalm practice of praising God. It was called the Hallel which means “praise” in Hebrew, and also Hallelujah meaning “thank God.” It’s like a crisp little story packed with a lot of depth.
In the first part, there is a call to the Gentiles to praise God. An invitation sort, for ALL people to extol and honour the Lord. How can this be, we can ask. Why call the Gentiles and all others? Because that is exactly why God sent His Son. For ALL have sinned and fallen short of God’s glorious standards (Romans 3:23) Acts 10:34-35 says that God shows no favouritism and is not partial, but accepts from every nation those who revere Him and do what is right. God does this because of His mercies that are new every morning and His loving kindness abounds. His plans are to redeem ALL that not one would perish.
This is the ultimate TRUTH. That His love endures forever (Psalm 136) Meaning His love is permanent! It is everlasting. IT HAS NO END! Now what can change that love for you or separate you from that love? Romans 8:31 says NOTHING in ALL CREATION WILL EVER BE ABLE TO separate us from this fierce love of God. Neither life, nor death; no angels, nor principalities or powers; nothing in the present, nor anything that even is to come; no height, no depth, no creature, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING can separate you from the love of CHRIST! What an absolutely phenomenal promise of the Lord for us to be rooted in. That we are so intensely loved by our God who has promised that NOTHING can change His love for us!!! Hallelujah!!!
