Latest / Reformed Thinking / Praise the Lord, All Nations (Psalm 117) | Charles Spurgeon

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Praise the Lord, All Nations (Psalm 117) | Charles Spurgeon · Reformed Thinking

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Imagine holding the entire weight of Reformed theology.
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You know, things like predestination, total depravity,
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unconditional election, and the perseverance of the Saints.
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Right, all the heavy hitters. Yeah, all of that, but in a
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space so small that it takes maybe less than 10 seconds to
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read aloud. Less time than it takes to pour
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your morning coffee, really. Spot on.
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Before you even finish that first sip, you have consumed the
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absolute center of the biblical text.
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You have read a document that completely shatters the
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boundaries of ancient tribal religion.
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And it sets the stage for a global cosmic worship.
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It is staggering. We are looking at a text that is
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2 sentences long just to. Welcome to reformed thinking
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everyone. We have a very specific mission
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today for this deep dive. We really do.
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We are opening up Charles Haddon Spurgeon's massive multi volume
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commentary on the Psalms. The Treasury of David.
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That is the one. But out of those thousands of
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pages of, you know, dense Victorian theological analysis,
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we are zeroing in on his treatment of just one chapter.
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Psalm 117. Yes, our goal is to extract the
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staggering theological truths packed into the absolute
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shortest chapter of the Scriptures.
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Which is such a fascinating mission to undertake.
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It really is, especially when you view the text through a
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distinctly Protestant, Reformed lens.
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This text, brief as it is, beautifully illustrates the core
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doctrines articulated in the Westminster Confession of Faith.
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Oh, absolutely. We are going to see the absolute
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sovereignty of God on brilliant display.
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Here we will look at the astonishing expansiveness of the
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Covenant of Grace. Reaching way beyond the initial
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borders of ancient Israel. Right.
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Precisely, and perhaps most strikingly, we will confront the
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total inability of man to overcome sin without God's
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prevailing forceful mercy. That mercy actively breaking
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through our natural defenses. Yeah, I mean, the sheer irony of
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what we are doing today is fantastic it.
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Really is. We are dedicating a massive,
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extensive deep dive to a text that only has 2 verses.
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Psalm 117 is the shortest chapter in the Scriptures.
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And geographically, like within the layout of the Canon, it also
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happens to be the central portion of the whole Bible.
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Which is wild. Spurgeon himself notes this
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physical reality right at the beginning of his commentary.
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He makes the observation that it is very little in its letter,
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but exceedingly large in its spirit.
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Very little in letter, large in spirit.
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I love that. That physical brevity is
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precisely what makes it so fascinating when you look at it
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historically. Right, because if you examine
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the landscape of 19th century biblical scholarship.
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Yeah, particularly the work of German scholars like Wilhelm
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Devette and Ernst Rosenbiller. They brought it very specific
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structural lens to the Psalms. They were not reading these
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texts exclusively as private devotional poems meant for quiet
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reflection, were they? No, not at all.
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They were asking mechanical, logistical questions about how
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these texts physically functioned in the ancient world.
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They suggest the Psalm was highly practical in the context
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of temple worship. So it was functional.
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Yes, they conclude. It was likely a brief hymn or a
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doxology used for very specific liturgical reasons.
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I mean, imagine the bustling, intense, the sensory overload of
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the ancient temple in Jerusalem. Oh wow, yeah, you have the
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smells of incense and sacrifice. The sounds of massive choirs,
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the visual spectacle of the priesthood.
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In that environment, there were specific moments when the time
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for worship was short. Oh.
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When a massive transition was needed between different phases
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of a festival. Right.
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Another scholar from that era, George Christian Nap, proposes
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it was used as an intermediate worship gathering.
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Like a bridge between parts of the service.
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Essentially, yes, it would be sung during the progress of a
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much longer general service, specifically to vary the
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devotion and awaken new interest among the congregants.
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So it could be sung by the Levite choir or perhaps by the
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whole congregation. Yeah, functioning as a sharp,
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immediate call to attention to open a service or to bring it to
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a definitive close. OK, let's untack this.
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Think about your morning coffee routine.
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I am always thinking about my coffee routine.
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Right. You could have a giant 30 oz
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iced coffee that takes you an entire hour to slowly sip.
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You consume it gradually and the caffeine enters your system at a
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steady, prolonged pace. Or you can have a perfectly
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pulled shot of espresso. I see where you're going.
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Psalm 117 is that shot of espresso.
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It is minimal in volume, but it possesses the absolute maximum
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concentration of flavor and caffeine.
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You consume it quickly. But the effect it has on your
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central nervous system is immediate, intense, and
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undeniable. It wakes you up.
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The brevity is not a flaw. The brevity is the point.
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What's fascinating here is how the 19th century commentator G
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Rogers expands on that exact concept of functional length.
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What does he say? Rogers observes a very practical
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reality of human communication and worship.
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He knows that there are proper times for short hymns and long
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hymns. You know, short prayers and long
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prayers, short sermons and long sermons.
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Sure, different tools for different jobs.
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But he makes a very pragmatic point regarding human attention
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spans and theological retention. He says it is better to be too
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short than too long. Because a short address canmore
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easily be amended by the listeners own meditation.
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Precisely. Furthermore, he points out a
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structural reality. Short addresses need no formal
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divisions. That makes a lot of sense.
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Long sermons or extended psalms require complex rhetorical
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structures. Right point 1.2 sub point A just
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to keep the listener oriented. But the lack of formal divisions
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in a two verse Psalm actually heightens its theological
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impact. There is absolutely no time for
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the worshipper to get lost in sub points or complex metaphors.
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The truth hits the intellect and the affections all at once.
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Undivided and completely undiluted.
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That connects beautifully to a core Reformed concept regarding
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how God communicates with humanity.
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Are you thinking of David Dixon? Yes, the 17th century Stoddish
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theologian Dixon was a massive figure in the covenanting
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movement in Scotland, someone who thought heavily about how
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worship should be structured according to the Bible.
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And he touches on this brevity. He does.
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He says that in God's worship it is not always necessary to be
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long, because few words sometimes say what is
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sufficient. Which directly echoes the
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reformed view of this sufficiency of Scripture.
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God does not need to use 10,000 words when 20 words will
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accomplish His sovereign predestined purpose.
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The text is entirely sufficient to convey the necessary grace
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and instructions to the reader. But this brings up an
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interesting pivot for our analysis if this text is so
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short, so highly concentrated, and meant to hit the listener
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like a shot of theological espresso.
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Who is the intended audience for this specific message?
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Right. Who is supposed to be drinking
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this espresso? To answer that, we have to look
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closely at the very first clause of verse one.
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The text says, O praise the Lord, all ye nations.
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All ye nations. Spurgeon argues that this single
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phrase bursts completely beyond all bounds of of race,
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geography, or nationality. He writes that this is a clear
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proof that the Old Testament spirit differed completely from
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the narrow and contracted national bigotry that disease
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the Jewish leaders of Christ's day.
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The call is remarkably universal.
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It is an explicit exhortation to the Gentiles.
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The non Jewish people of the world are called to glorify
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Jehovah. Wait, hold on.
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I have to express some genuine doubt about how this would have
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been received in its original context.
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Well, if I am a 1st century Jew or an ancient Israelite standing
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in the temple singing this, I am surrounded by hostile Pagan
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nations. I'm dealing with the Assyrians,
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the Babylonians, the Romans. Right.
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Brutal empires. Why would I ever interpret this
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as a literal invitation for those hostile empires to join me
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in worship? Wouldn't I assume this praise is
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exclusively for my tribe and maybe I'm just poetically
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telling the rest of the world to watch how great my God is?
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That is a very natural assumption to make.
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Why does the literal inclusion of the Gentiles in this specific
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ancient text matter so much to us reading it today?
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That is a highly relevant question, and the tension you
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are describing is what makes the text so explosive.
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The answer lies in the mechanics of the Abrahamic covenant.
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OK, take us back there. If we go all the way back to
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Genesis chapter 12, God makes a unilateral promise to Abraham.
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He says that in Abraham's seed all the families of the earth
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would be blessed. All the families, not just one.
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Right. This relationship was never
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meant to be an exclusive insular club where salvation was
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permanently restricted to 1 ethnic group.
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Moses himself, the great Lawgiver of Israel, prophesied
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this universal inclusion in Deuteronomy 32, verse 43.
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What was his command there? He explicitly commands Rejoice,
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O ye nations, with His people. The nations were always intended
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to be partakers of the spiritual benefits Israel enjoyed.
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So the God of Abraham was always meant to be the God of the whole
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earth. Yes, the original readers,
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especially by the time of the 1st century, might have lost
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sight of that massive theological reality, retreating
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into tribalism. But the Holy Spirit embedded
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this universal claim clearly into their central hymnal.
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Forcing them to sing about a reality larger than themselves.
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That drastically shifts how we view the historical narrative of
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the entire Old Testament. It really does.
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We are not looking at a localized tribal deity who only
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cares about a small strip of land in the Middle East.
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We are looking at a cosmic king claiming absolute jurisdiction
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over every square inch of the globe and demanding allegiance
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from every single human being. And when you look at the
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commentators who has analyzed this, they pick up on this
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massive shift immediately. Like Heinrich Malarious, right?
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Yes, the 16th century scholar. He lists the calling of the
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Gentiles as his very first point of doctrine when analyzing this
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tiny Psalm. He does not start with the
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nature of praise. No, he starts with the audience.
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He interprets this Old Testament text directly through the lens
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of the New Testament, specifically Romans 15 verse 11.
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Which is Paul quoting this exact Psalm to prove the Gentiles are
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included? Spot on.
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Maloris notes that the psalmist would never invite the Gentiles
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to praise Jehovah unless they were also going to be gathered
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in the unity of the faith alongside the children of
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Abraham. Because you do not invite
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someone to sing the victory song unless they are part of the
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victorious Kingdom. That is a brilliant way to put
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it and the 19th century Irish writer JG Ballet adds a
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beautiful insight to that concept of the invitation.
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What did ballet notice? He points out that the Holy
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Ghost gleans up this precious little testimony to press grace
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to the Gentiles onto our attention.
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He uses the word gleans. Yes, which evokes the
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agricultural practice of picking up the valuable grain that was
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left behind after the main harvest.
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Oh, I love that Ballad is suggesting that the Holy Spirit
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deliberately embedded this small, easily overlooked 2 verse
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song right in the middle of the Bible as a deliberate divine
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highlighting of Gentile inclusion.
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Exactly. I mean, absolutely.
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The 19th century scholar John Francis Thropp makes another
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brilliant observation about how this played out historically.
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What did? Thropp notes that even
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throughout the seemingly exclusive era of the Old
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Testament, outsiders frequently recognize God's favor to Israel,
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and that recognition became a source of spiritual blessing to
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themselves. They acted as an advance guard
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of the Gentile inclusion that was to come.
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Thropp's list of those outsiders is fascinating when you actually
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look at the biblical narratives he is referencing.
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He cites figures like Hiram, the king of Tyre, who rejoiced over
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Solomon's wisdom. And he mentions the Queen of
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Sheba, who traveled a massive distance and ended up blessing
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the Lord for what he had done in Jerusalem.
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But the two that really stand out to me from his list are
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Naaman the Syrian and King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.
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Oh those are huge examples. Naaman was a military commander
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for a hostile foreign power. He had leprosy, a disease that
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made him a physical and social outcast.
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He comes to the prophet Elisha, gets healed by washing in the
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Jordan River, and what is his response?
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His immediate response is a declaration that there is no God
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in all the earth except in Israel.
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And then you have Nebuchadnezzar.
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The ultimate Pagan tyrant who actually destroyed the temple
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where this Psalm was sung. God humbles him, drives him into
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the wilderness to live like an animal until his sanity returns.
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And when his reason returns, Nebuchadnezzar issues a global
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decree praising and honoring the King of Heaven.
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These are not Israelites, these are the nations, the Gentiles,
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experiencing the sovereign grace of God and responding with the
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kind of praise. Psalm 117.
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Demands and those historical examples tied directly into the
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Reformed doctrine of unconditional election.
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How does Spurgeon frame that? Spurgeon uses a striking phrase
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when commenting on this aspect of the Psalm.
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He says God decided he would call them a people that were not
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a people and her beloved that was not beloved.
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That is the absolute essence of electing grace as understood in
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the Westminster Confession. God is actively choosing
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individuals out of every kindred people and tongue.
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Right. These individuals like Naman,
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like Nebuchadnezzar and eventually millions of gentiles
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across the globe, They did not earn this inclusion through
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their national heritage. They possessed no genealogical
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right to the covenant. Furthermore, they did not earn
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it through their personal merit. I mean, Naman was arrogant and
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Nebuchadnezzar was a brutal conqueror.
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God simply decided in His sovereign uncaused will to
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gather them by the preaching of the truth.
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They are brought into the sheepfold purely by grace.
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And because their inclusion is entirely unmerited, the
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resulting response is to write hardly magnify the grace that
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aggressively sought them out when they were far off.
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Which logically leads us to the next phase of our investigation.
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If all nations are called, if they are unconditionally elected
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by grace, to be part of this universal song, we must look at
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the specific mechanics of how they are instructed to respond.
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The how is crucial here. The second clause of verse one
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says Praise him all ye people. Spurgeon notes a literary device
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here, doesn't he? He does.
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The matter of praising God is spoken of twice in the same
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verse. In the structure of ancient
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Hebrew poetry, repetition is not just a stylistic choice to make
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the lines rhyme or sound pretty. Repetition means the certainty
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of the action is confirmed. It is a divine mandate.
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The Gentiles must and absolutely shall extol Jehovah without any
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exception. But it's Spurgeon's breakdown of
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who exactly makes up these nations that is so compelling.
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He points out that this praise must happen nationally by the
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rulers. The kings, the presidents, the
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magistrates. Yes, and popularly in the
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masses, which he calls the multitude of the common folk.
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So it encompasses the highest echelons of human authority and
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the most ordinary laborers. Here's where it gets really
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interesting. John Gill, the 18th century
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English theologian, provides a linguistic note that drastically
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shifts how we should imagine this scene of universal praise.
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Gill was a brilliant scholar, right?
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A master of ancient rabbinic literature in Near Eastern
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languages. He was, and he noticed something
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easily missed in the English translation.
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In the original Hebrew text, the second word used for praise in
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that clause. Praise Him all ye people is
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entirely different from the first word used for praise at
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the beginning of the verse. Really, two different words for
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praise in the same sentence. Yes, Gil points out that this
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specific second word is frequently used in other ancient
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languages like Chaldi, Syriac, Arabic and Ethiopic, and in
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those contexts it signifies the celebration of the praises of
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God with a high voice. A.
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High voice, so it implies an audible, forceful, loud
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declaration. It does.
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It completely wrecks the idea of a quiet, internal, purely
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private religious reflection. Think about how you actively
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practice praise. Are you giving a polite golf
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clap? The kind you hear when someone
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makes a decent putt on the 18th green.
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A quiet, restrained smattering of applause so you do not
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disturb anyone else. Exactly.
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I mean, yeah, just a little polite clap.
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Or are you giving a stadium shaking standing ovation, the
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kind that erupts when a team wins the championship in
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overtime and 50,000 people lose their minds simultaneously?
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Gill's linguistic analysis proves that this verse is
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demanding the stadium ovation. It is a high voice.
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It is a vocal, unashamed public declaration of God's supremacy.
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This raises an important question regarding the lived
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experience of the believer. How often does modern worship
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reflect that stadium ovation? That is a tough question to
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answer honestly. The 17th century Puritan
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commentator Abraham Wright brings this into sharp focus.
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Wright notes a structural beauty in the Psalm itself.
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What is the structure he sees? He observes that the praise of
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God is made both the beginning and the end of this Psalm.
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It opens with Oh praise the Lord, and it closes with Praise
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ye the Lord or Hallelujah. So the praise is the container
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for the theology. Right, right, says the Saints
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make a circle. The beginning, the middle, and
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the end of their existence is Hallelujah.
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They are never satisfied with their own efforts at worship
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because they realize God's perfections are entirely
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infinite. No matter how high the voice, it
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is never high enough. Wright observes A tragic
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reality. However, he notes that praising
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God is heavily pressed upon us throughout the Old Testament,
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yet it is much neglected in our daily practice.
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We frequently treat praise as an introductory activity, something
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we do for 20 minutes on a Sunday morning before getting to the
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sermon, rather than the continuous circular reality of
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the Christian life. That circle imagery is
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fantastic. Fantastic.
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A circle has no starting line and no finish line.
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It means there is no point where our gratitude is supposed to
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clock out for the day. Millers reinforces this concept
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with his fourth point of doctrine on the Psalm.
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He states that the very employment of the subjects of
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the great King is to praise and glorify Jehovah.
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It is not a hobby. Right.
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It is our primary occupation. It is the core job description
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of a human being. And the French Protestant
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commentator Thomas LeBlanc adds A remarkably beautiful layer to
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this global choir. He asserts that each nation of
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the world has some special gift bestowed on it by God.
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Whether in the realm of nature or in the realm of grace.
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Yes, which is not given to others in the exact same
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measure. And for that specific, unique
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gift, they ought to praise God. Every culture, every language,
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every distinct people group brings a different conceptual
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instrument to the universal orchestra.
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Think about the implications of Le Blanc's point.
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It means the global praise of God is not meant to be a
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monolithic uniform chant where every culture loses its
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distinctiveness. Yeah, absolutely not.
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A nation with a history of complex philosophical thought
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brings a uniquely intellectual, rigorous praise.
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While a nation with a cultural heritage of intense, expressive
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joy brings a vibrantly emotional, kinetic praise.
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And a culture that has endured centuries of suffering and
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oppression brings a deep, resonant praise regarding God's
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justice and deliverance that a wealthy, comfortable nation
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simply cannot replicate. The high voice sounds different
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in Syriac than it does in Arabic or Ethiopic or English, but they
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were all required to complete the circle of Hallelujah.
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We have established a massive amount of ground here.
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We know The Who, all nations, rulers and masses
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unconditionally elected. We have established the how with
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a high voice, like a stadium ovation in an unending circle,
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with each culture bringing its unique gifts.
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But we have to look at the why people do not give a standing
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ovation for no reason. What is the specific motivation
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driving this massive, universal loud reaction?
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That brings us to the first clause of verse two.
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For his merciful kindness is great toward us.
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Spurgeon carefully distinguishes these two English words.
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Yes, He defines this as God being kind to us as his
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creatures, but merciful to us as sinners.
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The distinction Spurgeon makes is crucial for Reformed
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theology. God is kind to all his
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creatures. He provides sunshine, rain,
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food, and the natural joys of life to humanity, regardless of
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their moral standing. But mercy is a specific category
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of kindness directed at those who are actively guilty.
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Mercy is kindness shown to a creature who has forfeited any
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right to kindness. I have to pause and look closely
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at the phrasing here. To modern ears, the phrase
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merciful kindness sounds a bit soft.
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It sounds passive. It does.
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Yeah. It evokes the image of a highly
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permissive grandfather who catches you breaking a rule,
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gives you a soft smile and lets you get away with it because he
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just wants everyone to be happy. That is a very common
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misconception. Right.
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Does that English translation lack the absolute muscular
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sovereignty that we usually associate with the Westminster
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Confession? It almost sounds too gentle to
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provoke the massive stadium ovation we were just talking
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about. I understand that reaction
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completely. The English phrase merciful
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kindness can feel somewhat delicate, but the original
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Hebrew language entirely shatters that soft, passive
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image. What does the Hebrew say?
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The commentator Adam Clark, a brilliant linguist and
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theologian, looks at the Hebrew word translated as great in this
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verse. The phrase is his merciful
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kindness is great. The Hebrew word behind great is
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gabar, gabar, and gabar means strong.
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Clark explains that it does not simply mean great in bulk or
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great in physical size, or great in number.
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It means having immense might. It denotes A forceful prevailing
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action. It is a word associated with
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military conquest, isn't it? Yes, this merciful kindness is
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not a grandfather ignoring a broken rule.
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It is a divine force that actively prevails over the pull
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of sin, over the accusations of Satan, over the finality of
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death, and over the reality of hell.
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It is an active, aggressive, militant conquest of our natural
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fallen state that changes the imagery entirely.
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It really does. Building on Clark's definition
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of Gabar, Spurgeon uses the analogy of floodwaters.
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He says the mighty grace of God has prevailed even as the waters
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of the flood prevailed over the earth in the days of Noah.
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So we are not talking about a gentle spring rain that makes
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the flowers grow in your garden. We are talking about a massive,
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overwhelming tidal wave. A tidal wave of mercy that
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breaks over all historical bounds.
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It effortlessly crushes the natural defenses of human sin
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and sweeps over the multiplied race of man.
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It is a violent, beautiful overthrow of our rebellion.
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God's mercy does not politely ask for permission to enter a
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human heart. It prevails.
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It conquers. To understand mechanically why
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that violent prevailing tidal wave is absolutely necessary, we
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have to look at the reformed concept of total depravity.
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And Spurgeon breaks this down in a section of his commentary
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called Hints to the Village Preacher, right?
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Yes, these were notes provided to help rural pastors structure
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their sermons. These specific notes breakdown
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the philosophical reasons why God's kindness must contain this
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forceful mercy. What is the first?
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Point. The first point is the most
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crucial, and it hits at the heart of human pride.
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Our sin deserves the exact reverse of kindness.
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We are not neutral creatures standing on a shoreline who just
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need a little help building a boat.
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We are actively rebellious enemies of the King.
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What we have earned by our own actions and our inherited nature
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is absolute judgement. Therefore, the kindness we
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receive cannot be reward for good behavior behavior.
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It must be an act of pure, unmerited, prevailing mercy that
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overrides what we actually deserve.
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The second point in those village Preacher notes
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highlights our extreme weakness. It requires great tenderness
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from God, but a tenderness backed by omnipotence.
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We are completely incapable of saving ourselves or initiating A
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reconciliation with a holy God. If God's mercy were merely an
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offer. Like a life preserver thrown
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into the ocean near a drowning man.
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Yeah, it would be useless because total depravity means
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the man is not just drowning, he is spiritually dead at the
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bottom of the sea. The Mercy has to be Gabar.
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It has to forcefully dive to the bottom, resurrect the man and
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drag him to the surface. And thirdly, the notes point out
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that our fears, which are the natural psychological
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consequence of our guilt and our awareness of God's justice, can
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only be removed in this specific prevailing manner.
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If the mercy were weak, our fills would easily overpower it.
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Only a tidal wave of grace can drown the massive fears of a
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guilty conscience. David Dixon brings this massive
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theological concept down from the cosmic universal level to
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the highly personal individual level.
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He makes it practical for the listener.
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He notes that while God absolutely deserves trays for
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who He is in Himself, His eternal attributes of holiness,
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justice, and might, even if we never received a single benefit
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from Him, He graciously gives his people cause to praise Him
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for specific favors in their own particular cases.
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That is the personal electing grace of God at work within the
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global call. He does not just send a generic,
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indiscriminate flood of mercy that washes over humanity in a
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vague way. He directs that prevailing mercy
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to conquer your specific individualized sins.
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He sends it to calm your specific unique fears and to
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demonstrate his tenderness in your specific areas of weakness.
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Which brings us to a crucial structural pivot in the text.
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We have established this massive tidal wave of prevailing mercy.
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But if we think about the physical nature of water, water
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is fluid. It is inherently unstable.
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Water recedes, tides go out, floods eventually dry up.
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If God's mercy is a tidal wave, what is the bedrock that
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guarantees this flood of grace will never recede?
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What ensures that this mercy is permanent and that we will not
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be left stranded on dry ground tomorrow when God decides He has
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that Enough of our failures. That existential question is
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answered in the final clause of verse 2.
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And the truth of the Lord endureth forever.
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This is where we see the magnificent architecture of
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God's character. Spurgeon explains that the truth
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of the Lord means God has kept His covenant promise to the seat
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of Abraham, and He will eternally keep every single
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promise to all who trust in Him. His mercy is not a temporary
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mood swing, it is anchored in His unchanging truth.
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So what does this all mean conceptually?
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Let's use an analogy to make the mechanics of this pairing
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crystal clear. OK, I love a good analogy.
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A lot of people try to explain this using a banking metaphor,
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saying mercy is a billion dollar check and truth is the signature
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at the bottom. It is a common one.
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Yeah, but I think that falls short of the physical reality
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Spurgeon was evoking. If God's mercy is the massive
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prevailing tidal wave crashing into the shore and covering our
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depravity, then truth is the inescapable gravitational pull
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of the moon. A tidal wave is just a temporary
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displacement of water unless there is a massive celestial
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force commanding it to stay. In the human realm, truth and
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mercy are often enemies. If you are in a courtroom, the
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truth of your crime demands punishment.
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If the judge shows mercy, he usually has to ignore or bypass
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the truth of what you did. But in the covenant of grace,
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God makes truth and mercy allies.
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Because God made a covenant, a legally binding promise to save
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his elect. His truth is the gravitational
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force that guarantees the tide of mercy must come in, and it
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guarantees that the tide of mercy can never recede.
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Truth forces the mercy to be permanent.
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If we connect this to the bigger picture of the Psalms, Abraham
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Wright offers a brilliant analysis of this exact pairing.
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He notes that in many of the Psalms, God's mercy and truth
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are explicitly joined together. They are inseparable.
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Blessings do not just arrive randomly depending on what side
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of the bed God woke up on, Wright says.
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They come as a present sent from heaven by virtue of a promise.
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Because God is bound by the truth of his own covenant.
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Every act of mercy is guaranteed by his integrity, Wright says.
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This soul satisfying reality turns everything a man has to
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cream. It turns everything to cream.
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Yes, it takes the ordinary blessings of life and elevates
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them to the absolute best, richest quality, because you
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know they are secure. God's mercy is bounded by His
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truth, so that we do not presume Him to be more merciful than His
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written word declares. We do not invent A universalism
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he never promised, right? Nor do we despair of finding
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mercy according to the promises he has clearly made.
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Wright's closing imagery on this pairing of truth and mercy is
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absolutely striking, he writes. The high heaven covereth as well
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tall mountains as small molehills, and mercy can cover.
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All the more desperate thy disease, the greater is the
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glory of Thy physician. Think about the visual of that.
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The high heaven, the atmosphere, the sky arcs over Mount Everest
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just as easily as it arcs over a tiny anthill in your backyard.
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It does not strain to cover the mountain.
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It covers both effortlessly. It does not matter if your
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specific sins feel like the size of mole hills or the size of a
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towering mountain range. The high heaven of God's
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covenant truth, pulling the tide of His mercy, covers them all
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completely. He has promised to keep His
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covenant to the seat of Abraham, and He will eternally keep every
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single promise to all who trust in Him.
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The disease of sin might be incredibly desperate, advanced,
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and seemingly incurable, but the Great Physician gets maximum
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glory by executing a perfect total cure.
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And that perfect permanent cure leads us directly to Malarious
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his final points of doctrine, which essentially summarize the
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entire theological framework of the Bible.
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He says the summary of the Gospel is grace and truth,
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referencing the exact pairing found in John chapter one, verse
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17. But Mulleris also points out the
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final glorious privilege for all these servants, the Jews and the
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Gentiles from every nation, who have been called by grace.
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For those who know and worship God the Savior, eternal life and
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blessedness are brought to them. They were assured of it in this
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life and it is prepared for them in heaven.
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This is the mechanical reality of the Reformed doctrine of the
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perseverance of the Saints. Because the truth of the Lord
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endures forever, the salvation He initiates through His
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prevailing mercy will absolutely be brought to final completion.
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The tidal wave of mercy does not retreat.
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The gravity of His truth will not allow it.
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It is truly staggering to step back and look at what we just
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walked through over the course of this deep dive.
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There's a lot to process. We took a text that is exactly 2
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sentences long, and out of those two verses, out of that tiny
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shot of theological espresso, we extracted the historical calling
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of the Gentiles from every Pagan corner of the earth.
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We unpacked the forceful prevailing grace that violently
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conquers human total depravity. We examine the unbreakable
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covenant truth that acts as the gravity guaranteeing our
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salvation, and we examine the divine mandate for an unending,
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high voiced stadium ovation of global praise.
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The sheer density of theology packed into Psalm 117 is
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unmatched. It truly is the diamond of the
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Scriptures, forged under the pressure of divine inspiration
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to hold infinite value in a microscopic space.
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As we wrap up this analysis, I want to leave you with a final
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practical thought to Mull over, building on the commentary we
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discussed regarding the mechanics of praise.
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Abraham Ray pointed out that when we reach the end of our
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Hallelujah, we are meant to begin anew.
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The praise of the Saints makes a continuous, unbroken circle.
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So consider this what happens to your daily perspective when you
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stop viewing worship as a weekly event with a strict start and
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end time? What changes in your actual
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psychology when you wake up tomorrow and instead view your
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entire life, your frustrating hours at work, your private
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struggles with sin, your mundane household tasks as simply the
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middle of an unending doxology? That is a phenomenal question to
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carry with you into the rest of your week.
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When the tide of mercy is permanent, the stadium ovation
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should never actually stop. We want to thank you for joining
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us on this deep dive into the shortest, yet arguably most
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concentrated chapter in the Bible.
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Keep seeking out those dense, weighty truths in the text.
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Thanks for listening to Reformed Thinking and we will catch you
31:40
on the next deep dive. Until next time.