Psalm 117 may be the shortest of the Psalms, but it still packs a powerful punch!
1 O praise the Lord, all you nations! Praise Him, all you people. 2 For His mercy and loving-kindness are great toward us, and the truth and faithfulness of the Lord endure forever. Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)
The first "praise" in verse 1 and the last one in verse 2 is the Hebrew word "halal", which means:to shine, to make a show, to be clamorously foolish, to rave, to celebrate, to stultify (appear foolish). This involves something that can be seen by other people! We are NOT to go quietly about our faith, appearing dignified and subdued! There IS a time and place for that, but it is NOT during THIS type of praise! AMEN! The second "praise" is the Hebrew word "shabach", which means: to address in a loud tone, to commend, to laud (where we get 'applaud').
THIS is the attitude that ALL people are supposed to have toward the One, True, Most High, Living, Almighty God of the Bible! We should be bragging on Him all the time! He MADE every one of us! He LOVES all people. WHOSOEVER WILL can come to Him and be saved, healed, delivered, filled with Holy Spirit, learn the Word of God and turn around and share their faith with other people! What a beautiful cycle of LIFE! That IS our responsibility, to preach the Good News, sharing the Way of Salvation and Deliverance with all who will hear!
I read this as I was studying today about how WE are to relate to the world: Psalms 117:1 says: 'Jewish people were supposed to be separated from the Gentiles but not isolated from them'! AMEN! We are to "come out from among them" for the purposes of spiritual growth, but then go right back, as Holy Spirit leads, and take the LIFE to where they are! See how much is in these two verses so far, and we have only scratched the surface! I am convinced that if any born again, Spirit-filled believer is bored with the Word, they have given NO attention to it! We will be joyously spending all of eternity continually learning more! Why not start right now? GO FOR IT! Amen! Here is Hillsong young and Free with "This Is Living ":
Shalom in Him!
