Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Psalms 117:2

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Psalms 117:2. For his merciful kindness is great — גבר gabar, is strong: it is not only great in bulk or number, but it is powerful; it prevails over sin, Satan, death, and hell.

And the truth of the Lord endureth for ever. — Whatsoever he has promised, that he will most infallibly fulfill. He has promised to send his Son into the world, and thus he has done. He his promised that he should die for transgressors, and this he did. He has promised to receive all who come unto him through Christ Jesus, and this he invariably does. He has promised that his Gospel shall be preached in every nation, and this he is doing; the truth of the Lord remaineth for ever. Therefore, Praise ye the Lord!

ANALYSIS OF THE HUNDRED AND SEVENTEENTH PSALM

This Psalm contains a doxology to God for his mercy and truth; and it is prophetical, having reference to the calling of the Gentiles; Romans 15:11.

It contains two parts: -

I. An exhortation to praise God.

II. The reason for it.

I. 1. He speaks to the Gentiles: "Praise the Lord, all ye nations." Praise him for the promise of salvation; and then, when fulfilled, praise him for the enjoyment of this salvation, - for the remission of sins, and gift of the Holy Ghost.

2. He speaks to the converted Jews, whom he notes under the name of people, as they are called Psalms 2:1; Acts 4:25. As they and the Gentiles are intended to make one Church, so they should join in the praise of him of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named.

II. The reason given: -

1. Because his mercy is great. It is strong; confirmed toward us, in sending his Son to save both Jews and Gentiles from their sins.

2. Because the truth of his promises is fulfilled. The promised Messiah is come, and has performed all that was prophesied of him.

3. Because this truth is forever. His promises and their fulfilment belong to all generations. There will never be another Messiah; Jesus is the true one: he tasted death for every man; he forgives iniquity, transgression, and sin; and his blood cleanses from all unrighteousness. Now, for all this, "Praise ye the Lord!"

[N. B. Proclaiming the eternal mercy of God in Christ is more likely to persuade sinners to return to their Maker than all the fire of hell.]

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Psalms 115-117 Saved from death

God was always faithful to Israel, though the Israelites were often unfaithful to him. Their sins brought God’s punishment upon them, causing their pagan neighbours to mock them with the accusation that their God was unable to help them and had deserted them (115:1-2). The Israelites reply that their God is alive and in full control. The pagan gods, by contrast, are useless, and the reason they are useless is that they are lifeless. Those who trust in them will achieve nothing (3-8).
Israel’s people will therefore trust in God for help and protection (9-11). They know that he will bless them and their descendants after them, for he is the almighty Creator (12-15). He has given the earth to humankind as a dwelling place, but has limited the number of years that each person may live on it. Therefore, God’s people should make sure that they fill their few short years with praise to him (16-18).

In Psalms 116:0 an individual worshipper brings a sacrifice to God to pay his vows and offer thanks (see v. 17-18). Before offering his sacrifice, he pauses to think quietly on the great mercy and love of God. As he does so, he finds that his own love towards God increases, particularly when he recalls how God has answered his prayers and saved his life (116:1-4). He has personally experienced God’s compassion and goodness (5-7). When he was unable to help himself and when so-called friends proved useless, he still trusted God. He prayed, and God gave him new life (8-11). He will now publicly thank God by offering prayers and sacrifices in fulfilment of his vow (12-14). He sees how highly God values the life of the believer. God does not allow him to die, as if death is a thing of no importance in God’s sight. God preserves him alive, and for this he offers overflowing thanks (15-19).

God’s loyal love to Israel should cause his people to spread the good news of his love to other nations. This, in turn, will cause the people of those nations to bring their praise to him (117:1-2).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

“O praise Jehovah, all ye nations; Laud him all, ye peoples. For his lovingkindness is great toward us; And the truth of Jehovah endureth forever. Praise ye Jehovah (Hallelujah).”

Psalms 117:1-2 in the King James Version

“O praise the Lord, all ye nations, praise him all ye people. For his merciful kindness is great toward us; and the truth of the Lord endureth forever. Praise ye the Lord.”

This is by far the superior rendition and is the one set to music in the hymn cited above.

It is a source of great joy to this writer to note that such artificial names for the Lord as “Yahweh,” “Jajve,” and “Jehovah” have gone forever out of style. The RSV ignores those names altogether, and that is one of the great superiorities of the RSV. Such names carry with them the offensive odor of the radical criticism of the Bible which had an ascendancy during the first half of the current century. Not one of them is in the Greek or Hebrew texts of the Bible. It may be noted that in this commentary, we have generally ignored (where possible) those manmade names of the Lord.

THE PSALM IS MESSIANIC

“All nations are invited to worship Yahweh (the Lord), who has revealed his power and faithfulness to Israel. The Psalm is Messianic in the general sense that it contemplates the union of all nations in the sole worship of the one and only God. On account of its brevity, but with no solid reason, many manuscripts combine it with the preceding or following Psalms.”W. E. Addis, p. 392. Leupold also observed that:

The Psalm may rightly be called Messianic, because the time did come when the Gentile religions had collapsed because of their very emptiness. The coming of the Messiah was timed to coincide with that collapse; and it was in the Messianic age when the thing here envisioned in this Psalm began to be fulfilled. In this sense Paul quoted verse 1 of this Psalm in Romans 15:11.H. C. Leupold, p. 809.

The great point in this psalm was pointed out by Kidner, who referred to it as “surprising.” “The matter for the rejoicing (on the part of the Gentiles) is God’s goodness toward `us,’Derek Kidner, Vol. II, p. 412. the `us’ here being a reference to “us Israelites.” This is one of the most significant things in the whole Bible. “Thus the acts of God toward Israel (us) are of world significance.”The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 525.

All of God’s dealings with ancient Israel were related absolutely to the salvation of all men “in Jesus Christ.” From the very beginning, when God called Abraham, he stated on that occasion that the divine purpose encompassed the blessing of “all the families of the earth” (Genesis 12:3) in the Seed Singular, which is Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:16). Thus, the salvation to be enjoyed eventually by all nations (Gentiles) was literally because of God’s providential choice and guidance of the Chosen People throughout the long pre-Christian ages.

If there ever was a scripture that deserved to be set to music and sung continually all over the world, then this psalm also qualifies.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

For his merciful kindness is great toward us - His kindness; his compassion; his love. All nations - all people - may say this, and therefore the psalm is adapted to universal praise. Especially may this be said in view of the love of God to mankind in the gift of a Saviour - a Saviour not for any one people especially or exclusively, but for the world, John 3:16.

And the truth of the Lord endureth for ever - All that God has said: his declarations; his promises; his assurances of mercy. They are the same in all lands where they are made known, and they are the same in all ages of the world. Truth is a representation of things as they are; and truth, therefore, must be ever the same. What was true in the first ages of the world in regard to the relation of the sum of the squares on the two sides of a right-angled triangle to the square of the hypothenuse is true now, and will always be true; and so, what God has affirmed at any one time will always remain the same in all ages and in all lands. What was truth to Abraham is truth to us; what was truth to Paul is truth to us; what was truth to the martyrs is truth to us; what is truth to us will be truth to all generations of the world in all lands, and will be truth forever. This fact, too, is a just foundation for universal praise, and therefore the psalm is so adapted to be used in all lands and among all people. How often in our own language has this psalm been the medium of the utterances of praise in Christian sanctuaries:

“From all that dwell below the skies,

Let the Creator’s praise arise;

Let the Redeemer’s name be sung,

Through every land, by every tongue.

Eternal are thy mercies, Lord;

Eternal truth attends thy word;

Thy praise shall sound from shore to shore,

Till suns shall rise and set no more.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

Thetruth of God, in this passage, is properly introduced as an attestation of his grace. For he can be true even when he menaces the whole world with perdition and ruin. The prophet, however, has placed his mercy first in order that his faithfulness and truth, comprising an assurance of his paternal kindness, might encourage the hearts of the godly. His power and justice are equally praiseworthy; but as men will never cordially praise God until they are drawn by a foretaste of his goodness, the prophet very justly selects God’s mercy and truth, which alone open the mouths of those who are mute to engage in this exercise. When his truth is said to be everlasting, it is not set in opposition to his mercy, as if it, after flourishing for a season, then instantly passed away. The same reason would go to prove, that it was small compared with his mercy, which is said to be abundant. The meaning is, that God’s mercy is rich towards us, flowing in a perennial stream, because united to his eternal truth. If we read, his mercy is confirmed, all difficulty will be removed, for then both constancy and stability will alike adorn his mercy and his truth.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Beginning with Psalms 113:1-9 , you have what are known as the Hallel psalms, meaning the psalms of praise. Hallel meaning praise in Hebrew, and hallelujah, the hallelujah praise to Yahweh. So these are the psalms of praise, 113 through 118. And they are the songs that were traditionally sung at their holidays or at the feast days. The Feast of Passover, the Feast of Tabernacles, and the Feast of Pentecost, there were traditional psalms that were sung for each of these feasts. And so as we get into these Psa 113:1-9 through 118, these are no doubt psalms that Jesus sang with His disciples. And it's only a shame that cassettes were invented so late. I think it would be absolutely classic to be able to hear Jesus singing with His disciples these Hallel songs.

Now we do read on the night that Jesus was betrayed, when He celebrated the Passover supper with the disciples, it said, "And after they had sung a psalm, they went out to the Mount of Olives" ( Matthew 26:30 ). The psalm that they sang was probably Psalms 118:1-29 , because that is the traditional psalm that is sung at the conclusion of the Passover feast. That, of course, is very interesting because Psalms 118:1-29 is a prophetic psalm of Jesus Christ that was to have its fulfillment that very day, or actually did have its fulfillment that week, just before this took place. And thus, as Jesus was talking to them just before the Passover of the one-hundred-and-eighteenth psalm, it was one that was very uppermost in their mind, because this is one that was always sung at the Passover feast. So it is interesting as you read it to imagine and picture Jesus singing this particular psalm with His disciples.

Tonight we begin with Psalms 117:1-2 , which is the shortest of all the psalms. It is a psalm in which there is celebrated the universal reign of Jesus Christ, who shall come to reign over all the earth.

O Praise the LORD, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people ( Psalms 117:1 ).

So this is the calling forth of universal praise unto Him. Let everyone; it's not just for the nation Israel now, it's for the world, for all people, and the reason for our praise.

For his merciful kindness is great towards us ( Psalms 117:2 ):

Oh, how thankful I am for the kindness with which the Lord deals with me when I am so often wrong. The merciful kindness with which He deals with me. How often I find myself praising the Lord for His merciful kindness, for He has not rewarded us according to our iniquities. But, "As high as the heaven is above the earth, so high is His mercy over them that reverence Him" ( Psalms 103:11 ). Oh, the merciful kindness with which God deals with me in my weaknesses, in my flaws, in my faults. "His merciful kindness is great towards us."

and the truth of the LORD endureth for ever. Praise ye the LORD ( Psalms 117:2 ).

So the Hallel psalm, beautiful little psalm calling forth for universal praise unto Him. "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Psalms 117

This shortest of all the psalms focuses attention on the importance of praising God for two of His most wonderful qualities, namely: His loyal love and His faithfulness. It is a psalm of descriptive praise.

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

2. The cause for universal worship 117:2

Essentially all people, including the Gentiles (Heb. goyim, ’ummim), should praise God because He is who He is. Two of the outstanding qualities that God demonstrates are loyal love and truth. His loyal love (Heb. hesed) to His people is very great, and His truth continues forever. Human loyalty often has limits, and we are not consistently truthful. The Hebrew word translated "truth" is ’emet, which the translators frequently rendered "faithfulness." The relationship between these two English words is clear. Because the Lord is "true," i.e., 100 percent loyal, reliable, truthful, and trustworthy, He is a faithful God. Hesed and ’emet often occur together in the psalms. God’s faithfulness connects closely with His loyal love. This psalm closes as it begins: with an exhortation to praise the Lord.

Outstanding among all God’s great qualities are His loyal love and faithfulness. His people should honor Him for these traits consistently and frequently.

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

For his merciful kindness is great towards us,.... Not us Israelites only, of whom David was, but Gentiles also; or otherwise there would be no force in the reason why all people and nations should praise the Lord: but it respects the time when these should become one people, partaking of the same grace, blessings, promises, and privileges; in which the grace, mercy, and lovingkindness of God, greatly appeared; "it prevailed over us" p, as it may be rendered: the word is used of the prevailing of the waters of the flood over the earth, Genesis 7:18; and so may denote the exuberance of the grace of God, of the abounding and superabounding of it. There is an abundance of it in the heart of God, in his covenant, and in his Son; and which is displayed in redemption by him; in the forgiveness of sin; and in the conversion of sinners, and their everlasting salvation: particularly there has been an inundation or deluge of it in the Gentile world, where it has flowed and overflowed; where sin abounded, grace has much more abounded; and therefore the Lord is to be praised. And another reason follows,

and the truth of the Lord [endureth] for ever; the faithfulness of God to his promises, not only made to the Jewish fathers concerning the Messiah, and redemption by him; but to the Gentiles, and concerning the blessing of all nations in the promised seed: and the faithfulness and truth of God, with respect to any of his promises, never fails; nor will his word of truth, the Gospel; nor Jesus Christ, who is the truth, and the truth of God; the truth of types, promises, and prophecies; see

Psalms 43:3; for he is the same today, yesterday, and for ever.

Praise ye the Lord; for his superabounding grace, and eternal truth; even all the people of God, of all nations, Jews and Gentiles.

p גבר "exsuperavit", Vatablus; "invaluit", Junius Tremellius, Piscator, Gejerus, Michaelis "exuberavit", Cocceius.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      1 O praise the LORD, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people.   2 For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the LORD endureth for ever. Praise ye the LORD.

      There is a great deal of gospel in this psalm. The apostle has furnished us with a key to it (Romans 15:11), where he quotes it as a proof that the gospel was to be preached to, and would be entertained by, the Gentile nations, which yet was so great a stumbling-block to the Jews. Why should that offend them when it is said, and they themselves had often sung it, Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and laud him, all you people. Some of the Jewish writers confess that this psalm refers to the kingdom of the Messiah; nay, one of them has a fancy that it consists of two verses to signify that in the days of the Messiah God should be glorified by two sorts of people, by the Jews, according to the law of Moses, and by the Gentiles, according to the seven precepts of the sons of Noah, which yet should make one church, as these two verses make one psalm. We have here,

      I. The vast extent of the gospel church, Psalms 117:1; Psalms 117:1. For many ages in Judah only was God known and his name praised. The sons of Levi and the seed of Israel praised him, but the rest of the nations praised gods of wood and stone (Daniel 5:4), while there was no devotion at all paid, at least none openly, that we know of, to the living and true God. But here all nations are called to praise the Lord, which could not be applied to the Old-Testament times, both because this call was not then given to any of the Gentile nations, much less to all, in a language they understood, and because, unless the people of the land became Jews and were circumcised, they were not admitted to praise God with them. But the gospel of Christ is ordered to be preached to all nations, and by him the partition-wall is taken down, and those that were afar off are made nigh. This was the mystery which was hidden in prophecy for many ages, but was at length revealed in the accomplishment, That the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs,Ephesians 3:3; Ephesians 3:6. Observe here, 1. Who should be admitted into the church--all nations and all people. The original words are the same that are used for the heathen that rage and the people that imagine against Christ (Psalms 2:1); those that had been enemies to his kingdom should become his willing subjects. The gospel of the kingdom was to be preached to all the world, for a witness to all nations,Matthew 24:14; Mark 16:15. All nations shall be called, and to some of all nations the call shall be effectual, and they shall be discipled. 2. How their admission into the church is foretold--by a repeated call to praise him. The tidings of the gospel, being sent to all nations, should give them cause to praise God; the institution of gospel-ordinances would give them leave and opportunity to praise God; and the power of gospel-grace would give them hearts to praise him. Those are highly favoured whom God invites by his word and inclines by his Spirit to praise him, and so makes to be to him for a name and a praise, Jeremiah 13:11. See Revelation 7:9; Revelation 7:10.

      II. The unsearchable riches of gospel-grace, which are to be the matter or our praise, Psalms 117:2; Psalms 117:2. In the gospel, those celebrated attributes of God, his mercy and his truth, shine most brightly in themselves and most comfortably to us; and the apostle, where he quotes this psalm, takes notice of these as the two great things for which the Gentiles should glorify God (Romans 15:8; Romans 15:9), for the truth of God and for his mercy. We that enjoy the gospel have reason to praise the Lord, 1. For the power of his mercy: His merciful kindness is great towards us; it is strong (so the word signifies); it is mighty for the pardon of mighty sins (Amos 5:12) and for the working out of a mighty salvation. 2. For the perpetuity of his truth: The truth of the Lord endures for ever. It was mercy, mere mercy, to the Gentiles, that the gospel was sent among them. It was merciful kindness prevailing towards them above their deserts; and in it the truth of the Lord, of his promise made unto the fathers, endures for ever; for, though the Jews were hardened and expelled, yet the promise took its effect in the believing Gentiles, the spiritual seed of Abraham. God's mercy is the fountain of all our comforts and his truth the foundation of all our hopes, and therefore for both we must praise the Lord.