A Call to Praise
This morning my reading from the Psalms was from Psalm 117. At its very core, this song is a call to people from all nations to give praise to Yahweh. There are two reasons given for this call: Yahweh's merciful kindness, and the fact that His truth endures forever.
Interestingly, Psalm 117 has several unique characterists. It is the shortest Psalm as well as the shortest chapter in Bible, and it is the middle chapter of the Bible. I'm not so sure there is anything significant in these characterists, but they are interesting. Perhaps the most interesting is the fact that it is the middle chapter of the Bible. We shouldn't place undo emphasis upon this fact as the chapter and verse divisions are not inspired--they were inserted by scribes many years after the completion of the Scriptures.
However, is it not fascinating that this chapter ended up as the central chapter of the Bible? While not inspired, it does appear that God's providence was at work in causing these two verses to have that distinction. Why do I say this? Well, since you asked...
The goal of history is for God to glorify Himself. In other words, as we look at all of history--past, present, and future--the purpose of everything is to bring glory to God. He has designed everything to fulfill that mission, and He has determined that at the conclusion of time He will have fulfilled His goal of bringing glory to Himself.
Similarly, the central theme of Scripture is God's glory. It only makes sense that if God's goal is to bring glory to Himself, His instruction book to His creation should focus on His glory.
What then does this Psalm do? It calls upon all people -- not just God's chosen nation Israel, but all people (signifying God's purpose to save Gentiles as well) to give praise to Him. God is calling all people to glorify Him. There is no greater message for the central chapter of the Bible to declare because His glory is the central theme of all things.
Question: When was the last time you obeyed the call of Psalm 117?
Interestingly, Psalm 117 has several unique characterists. It is the shortest Psalm as well as the shortest chapter in Bible, and it is the middle chapter of the Bible. I'm not so sure there is anything significant in these characterists, but they are interesting. Perhaps the most interesting is the fact that it is the middle chapter of the Bible. We shouldn't place undo emphasis upon this fact as the chapter and verse divisions are not inspired--they were inserted by scribes many years after the completion of the Scriptures.
However, is it not fascinating that this chapter ended up as the central chapter of the Bible? While not inspired, it does appear that God's providence was at work in causing these two verses to have that distinction. Why do I say this? Well, since you asked...
The goal of history is for God to glorify Himself. In other words, as we look at all of history--past, present, and future--the purpose of everything is to bring glory to God. He has designed everything to fulfill that mission, and He has determined that at the conclusion of time He will have fulfilled His goal of bringing glory to Himself.
Similarly, the central theme of Scripture is God's glory. It only makes sense that if God's goal is to bring glory to Himself, His instruction book to His creation should focus on His glory.
What then does this Psalm do? It calls upon all people -- not just God's chosen nation Israel, but all people (signifying God's purpose to save Gentiles as well) to give praise to Him. God is calling all people to glorify Him. There is no greater message for the central chapter of the Bible to declare because His glory is the central theme of all things.
Question: When was the last time you obeyed the call of Psalm 117?
posted by Pastor Jason | 10:20 AM
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