“Praise the Lord, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples. For great is his love towards us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures for ever. Praise the Lord.” (Psalm 117)
There are four Psalms in the Bible with just three or fewer verses: Psalms 117, 131, 133 and 134. The first of them – Psalm 117 – is the smallest of all with the most gigantic wraparound theme: ‘Praise the Lord’. These brief verses open and close with that command. Which got me thinking… Can genuine, sincere, heart-felt ‘praise’ ever be commanded?! Just think of the recent grotesque spectacle of a roomful of people trying to outdo one another in a contest to ‘Praise the President’ on screen. If you cannot command a reporter to “smile” when you’ve created a situation in which it is impossible to smile meaningfully then that Cabinet meeting illustrated just how gross and artificial and repulsive and insincere and blatantly false it is to command praise. So, Why? Why should we “praise the Lord?” The psalm gives us two clear and compelling reasons.
Because of His great love. His love for us is steadfast, committed and loyal. It is unbreakable. It is generous: Great in its extent. God’s love is not restricted by geography, race, language, class, or background. God’s love is not restricted by competence or incompetence, goodness or guiltiness, courage or cowardice. God’s love is great – greater than our failures; greater than our fears; greater than our faults.
Because of His enduring faithfulness. Presidents and Governments break promises. Businesses break promises. Friends sometimes break promises. But God has remained faithful through every generation and in every situation. God’s faithfulness is enduring – longer than our trouble, longer than our doubts, longer than our lives.