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“Know Christ and Make Him known”

Psalm 117
1
Praise the LORD, all you nations;
extol him, all you peoples.
2
For great is his love toward us,
and the faithfulness of the LORD endures
forever.
Praise the LORD.NIV

1–2
117 Praise GOD, everybody!
Applaud GOD, all people!
His love has taken over our lives;
GOD’s faithful ways are eternal.
Hallelujah!TheMessage

Introduction:

The text before us (Psalm 117) this morning is

the briefest of all the Psalms. A hymn calling
for all nations to praise the Lord. Paul quotes
from this psalm in Romans 15:11 to show that
God’s salvation is for all the people and not
just the Jews.

This is a short chapter, yet it answers some

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major questions of humanity, such as: Who is

God? Why am I here in this world?

Pastor Chuck Smith Memorial service feature:

Interview by Greg Laurie before he died: “If
given one verse to preach on, which verse will
you use? Ans: John 3:16. Why? It summarizes
in one verse God’s plan and purposes to save
the world.

Our text is foreseeing of the result of John

3:16. The world here refers to the people of
the world, from many different tongues and
nations.

One reason why we are here today gathered in

this place of worship and praising the Lord,
was simply, that ordinary and most unlikely
men has surrendered their lives to Jesus and
obeyed the great commission to “go to the
world and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of our Lord and
teaching them to obey His teachings. Thus, a
foreshadowing of our text…

Body:
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A Fervent Appeal for Praise

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Praise the LORD, all you nations;
extol him, all you peoples.

What is the first thing we notice of this verse?

• The first thing we observe…is a fervent
appeal for praise!
• “Praise…” (heb. “Halal” – to celebrate; to
make a show; to boast; thus to be
clamorously foolish…
o We Filipinos love to celebrate..all
events if possible! Bday’s, anniv,
fiesta, reunions, in honor of departed
ones….etc. (Despidida celebration for
Ariel and Immo)…
o And there is always a reason behind
every celebration celebration….
• Here we are all commanded to celebrate
before the Lord. Why? It must be related
to something God has done for us all, that
is for saving us from darkness and moving
us to His kingdom of light!
• “Extol..” (Heb “Shabach” – lit means “to
glorify”; make exuberant statements as to
the excellence of someone.)
• Psalm 63:4 “Because your love is better
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than life, my lips will glorify you.”

• Praise is like bragging on someone ---
Loud enough that everyone can hear.
o Good parents deserve the praise of
their children
o Good teachers deserve the praise of
their students
o A good mayor deserves the praise of
his constituents
o A good president deserves the praise
of his country
o But there is only one who deserves the
praise of every living being on the
planet. Because He alone can save us
from our sins and give us eternal life!

To whom does he address this exhortation?

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Praise the LORD, all you nations;
extol him, all you peoples.

• Nations – heb. Goyim (lit. heathen or

pagans)
• Peoples – heb. Ummim (lit. little tribes).

Spoken in present tense. This psalm was

meant to be used to address the speakers,
singer’s, worshippers generation! You don’t
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sing it to address previous or future

generations. It is always used to address
your contemporaries (that is the tone of this
psalm!)

Pastor Chuck’s ministry was characterized by

God’s love for the lost hippies of the 70’s.
• E.g. The Carpet…The ministry resulted in
the salvation of thousands of hippies, drug
addicts, lost young people, many of whom
have become pastors, evangelists and
missionaries.

Christ’s mission (Luke 19:10): “For the Son of

Man has come so seek and to save that which
was lost”.

The Lord calls us to make a joyful declaration

about the wonderful God that we serve and
what He has done for us in this world.

The psalmist gives two grounds for such

praise: God’s love and His faithfulness!
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For great is his love toward us,
and the faithfulness of the LORD endures
forever.
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Ground #1: His Great love (v.2a)

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For great is his love toward us,

• Look closely, How does the psalmist

describe God’s love? “Great is His love
toward us…”
• NKJV ---“For His merciful kindness is
great toward us!”
o It is about kindness that flows from a
heart that is touched by misery and
need!
o It is so liberating to see that it is about
His love toward us; not “man’s” love.
• Man’s love will fail; God’s love never
fails!
o The Maute terrorists Marawi brought
much anger and bitterness to many
people due to the damage that resulted
from it.
o Why did the Lord allow such havoc?
o Seeing it from the Lord’s perspective
will help understand His purpose for
the people of that place. We God’s
love prevails. He wants to save those
people from the darkness of Islam.
The Lord had to shake a city to take
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their eyes off the darkness of their

religion.
o There are many Filipinos saved while
dispersed in other countries such as
Malaysia and the Middle East.
• “Great is His love….” Lit. Overwhelming
like being flooded over.
o 2004 Tsunami in Southern Thailand
birthed a church and a Bible school.
Relate July 2015 trip to teach at the
school; Midnight BS at Khao Lak;
sharing the gospel with Buddhist
families…
• The love of God is like that. There are all
sorts of obstacles and enemies between
God and the sinner. But the love of God
overpowers and prevails in each case of
salvation. This is astonishing love.
• The apostle John was astonished by it:
“Behold what manner of love the father
has bestowed on us, that we should be
called children of God!” (1 John 3:1).
• The love of God for sinners is such that it
was unlike anything with which John was
familiar.
• The love of God for sinners is
unprecedented and unsurpassed. It is
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astonishing love.
o It is astonishing that God would love
guilty, undeserving sinners at all.
o It is astonishing that He would love as
He did, sending His Son.
o Funeral in Siaton: Psalm 116:15 Why
is it precious? In what way is death a
gain? Elena’s funeral became an
occasion where hundreds get to hear
the Gospel preached!
o It is astonishing that he would love
me, when for many years I was
turning may back on Him.
o It is astonishing that He would love
you and me. Truly, God’s love, its so
Big!!
• And this love is cause for all people to
gives thanks and celebrate!
• James Montgomery Boice writes: “Here
then is a true Christian universalism, not
that all people will be saved regardless of
the god they believe in, but rather that all
people may be saved through Jesus Christ.
• To put it in other words, this is a profound
missionary psalm for it is calling on
people everywhere to praise God.
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Ground #2: His Steadfast and Faithful love

(v.2b)

“…and the faithfulness of the LORD endures

forever. “
• The first aspect has to do with the
greatness of that love; this 2nd aspect deals
with the steadfastness of that love. It is a
love that endures forever. Love that does
not give up but keeps pursuing the highest
good of its object! Love that will not let
go! Unrelenting, stubborn love!
• Is God in truth mercifully kind? Is His
love faithful and unfailing? The realm of
nature says it is so.
o Sun shines everyday
o Waves normalizes after a storm and
strong winds
o Flood subsides after continuous rains
o Ten thousand blessings attend us
every step of our way, each blessing
whispering of His love. Every thing
we call “good” flows from the
fountain of his love (James 1:17).
• But what is whispered in the realm of
nature is shouted from the cross of Christ.
o How much does Jesus loves you?
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(This much: “spreading His arms

wide”
o There God answered once and for all
those who wonder what is in His
heart. It is a heart of love for sinners.
• Athiest: “If God is real, let him strike me
dead in 5 min…” (After 5 min); You see,
God is not for real!
o Somebody shouted: “You just proved
God’s merciful kindness!”
o God’s faithfulness and love is such
kind which keeps pursuing the highest
good of its object! Love that will not
let go! Unrelenting, stubborn love!
• PSALM member shared the gospel to me.
Dante would come regularly to share with
me the Word of God. I did not take it
seriously. But the Lord did not give up on
me. He pursued me relentlessly until my
full surrender at the foot of the cross.

Conclusion:
Imagine if God is not long suffering toward us.
Many of us would still be in our sins and
living in the world.

But because the Lord is good and His love so

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great toward us….that we are celebrating and

shouting His praise today!

He gave His all. He deserves our all for Him.

Our praise, our time, our energies…All for
Him and for His glory!

Praise the Lord!