“Praise the LORD, all nations! Extol him, all peoples! For great is his steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD!” Psalm 117
“PRAISE THE LORD” has been a steady command this week during our devotional series in Psalm 113-118. It is appropriate to constantly PRAISE God, because He is constantly faithful and his steadfast love is an unquestionable source of joy and security for His people.
A “paradox” is defined as a seemingly absurd or contradictory statement or proposition. In other words, when you look at it, it doesn’t make sense, it seems inconsistent…that is, until it’s NOT!!! Such is “GOOD” Friday! After all it seems absurd that the day an innocent man was executed would be considered “GOOD”. It seems contradictory to look at Jesus being falsely accused, wrongly condemned and then crucified as anything but a tragedy. Maybe Psalm 117 can help us understand this?
Throughout the ages, the Israelites had boundless reasons to “Praise the LORD”, because they consistently observed and benefitted from God’s faithfulness. The steadfast love of God was like the ground beneath their feet as they walked through seasons of enslavement, wandering, disobedience and discipline, and as they experienced God’s blessing as a nation. But is there an “ultimate” evidence of God’s faithfulness? Is there a supreme depiction of His steadfast love? Looking through the lens of the New Testament it seems we find the answer:
“…God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
God showed his matchless “good”, His unthinkable “love” toward us when Christ died for us. Not for the righteous, not for the worthy ones, not for the clean and presentable, but for sinners. The greatest demonstration of the steadfast love of the LORD is the sacrifice of His Son for sinners. Jesus also pointed to this reality when he said:
“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” Jn 15:13
In the Gospel the invitation and command to Praise the LORD floods to the nations, because God has not only demonstrated His faithfulness and love to the Jews, but also to the Gentiles. ALL nations, ALL peoples are invited to taste and see the LORD is loving, to taste and see the LORD is faithful and His faithfulness through the person and work of Jesus will endure FOREVER! Praise the LORD!
Take time today to think back on the moment when you first understood the magnitude of God’s love for you. Consider the full weight of your sin and guilt being heaped upon Jesus on the cross. Thank God for the enduring nature of His love for you, which from beginning to end finds its stability and staying power in God Himself. Praise the LORD!
Look forward to being with you TONIGHT at Crossway, 6:30PM as we remember the cross of Christ through song, hearing God’s word and taking communion together.
