Psalms 117-118

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TALKS FOR GROWING CHRISTIANS

The Shortest Psalm, and a Messianic Psalm

(Transcript not available - coming soon)

BACKGROUND NOTES



DOCTRINAL POINT(S)

  1. God’s lovingkindness extends to all people.

  2. God’s lovingkindness includes the Triumphal Entry.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

  1. Think context when you sing!

QUESTIONS

  1. Review some of the interesting trivia regarding Psalm 117.

  2. When did God’s love for the Gentiles begin?

  3. What lesson can we learn from Psalm 118:5-9?

  4. Psalm 118 concludes what subsection of psalms?

  5. Explain the messianic meaning of verses 22-23, which the Lord quoted in reference to Himself in Matthew 21:42.

ANSWERS

  1. Psalm 117 is the shortest psalm and the shortest chapter in the Bible. It is also the central chapter of the English Bible, with 594 chapters coming before and after.

  2. Contrary to what some people believe, God’s love for the Gentiles did not begin after Israel rejected her Messiah. All people have been in God’s eternal plans. The Apostle Paul makes this argument by quoting Psalm 117 in Romans 15:11.

  3. Here the Lord is praised for the deliverance He brought in the past, so now there can be great confidence through any attack, affliction, oppression, or problem in the future.

  4. Psalm 118 is the last in this collection of psalms called Hallel or Hymns of Praise (Psalms 113-118) that were sung at the great feasts and holy days in Israel. At the feast of Passover it was traditional to sing Psalms 113 and 114 before the Passover supper and Psalms 115-118 after.

  5. As builders reject a stone because it doesn’t seem to fit their building plan, so the Lord was rejected by the religious leaders of Israel because He did not fit in place with their wrong building plans for the nation.

DISCUSS/CONSIDER

  1. Psalm 117:1 tells us that God will never change His mind, because what He has declared as true is eternal. Discuss some of the things God has declared to be true about you, His child. Find great comfort in the fact that these truths are eternal.

  2. Psalm 118:24 is a popularly quoted verse, “This is the day the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” Discuss the meaning of this verse in context.

CHALLENGE

  1. Praise the Lord that you, a Gentile, have been eternally part of His plan.

KEY VERSES

  • Praise the LORD, all you Gentiles! Laud Him, all you peoples! For His merciful kindness is great toward us, and the truth of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD!” Psalm 117

  • “The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” Psalm 118:6

  • “The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the LORD’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalms 118:22-24

Old Testament, Psalms, TalksDeb HarmsPsalms 117-118