No Small God: Proclamation and Praise
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
Psalm 117 is the shortest chapter in the whole Bible, but don’t let that deceive you. Within these two brief verses is a view of God beyond what our imaginations can muster. The God of this Psalmist is no small deity. He is globe-spanning, world-encompassing, and rightfully jealous. With only a few words, the Psalmist brings together to vast and wonderful aspects of Christian life: evangelism and worship.
The two commands given, “Praise” and “Extol” are united with no uncertainty to two universal objects “all nations” and “all people”. God’s claim for worship is bigger than just the Church. God is not like the idols and false gods that demand praise from solely their adherents. Because God is Creator and King, He rightfully deserves and demands worship from every mouth, every life, every heart. There is not an inch of this world in which God does not have ownership. There is no heart that beats that God does not claim as His own. There is no mouth that is given leave to praise whatever it wills. The Psalmist puts forth a provocative message! The primary goal of missions is not to save from hell but to bring exaltation to a God who deserves all praise.
From this we can conclude that a major means of worshiping God is evangelism. We are seeking to bring fame to God’s name and to teach the nations of their need to give God all the glory! It is in conversion that we are brought back to the original goal of creation. We are taken from sorrowful and doomed rebels and restored into worshipful, happy sons and daughters! Based on this Psalm, it is right to say that a lack of evangelism in the Church is more than just a disappointment. It’s more than a lack of diligence. Its more than a lack of love. To opt out of missions and evangelism is to avoid our great calling to worship the God who deserves the praise of the whole earth!
This is not an ego-trip on God’s part. The Psalmist, speaking by the Spirit, looked forward to a day that has now come where the New Covenant in Jesus’ blood has grafted all nations into the people of God. The wording is explicitly covenantal. This God has sought to enter a covenant, a relationship of total devotion and love, with His creation. He is greatly to be praised for His character as the just, loving, and merciful King of all Kings!
In the wake of this poignant and brief Psalm, there is a call. As Christians, as worshipers, will we labor to give God the glory He deserves? Will we go out in great numbers to teach the nations of their obligation to give God glory? Will we bring the wonderful news of a God willing to die for His creation because of faithful, loyal love to the people who have worshiped low desires? Will we glorify God in our own lives and our radiate revival to the nations?
It is our duty. It is our joy. But most importantly, it is our worship.
