A small number of words, but these are God's words. Praise the Lord, all nations. Lord him, all peoples. For his love and kindness is great toward us. And the truth of the Lord is everlasting. Praise the Lord. May God add his blessing to the reading of his word. Thank you, Earl. The children are dismissed at this time. Let's pray and ask the Lord's blessing. Father, as your Word has been read, and it's been read publicly, we ask that it would go out from here and not return void, that it would accomplish the purpose that you have set for it. We pray, Father, that as we look at the Word, that the Holy Spirit would do His work of illumination. We depend on it. We long to be spiritually discerned in matters of the Spirit. We pray, Father, that as I teach, that I would be accurate in what I say. You would help us to understand, and Father, not just that we would understand intellectually, but that we would be truly impacted in our lives because of it. May these two verses lead us into deeper and greater worship. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. One of the things about expository preaching when you're going through a text and you're going to the next test is that there's no surprise. This morning our text is the next verses after the ones that we did last week. But it is beautiful. And we are once again in the last two, Psalm 117, Psalm 118, two of the last Psalms that Jesus would ever sing here on this earth. Part of the Hallel. This Psalm, Psalm 117, happens to be, numerically, the central chapter in the entire Bible. I don't know that there's any profound spiritual significance to that. It's just there. It also happens to be the shortest chapter in the entire Bible, and I'm not sure that there's any profound spiritual significance to that either. Just an interesting fact. But these things do, in a sense, set off the uniqueness of this hymn. And not only for those reasons, but for actually things that are actually written in the text, we find that this short hymn, this short psalm, is very unique. For one, it starts with that common phrase, praise the Lord. When we have read that phrase, I think in the Psalms, it comes up 25 different times in the Psalms. Praise the Lord, it's always represented by that truncated phrase, hallelujah. Hallelujah. And yet here, one of two times in the entire Psalter, out of all the times that we find in the English text, praise the Lord, the phrase behind it is not hallelujah. The phrase behind it is the extended version of that, Hallelu, Eith, Yahweh. So the whole name of the Lord is there. Not sure, once again, what the profound significance of that is, other than immediately, when we find this different usage, this different formulation of phrase, it tips us off that there's something unique about this song. Sure, it's a call to praise, but it's not a common call to praise. It's not a call to praise that we hear very often. And sure enough, as we get into the text, we find that very clearly. Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles. Under normal circumstances, we would not hear a call to worship given by a Jewish man to the Gentiles. Very often what you hear is, praise the Lord, all you His chosen ones, or all you His holy ones, or all you His saints. Praise the Lord, all His children. Praise the Lord, all of Israel. If we hear something about praising the Lord as it relates to the Gentiles, it's not usually calling the Gentiles to praise the Lord. But it is given in the sense of Israel, you praise the Lord, in the midst of the Gentiles. Psalm 57 verses 9 through 11, I will praise you, O Lord, among the peoples. I will sing praises to you among the nations. For your mercy reaches unto the heaven, your truth unto the clouds. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens. Let your glory be above all the earth." You notice there that here is a believer praising, being called to praise in the middle of the nations, in the middle of the Gentiles. Psalm 96. Oh, sing to the Lord a new song. Sing to the Lord all the earth. Sing to the Lord, bless His name. Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day. Listen to this now. Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among the people. While it is not unique to praise among the Gentiles, it is very unique to call those Gentiles to also praise. In fact, if you read through many of these, and these are just two examples, many times the nation of Israel is called to praise among the Gentiles, among the heathens, among the nations, among the peoples of the earth. You almost get the impression that you're called to praise in the midst of adversity. Almost as if those nations themselves you need to praise because those nations themselves cannot do so. And then we have Psalm 117. Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, all you nations. Laud Him, all you peoples or tribes. Now he gives a good reason for this praise. In verse two, he says this. Verse 1 says, praise Him, laud Him, all you Gentiles, all you peoples. Did I do that? Maybe that was God's emphasis. I'll just talk louder. Praise him peoples, praise him nations, and then he uses that phrase for or because. This is why they are to praise him. This is the good reason to praise the Lord if you are one of the Gentiles, if you are one of the tribes. Not the Israel tribes, but the external tribes. Because his mercy, or his merciful kindness, Notice that word, merciful kindness, mercy. Once again, you may have heard that word. That word has said. Is that something I'm doing? I'm gonna preach like this. I'm gonna go keep my hands up here. Once again, this word has said God's covenant loyalty His covenant loyalty is coupled with the word truth or faithfulness. His merciful kindness is great toward us, and then it says, and the truth or the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. The same two words that are coupled over and over again to emphasize God's covenant name and God's covenant loyalty. Now notice what it says about that chesed. For His Chesed is great towards us. First of all, it says that it is great, okay? And the word is great. is a term that we find in military use throughout the Old Testament. We also find it as it relates to the flood in Genesis 7, when the Lord records what He did in the great flood, in Noah's flood. That it says that the waters were great. And the way that most translators translate it is that the waters prevailed. The waters overwhelmed. This is also picked up in other places as it relates to military use, that it's military might, military power, or a prevailing force. Here in Psalm 117.2, we have the hesed of the Lord that stands as the overwhelming force, and it stands as a guard, a military guard over his people. Notice those last two words in the middle. For His merciful kindness is great toward us. Now please stop and think about that. The psalmist has called the Gentiles to praise. Many of these Gentile nations at odds with Israel, at enmity with Israel. And yet the cause for which they are to praise is not because of God's covenant faithfulness to the nations. It's because of God's covenant faithfulness, as this Israeli psalmist says, to us. In other words, because God has stood guard and used overwhelming hesed force, in other words, he has overwhelmingly kept his covenant to us, because of that, you should praise the Lord. Now think about how odd that is. You should praise the Lord because God is being good to your enemy. Very strange reason. But yet it is true. Israel is being called to praise the Lord. The final word of this psalm then is that common phrase, that common word, Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Folks, what is fascinating and what I want to focus on here this morning is that there's a call to international worship because God is faithful to Israel. As odd as that sounds, as odd as it should be that God would call people to worship because He's good to Israel, because He's good to their enemy Israel in many cases, I want us to understand why there should be a because there. If I were calling someone to worship, and I noticed that the God to whom I was calling them to worship was blessing their enemies, I might phrase it something like this, Praise the Lord all you nations in spite of the fact that He is blessing Israel. But folks, my first thought would certainly not be because He is blessing Israel. Why is there a because there? Why is there a causal link between them praising the Lord and the fact that they ought to praise the Lord and God's faithfulness to Israel. Now notice that we have here, it says that God's merciful kindness, or His chesed, and we said that that's covenant loyalty. The question then is what covenant are we referring to? What's probably being referred to here, in fact what is most certainly being referred to here is the Abrahamic covenant. God made a covenant with Abraham, father of Isaac, the father of Jacob, who is to later have his name changed to Israel, who is then the father of all this nation. God makes a covenant with Abraham. He confirms it with Isaac. He confirms it with Jacob. And that is the Abrahamic covenant. We find that covenant listed back in Genesis chapter 12. Turn back there with me, please. I think it's vital that we understand what part God's covenant loyalty and how that really matters. That he is faithful to his covenant. This is the promise he makes with Abram. The Lord had said to Abram, get out of your country from your family and from your father's house to a land that I will show you. Listen to this now. I will make you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great and you shall be a blessing. So the very first thing he promises is he says, I'm going to make you a great nation. That means that Abraham or Abram at this point, his name would later be called Abraham, that Abram is going to have many descendants to the point that they will form a great and influential nation. Then he says, secondly, I will bless you. How will he bless him? He will bless him by making his name great and then by making him also to be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you. I will curse him who curses you. It's still part of all of the blessing that he promises. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Now look down at verse 7. Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, To your descendants I will give this land. So two things we learn there is he has that reiteration of the fact that Abram, who has no children at this point, is going to have not just a child, but is going to have perpetual descendants. And that they will occupy the land of Canaan that God was showing to Abram. So within the Abrahamic covenant, within this covenant, this agreement that God makes with Abraham, what we have is three parts. We have the part of descendants. Abraham's gonna have descendants. We have another part that talks about land. Those descendants of Abraham are going to occupy and own a certain part of land in the Middle East But then we have a third promise of this covenant that is a blessing for Abraham. God would bless Abraham and then He says, and in you, part of the blessing to Abraham is that Abraham would be a blessing to others. In you, every or all families of the earth will be blessed. And what we find, and I don't want to take the time to go through all of this right now, but what we find is that later on in the history of the nation of Israel is that God confirms all three of these promises with different covenants. How does He do that? Well, first of all, as it relates to the descendants, when He talks about the greatness of Abraham's descendants, God reiterates and expands on that promise by making a promise to one of Abraham's descendants. That descendant was named David. So not only would David then be a descendant of Abraham himself, but David, that descendant, would have descendants, and those descendants of David and Abraham would reign on the throne of Israel and would be a blessing to other nations also. Now the Abrahamic covenant also, we said, had a part of it that had to do with land. Land, God promises a land, and when the Lord makes the covenant through Moses, he also makes a land covenant, promising them more land. So he expands under Moses, the Lord expands the covenant of land. What we want to focus on though is the promise of blessing. Because remember that the promise of blessing made to Abraham in this covenant was not only that he would be blessed, but part of that blessing was that he would bless all the families of the earth. The Lord expands on this promise of blessing. in what is known as the New Covenant. The New Covenant. In that covenant, which is iterated in Jeremiah 31, 31 through 34, God makes many promises of what this blessing and how this blessing would work out Some of the things that he says, though, he also says in Ezekiel, so turn over to Ezekiel 36. As you're turning there, are you tracking? I know this is heavy stuff right now. You're tracking, you're good. If you're not tracking, give me a blank stare. Okay, I see some of you. The point in this is that the blessing of Abraham will be expanded in the new covenant, okay, to Israel. Some of those things, some of those promises or the expansion of blessing are talked about in Ezekiel 36, look at verses 26 and 27. He says, a new heart also I will give you. and a new spirit will I put within you. And I will give you a heart of flesh, and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh." Folks, the reason that he says he'll take that stony heart out is because over and over again in the Old Testament when Israel persists in disobeying the Lord, the way that the Old Testament writers describe that is, their hearts were hardened. And over and over and over and over again throughout the Old Testament we have this proclamation of the hardness of their hearts. And all Ezekiel does is further describes it and he says, it is like they are made of stone. He's going to take those hearts that are made of stone as it relates to the Lord. He's going to put within them sensitive hearts that are made out of flesh. Hearts that the Lord can take and beat with His purpose and His love. Now listen to this, and it says, I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and you shall keep My judgments and do them. Now folks, what we have here then is not just the promise of a transformed heart, we have a promise of an indwell heart. That God will literally take the Holy Spirit and have him dwell in our lives. This is why he can go on to say that when the Holy Spirit lives within them, the law of God, those things that God loves, we will become lovers of also. The things that God hates, we will become haters of also. It's very unlike the external compliance that was required under the Old Covenant, that Mosaic Covenant, the Ten Commandments. Because were they not to obey any one of the Ten Commandments, there were very harsh punishments prescribed. And people were literally beaten and frightened into compliance. And what the Lord says here through Ezekiel is, I'll put my spirit in you. You'll have a new life. And my very presence will dwell in you. Now look at what Jeremiah, turn over to Jeremiah 31. This continues to be an expansion of the blessings of that Abrahamic covenant through the new covenant. Jeremiah 31, 33 says, but this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord. I will put my law in their inward parts and write it on their hearts. And listen to this, and will be their God. And they will be my people. Notice that Him being their God, once again, is not through the cultus of externals. It is through the transformation of the heart. They shall teach no more every man his neighbor, every man his brother, saying, know the Lord, for they shall all know Me. From the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord, for I will forgive their iniquity and I will remember their sin no more. Folks, remember, because God kept his covenant with Israel, we, the Gentiles, should praise. That's what Psalm 117 says. Look at the extent then of that promise. that God is going to send these blessings as a part of the new covenant in which His very Spirit will indwell them, in which the law of God will not have to be externally imposed but will be an internal desire that they have because their hearts have been transformed from hardened hearts to soft, fleshy hearts. Where then is this fulfillment? Where is this fulfillment? Their God, His people. Where does this become fulfilled? Where does it become fulfilled that everyone knows God? Is there something that can even make all of this possible? The numbers in Israel today are staggering. The number of agnostics and atheists I think is somewhere around 80%. Is there something that even makes this possible that He will be their God and they will be His people? It has to be fulfilled in the descendant or in the seed of Abraham. Turn over to Galatians chapter three. Galatians chapter three. Look at verse 16. Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, now listen to this, He saith not unto seeds, plural, as of many, but as of one. And to thy seed, which is, who? Christ. Christ. How is this promise fulfilled? It is fulfilled in the coming of Christ. It is fulfilled in the transformation brought about through Christ. And this is why a few verses earlier in Galatians 3, look at verses 13 and 14, he can say this, Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us, for it is written, cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree. So that the blessing of Abraham, do you notice that? So that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus. That we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. So God made a promise to Israel for the forgiveness of sins and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. How is it fulfilled? It's fulfilled in Christ. And folks, it is not nearly as important what you make of a nation or what you make of that nation as it is what you make of their Messiah. Paul concludes his letter to the church at Rome in Romans 15, as he concludes his letter to the church at Rome and encourages them to get along. Get along, both Jews and Gentiles. You guys are all in the same boat. You're condemned whether you're a Jew or condemned whether you're a Gentile. You're saved by grace through faith if you are a Jew. You are saved by grace through faith if you are a Gentile. You are justified through the righteousness of Christ if you are a Jew. And you are justified through the righteousness of Christ if you are a Gentile. And he concludes his letter encouraging them to get along and listen to what he says in verse 8. Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God to confirm the promises made unto the fathers. Now listen to this. Okay, because Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God to confirm the promises that were made to the fathers. That's one reason that he was a minister and he served them. Verse nine, and that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy. You see that? By the way, the word mercy there is the word helios or helios in the Greek. It is the word that is over and over again used to translate the Old Testament word. Anybody want to take a guess? Chesed. His covenant loyalty. And that the Gentiles might glorify God for His covenant loyalty. Sound familiar? As it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles and sing to thy name. Now listen to this. And again, He saith, Rejoice ye Gentiles with the people. Now verse 11. And again, Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles and laud Him, all you people. Do you know where that comes from? Psalm 117. Paul uses the passage that we were looking at this morning, Psalm 117, to demonstrate that yes, there is a cause for celebration and hailing the loyalty of God to Israel because God kept His promise to them. God kept His promise to them. And because of that, we inherit eternal life. God kept His promise to them, and we were made partakers of the blessings of salvation in Jesus Christ. Folks, do you see how important it is? Do you see why even those who at times have pitted themselves as enemies against Israel can look and say, I am so grateful that God has kept His, has said, to the people of Israel. You see that? Because God kept His promise to them we inherit eternal life and therefore I charge you with the final command of Psalm 117. Hallelujah. Praise the Lord. Let's pray. Father, your steadfast love is amazing. As we look at the Old Testament and see the constant failure of your people and yet you are true to your covenant. As we see how Israel had so many ups and downs and it seems so many more downs than ups. and yet you are faithful to uphold and bless them, sending the Messiah, your Son, to take upon Him the sins, not just of Israel, but of the world. We thank you for that seed. We thank You for that blessing. We thank You for that promise. We thank You for Your chesed. In Jesus' name, Amen.