Praise the Lord, All You Nations

IIT UBF - University Bible Fellowship at IIT

Praise the Lord, All You Nations

Date: Oct. 1, 2016

Passage

Psalm 116:1-117:2 (ESV)

1   I love the LORD, because he has heard
    my voice and my pleas for mercy.
2   Because he inclined his ear to me,
    therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
3   The snares of death encompassed me;
    the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;
    I suffered distress and anguish.
4   Then I called on the name of the LORD:
    “O LORD, I pray, deliver my soul!”
5   Gracious is the LORD, and righteous;
    our God is merciful.
6   The LORD preserves the simple;
    when I was brought low, he saved me.
7   Return, O my soul, to your rest;
    for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.
8   For you have delivered my soul from death,
    my eyes from tears,
    my feet from stumbling;
9   I will walk before the LORD
    in the land of the living.
10   I believed, even when I spoke:
    “I am greatly afflicted”;
11   I said in my alarm,
    “All mankind are liars.”
12   What shall I render to the LORD
    for all his benefits to me?
13   I will lift up the cup of salvation
    and call on the name of the LORD,
14   I will pay my vows to the LORD
    in the presence of all his people.
15   Precious in the sight of the LORD
    is the death of his saints.
16   O LORD, I am your servant;
    I am your servant, the son of your maidservant.
    You have loosed my bonds.
17   I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving
    and call on the name of the LORD.
18   I will pay my vows to the LORD
    in the presence of all his people,
19   in the courts of the house of the LORD,
    in your midst, O Jerusalem.
  Praise the LORD!

1   Praise the LORD, all nations!
    Extol him, all peoples!
2   For great is his steadfast love toward us,
    and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever.
  Praise the LORD!

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV) is adapted from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. All rights reserved.

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Daily Bread

Key Verse: 117:1

1 Praise the LORD, all nations!
Extol him, all peoples!

First, truly I am your servant (116:1-19). These are Psalms of praise. The Psalmist was in great distress, even life threatening. There he was brought to call on the Lord for deliverance. That is the place where God revealed his compassion and unfailing love The desperate time was used by God to reveal his salvation and glory. In the light of such glory the Psalmist himself is revealed as the servant of this God, a testimony to his eternal deliverance and love, struggling not with life and death, but to love God and fulfill his calling as God's own.

Second, all you nations, all you peoples(117:1-2). While the Psalmist met the Lord in his personal anguish, God had something grander in mind. He would use the Psalmist to proclaim his love and faithfulness to all nations. The Lord wants all nations to praise him.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for revealing yourself to me in my desperate situation. Help me to live up to your calling and serve your purpose. Use me to proclaim your love to all nations.

One Word: Praise the Lord, all you nations

God’s Wrath and Justice

Revelation 6:1-17

Key Verse: 6:17

for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

Today's Question

What does God require from us to escape His anger and curse, which we deserve for our sin?

See answer and references