Every Tribe and Tongue
Psalms 117
August 29, 2021
Tonight we come to the 5th Psalm in this grouping known as the Hallel.
This important segment of Psalms especially dedicated to the feast of the Passover and the worship of Israel for God’s salvation.
We certainly more accurately see them pointing to Christ
Who is in fact our Passover Lamb.
It is so fitting that our Lord would have sung this group of hymns
On the night before He was crucified.
AND TONIGHT WE STUDY
Perhaps the MOST REMARKABLE aspect of all that He accomplished.
Tonight we are reminded that the salvation of our Lord is for all peoples.
Psalms 117 is the SHORTEST chapter in the entire Bible,
But what a POWERFUL punch it throws.
• It is a bold command to all nations that the God of Israel must be praised.
• It is squashes any notion that different peoples have a right to different faith.
• It crushes pluralism and idolatry.
It gives a call that “all nations” and “all peoples”
Are commanded to present themselves in holy surrender
Before the God of Israel.
“Praise the LORD, all nations;” says the Psalmist.
“Laud Him, all peoples!”
“peoples” there is literally “tribes”
Revelation 7:9-10 “After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”
The requirement of praise…
• Is not limited to a small group of people in the middle east.
• It is not just for those who are considered in the flesh to be Abraham’s descendants.
But we are reminded here that Israel’s God and His Messiah Jesus
ARE TO BE WORSHIPED BY ALL.
Perhaps Isaiah gave the most fitting explanation:
Isaiah 49:6 “He says, “It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a light of the nations So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
God’s intention was never just that He would be the God of Israel.
His intention is that all the earth would worship Him.
When God did save these people from Egypt and entered a covenant with them at Sinai, God specifically said:
Exodus 19:6 “and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel.”
Remember when Solomon built His temple?
In his great prayer of dedication, Solomon said:
1 Kings 8:41-43 “Also concerning the foreigner who is not of Your people Israel, when he comes from a far country for Your name’s sake (for they will hear of Your great name and Your mighty hand, and of Your outstretched arm); when he comes and prays toward this house, hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know Your name, to fear You, as do Your people Israel, and that they may know that this house which I have built is called by Your name.”
It was always intended that all peoples would worship Israel’s God.
And certainly regarding Christ we are familiar with the promise Paul revealed to the Philippians.
Philippians 2:9-11 “For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
We know this and Psalms 117 reminds of it.
That the God of Israel is in all actuality the God of the world.
And He is to be praised by the world.
Every nation is to bow to Him.
Every tribe is to worship Him.
As Paul told the men of Athens:
Acts 17:30-31 “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”
There is no room for any other religion…
There is no room for any other god…
“all nations” and “all peoples” are summoned to “Praise the LORD!”
When Jesus commissioned the disciples He reminded:
Acts 1:8 “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
We take the gospel everywhere.
He is the Lord of all the earth.
That much is abundantly clear here in the Psalm.
And honestly, that alone is enough to sing about.
That alone is fitting information for a great song of praise.
But the Psalmist here gets more specific and gives
THE ACTUAL REASON why God is to be praised by all peoples.
(2) “For His lovingkindness is great toward us, And the truth of the LORD is everlasting.”
That is actually a mouthful of a doctrinal statement.
“For His lovingkindness is great toward us”
Well there is that favorite word again, that CHECED of God.
That loyal covenantal love of God.
• It is the reminder that God loves because He has purposed to love.
• It is the reminder that God is loyal because He chooses to be loyal.
But there is MORE EVEN IN THAT STATEMENT
Than just the declaration of God’s loyalty.
The Psalmist said that “His lovingkindness IS GREAT toward us”
“great” there is GABAR (ga-var)
It literally means “prevails”
Genesis 7:18-20 “The water prevailed and increased greatly upon the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water. The water prevailed more and more upon the earth, so that all the high mountains everywhere under the heavens were covered. The water prevailed fifteen cubits higher, and the mountains were covered.”
Exodus 17:11 “So it came about when Moses held his hand up, that Israel prevailed, and when he let his hand down, Amalek prevailed.”
The Psalmist here makes the awesome statement that
“His CHECED prevails over us.”
Think about that for a moment.
It is all the glorious realities of what you and I commonly refer to as GOD’S EFFECTUAL CALL.
Namely that God saves those whom He chooses to save.
John 6:37 “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.”
Or what we read in Romans 8
Romans 8:30 “and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.”
Now we would DISTINGUISH HERE for the purpose of understanding.
There is what we might call: GOD’S UNIVERSAL CALL
That is the call which God gives for all the world to come and be saved.
• It is open to all.
• It is available to all.
• Anyone who wants it can have it.
• Whosoever will may come.
There is an open invitation for any and all to come and be saved.
Romans 10:13 “for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”
Revelation 22:17 “The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.”
And there are many many other passages…
In fact the Psalms tell us that CREATION ITSELF
Is calling man to see the glorious God and to call upon Him.
THERE IS A UNIVERSAL CALL TO ALL MEN TO COME AND BE SAVED.
But there is a problem with this call.
NO ONE HAS EVER ANSWERED IT.
(not one single person of his own volition decided to answer this call)
We see it in the Parable Of The Wedding Banquet
• The call went out for men to come and attend the banquet
• But no one would come.
• They were all too busy, they were not interested in the free invitation of the father of the groom.
• So the father sent out the servants into the highways and hedges to implore them to come, and finally some came.
And when the king finally came to look over the dinner guests
One short explanation was given.
Matthew 22:14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.”
What does that mean?
Men rejected the universal call,
It was only those who received the effectual call who came.
• Man is sinful and uninterested in the worship of the Holy God of the universe.
• Man does not do good.
• Man does not seek for God.
• There is no fear of God before their eyes.
Man is at enmity with God and without exception
Sinful man rejects the universal call of God.
Isaiah 50:2 “Why was there no man when I came? When I called, why was there none to answer? Is My hand so short that it cannot ransom? Or have I no power to deliver? Behold, I dry up the sea with My rebuke, I make the rivers a wilderness; Their fish stink for lack of water And die of thirst.”
Well if all men without exception reject that universal call of God which has gone out to all the earth…
Then how do you explain that some are now saved?
Because they received GOD’S EFFECTUAL CALL.
The grace of God prevailed upon them.
It began with what we call REGENERATION.
• God awakened the dead soul…
• God gave life to a dead heart…
• God opened the eyes and unstopped ears…
• And God extended then an effectual call that is not refused.
That DOESN’T MEAN that some people God saves by dragging them kicking and screaming into the kingdom. NO.
In fact, He has never dragged anyone into the kingdom.
What it does mean is that God regenerates
And changes the disposition of a man
To compel Him to respond to the call of God upon His life.
That is why Jesus knew “all the Father has given Me will come to Me.”
2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 “But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. It was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
1 Peter 5:10 “After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.”
WHAT WE MEAN THEN IS THIS.
• We are a world of sinful men and women totally indifferent to the universal call of salvation of the God who created us.
• But in tremendous grace, instead of dooming all to hell, God intervened by an act of sovereign grace and effectively called some to salvation.
“His lovingkindness prevailed toward us”
We think of the apostle Paul as a great example.
• A seasoned Pharisee
• A hater of Christianity
• On a mission to see it eradicated from the earth
But God’s lovingkindness prevailed over him.
• After Jesus blinded him, God sent Ananias to him.
When Ananias was hesitant to go, God said:
Acts 9:15 “But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel;”
It wasn’t Paul who went looking for God,
It was God who effectively called Paul.
Paul recounted this of his own life:
1 Timothy 1:12-14 “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus.”
• It was Christ who “strengthened” Paul.
• It was Christ who “considered” Paul.
• It was Christ who “put” Paul into service.
And Paul says that His grace “was more than abundant”
IT PREVAILED!
And the way God saved Paul
Is the way God saved every man who is saved.
(Granted your testimony might not be that dramatic)
But each of us was in rebellion and dead in sin
When His grace prevailed upon us.
Ephesians 2:1-9 “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
And that is the remarkable truth the Psalmist gives first.
“For His lovingkindness is great toward us”
“His loyal covenantal love prevailed upon us.”
“AND”
“And the truth of the LORD is everlasting.”
We are talking here about GOD’S FAITHFULNESS.
His faithfulness is eternal…It never stops.
• That is to say that the God “who began a good work in you is faithful to complete it.”
• That is to say that “those whom God called He also justified and those whom He justified He also glorified.”
It takes the logical next step of what Jesus said:
John 6:37-39 “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. “This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.”
He doesn’t lose those whom He has determined to save.
We think so easily of Abraham here.
Abraham is called the father of faith, but he was by no means continually faithful.
• God called him from Ur and promised him the land.
• Abraham jumped at the opportunity
• But the second famine hit, he bolted for Egypt
• And told Pharaoh that his wife was his sister.
Genesis 12:17-20 “But the LORD struck Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. Then Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? “Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her for my wife? Now then, here is your wife, take her and go.” Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they escorted him away, with his wife and all that belonged to him.”
That wasn’t Abram being faithful to God
That was God being faithful to Abram.
And that was just the tip of the ice burg.
• Abram was also supposed to leave his family, but he took Lot and God had
to separate them.
• Abram was supposed to trust God for a child, but instead he took Hagar and
God had to send him away too.
But the number of blunders didn’t seem to matter.
God wouldn’t let Abram go.
I think of Peter.
• Peter did the unthinkable, he denied Jesus 3 times.
• And even after the resurrection from the dead Peter decided he was done and he was going back to fishing.
But you remember John 21.
• Jesus again refused to let them catch fish, but told them again to cast their nets on the other side of the boat.
• Then Jesus reinstated Peter.
John 21:17 “He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Tend My sheep.”
It wasn’t Peter being faithful to Jesus, it was Jesus being faithful to Peter.
And this is also TRUE IN OUR LIVES.
The God who calls us is also the God who secures us.
It was His grace which prevailed upon us to come to Him
And it is His grace which securely holds us to Him.
I love the new (old) hymn we have started to sing.
“When I fear my faith will fail, Christ will hold me fast;
When the tempter would prevail, He will hold me fast.
I could never keep my hold through life’s fearful path;
For my love is often cold; He must hold me fast.
He will hold me fast, He will hold me fast;
For my Saviour loves me so, He will hold me fast.
Those He saves are His delight, Christ will hold me fast;
Precious in his holy sight, He will hold me fast.
He’ll not let my soul be lost; His promises shall last;
Bought by Him at such a cost, He will hold me fast.
He will hold me fast, He will hold me fast;
For my Saviour loves me so, He will hold me fast.
For my life He bled and died, Christ will hold me fast;
Justice has been satisfied; He will hold me fast.
Raised with Him to endless life, He will hold me fast
‘Till our faith is turned to sight, When He comes at last!
He will hold me fast, He will hold me fast;
For my Saviour loves me so, He will hold me fast.”
Or perhaps the hymn that you are more familiar with:
“O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be
Let Thy goodness like a fetter
Bind my wandering heart to Thee
Prone to wander Lord I feel it
Prone to leave the God I love
Here’s my heart, Lord, take and seal it, seal it for Thy courts above”
THAT IS WHAT THE PSALMIST REFERS TO HERE.
1. God’s faithfulness is eternal, He will never let us go.
2. Those He chose to save, He saves forever.
And as we have said before, this is a good thing,
• For there is never a time even in eternity when we might deem ourselves safe where it not for God’s faithfulness.
• And even if you think you’d be safe once you got to heaven you have to remind yourself that Satan and 1/3 of the angels fell from heaven.
• You are safe now and you will be safe then because of the faithfulness of God.
Now those are the two theological realities
That the Psalmist says that God deserve praise for.
Yet there is something remarkable here that must not be overlooked.
It is all really revealed in the use of the word “us”
Upon whom has God’s grace prevailed? “us”
Who enjoys the everlasting faithfulness of God? “us”
That is the church, God’s people.
But the Psalm DOESN’T SAY, “Praise the LORD, O church; Laud Him, people of salvation!”
The Psalm commands the world to praise God.
The Psalm calls the nations and every tribe to praise God.
And then tells them to praise God
Because of His loyalty and faithfulness; not to them, but to us.
Does that seem strange to anyone else?
Shouldn’t it say “them”?
• NO, because they aren’t currently recipients of His prevailing grace or eternal faithfulness.
So why is the world supposed to praise God for the salvation of believers?
Well, there are a few of reasons.
1) THE FACT THAT GOD SAVES ANY SINNER IS CAUSE FOR ALL SINNERS TO WORSHIP.
It is a testimony of hope.
Imagine and entire world held hostage by an evil dictator.
Imagine all freedom and liberty gone and all the world suffers under his reign.
And then imagine that you receive word that a group of people in Belgium
Found deliverance and escaped his oppressive reign.
Would you rejoice at that?
Yes, you’d rejoice that anyone found deliverance,
For it is proof that deliverance exists.
For that reason alone all the world should worship God.
He is the only God who has ever saved anyone.
• There are hosts of false gods who never saved a single person.
• They claimed they could, but they never did.
• They were all false hopes.
But our God genuinely and truly saves those He set out to save.
There should be a rejoicing in the fact that God saved any sinner.
But it is even deeper than that.
Here God told “all nations” to “Praise”
That would indicate that the salvation which God alone possesses
IS AVAILABLE TO EVEN YOU.
Imagine after hearing of the liberation of Belgium
• That you then received a letter in the mail instructing you to cry out to the
same deliverer that just saved Belgium.
Would you do it?
You should.
Well, turn to Romans 15
Read verse 7.
“Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God.”
If you are familiar with Romans
• You know that starting in chapter 14 Paul began to address the issue of Christian unity.
• He wanted us to be one.
• Romans 15:7 is the final application of that entire segment.
Since Christ accepted us you should accept each other.
What do you mean Christ accepted us?
Read 8-12
• Paul said that Christ saved Jews to “confirm the promises given to the father”
• But Paul said Christ also saved Gentiles “to glorify God for His mercy”
• And then Paul quoted 4 Old Testament passages to affirm that.
• And pay special attention to verse 11 for there Paul quoted Psalms 117:2
Paul wanted us to accept one another
Based on the fact that Christ has accepted us.
And to support his position that Christ has accepted us
Paul quoted Psalms 117:2 which reveals that
God will even save Gentiles who call upon Him.
• God wouldn’t command the nations to praise if God were not willing to save the nations.
• God wouldn’t command the tribes to laud Him if He were not willing to save the tribes.
And now all the world can rest in the fact that God has done it before.
What was Israel before God saved him?
Who was Abraham?
Abraham was a pagan.
Joshua 24:2 “Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘From ancient times your fathers lived beyond the River, namely, Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, and they served other gods.”
But God’s grace prevailed upon Abraham
And God’s faithfulness protected Abraham.
He was a pagan sinner whom God saved.
And if God would save one pagan sinner, perhaps he would save me.
So all the nations are commanded to praise
Simply because our God is a God who saves pagan sinners!
But that’s not the only reason the nations should rejoice that God saved us.
2) GOD’S CALL TO SAVE THEM EXTENDS THROUGH US.
What was the promise God made to Abraham?
Genesis 12:2-3 “And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
Galatians 3:8 “The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “ALL THE NATIONS WILL BE BLESSED IN YOU.”
Israel wasn’t intended to be a hermit group of saints,
They were commissioned to be a kingdom of priests.
Having been saved they were commissioned to show the rest of the world.
• They were to be a light in darkness.
• They were to be a city on a hill.
• They were to take the message of hope to the rest of the world.
They routinely failed, but it was their calling none the less.
Now it is the calling of the church.
If we go back to our illustration of the evil world dictator
• We would now find that not only did Belgium find salvation,
• But having been saved their Savior has commissioned to the world
• To show other nations how they can also be saved from the evil tyrant.
The world should praise God for that.
They should exalt him for that.
And there is still another reason.
3) GOD’S FAITHFULNESS TO US PRODUCES GOD’S PATIENCE FOR THEM.
That is to say God’s commitment to save His elect
Is greater than His urgency to destroy the wicked.
They actually, even in rebellion, enjoy God’s grace toward His own.
Let me explain.
Matthew 13:24-30 “Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. “But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. “But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. “The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ “And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ The slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ “But he said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. ‘Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”
Why are the tares not immediately gathered up and burned?
• Because God is unwilling to risk the safety of the wheat to do so.
Think about marriage.
Paul spoke about the reality that there are times when you may have a believer married to a non-believer.
When asked if the believer should leave, Paul said “No”.
1 Corinthians 7:12-14 “But to the rest I say, not the Lord, that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he must not divorce her. And a woman who has an unbelieving husband, and he consents to live with her, she must not send her husband away. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband; for otherwise your children are unclean, but now they are holy.”
That unbelieving spouse
Actually lives under God’s protection and blessing
Even in their rebellion solely because God is so faithful to His own.
Remember Lot living in Sodom?
When the angel of the Lord went to destroy Sodom he first sent Lot out saying:
Genesis 19:22 “Hurry, escape there, for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” Therefore the name of the town was called Zoar.”
And this is most certainly what Peter had in mind
With his oft-misunderstood statement about the delay in Christ’s return.
2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”
People like to interpret that verse as though
God just can’t bring Himself to judge sinners.
Read the Bible,
• God judges sinners.
• He’s done it often.
That verse reveals that
• The end of the world has yet to come because all of the elect are not in yet.
• God isn’t patient toward the world, He is patient toward “you” the elect.
Have you ever watched a thriller movie
Where a criminal and wanted man takes a hostage?
Why do they take a hostage?
• Because the presence of the hostage keeps judgment at bay for fear that the
hostage might be harmed.
This world hates God and hates God’s people,
But if this world understood that truth they would praise God
That He has saved people and left them here.
If the world succeeded in eradicating the church
It would be the biggest mistake they ever made.
And this is also implied in Psalms 117
• God is the only savior the world has ever known.
• And God saves pagan sinners, even those who don’t want Him.
• He prevails upon them by His grace.
• He then secures them in His faithfulness.
• Then He commissions them to proclaim this salvation to other pagan sinners.
• And all the while other sinners enjoy the benefits of God’s patience on their behalf.
HE DESERVES PRAISE.
“Praise the LORD, all nations; Laud Him, all peoples!”
And since the nations are commanded to praise God,
It is understood that God’s people must relay the message.
We are obligated
• To make sure the world is aware of their command to praise the God who created them.
• To make sure the world knows that God saves pagan sinners.
“Praise the LORD!”
