Psalm 117

Worship has a missional dimension. Put differently, worship invites outsiders into the presence of God. Worship reaches out to the lost. It is an invitation to the lost to join the saved community in order to praise the name of the Lord. Worship brings the unsaved into the saving presence of God. Granted, worship functions for believers as well. It is that grand experience of joining together in praise to God, recalling our identity as God’s children. But worship is not complete, not what it should and must be, until all people are drawn into God’s presence.

This missional dimension of worship is the focus of Ps 117. This is the shortest of all the psalms but it thinks on a grand scale. Psalm 117 anticipates the day when all God’s creation comes together to sing his praises. This is not to suggest that unbelievers will be forced to participate in this praise service, but it certainly hopes that they will be moved to repentance. Worship that includes the world’s population is envisioned. “All you nations…all you peoples” is typical language in the psalms used to refer to those outside of God’s people (v. 1). The psalmist expresses the desire for all to come into the presence of God to sing his praises. Here, worship is an invitation for outsiders to become insiders. Worship should not be exclusive but rather inclusive.

Verse 2 provides two concrete reasons why God should be worshiped. First, because of his “great love.” The Hebrew word for this phrase is hesed. That sounds easy to grasp but the problem arises in that we have no single word in English that expresses the fullness of this word! The Hebrew word often deals with love in its absolute, purest, fullest extent. This is love so deep and so strong that only God demonstrates it perfectly. Second, God’s “faithfulness endures forever” (v. 2). Our faithfulness waivers but God’s remains firm. God is praised for accomplishing what we cannot. As Paul states in 2 Tim 2:13: “If we are faithless, he will remain faithful.”

Paul uses Ps 117 in Rom 15:11 to express God’s invitation of salvation to all humanity – even Gentiles. Thus, those who are not thought to be the people of God are invited into the community of faith. Paul’s point is that God’s gospel reaches out. Therefore, all humanity is invited to sing praises to God. Worship extends beyond the lives of those who currently believe. It invites the unbelieving to join the chorus. Psalm 117 anticipates a worship service that is global in scope. It is a psalm for any Lord’s Day, but it is especially appropriate for the celebration of a worldwide communion Sunday. God is missional, so the gospel is missional, and our worship should also be missional.