You could argue that the reason God wants us to praise him is because it is right and fitting for us. We were made to worship him. But there’s another reason for God’s intent that every nation worship him. It’s because he is worth of our praise because of his love and faithfulness to his people.

This is the shortest psalm with the biggest message. In fact, it’s the shortest chapter in the Bible. You can read it out loud in 15 seconds or less, but make no mistake: as Derik Kidner says, it “is great in faith, and its reach is enormous… The shortest psalm proves, in fact, to be one of the most potent and most seminal.” It has been called the “little giant” of the Psalter. Charles Spurgeon says that it’s “a very short Psalm if you regard the words, but of very great compass and most excellent if you thoughtfully consider the meaning.”

The Holy Spirit is able to pack a lot of teaching in a small space. One writer identified five key themes in this chapter: the calling of the Gentiles, a summary of the gospel, the ultimate purpose of blessings, the responsibilities of God’s people, and their privileges.

This looks like a small psalm, and it is, but it’s so packed with teaching that Martin Luther devoted 36 pages to it. As we’re going to see, this small psalm is too big for some of Paul’s readers to have grasped. But if you grasp this psalm, it’s powerful enough to shape your life.

So let’s look at this psalm. We’re going to discover two important truths.

First, We Discover God’s Intent for the World

Verse 1 says:

Praise the LORD, all nations!

Extol him, all peoples!

What is God’s intent for the world? This verse tells us: that he is praised by all nations; that he is extolled by all peoples.

What does this mean? We don’t know exactly when this psalm was written. It seems likely to have been written later in Israel’s history, after their return to exile. Israel was never a really large or powerful nation, and it certainly wasn’t then. But it was God’s intent that people from every nation, every people group, not just in Israel but in every nation, praise and extol the Lord.

Right now, as best as I can tell, there are 195 sovereign nations in the world. But that’s not what Psalm 117 is talking about. It discusses people groups—distinct communities with shared language, culture, traditions, and identity that set them apart from others. According to the International Missions Board, there are over 12,000 different people groups in the world.

4.8 billion people, belonging to over 7,000 cultural groups, have little to no access to the gospel. The situation is even more serious for some. Among the world’s 12,000 total people groups, more than 3,000 are completely isolated from any Christian influence. These groups have no evangelical churches in their communities, and no missionary organizations are currently trying to reach them. 283 million people worldwide live in places where they may never meet an evangelical believer.

Who is going to take the gospel to them? Psalm 117:1 tells us that it’s God’s intent that all people groups praise him. It is our privilege and joy to praise the Lord, but our responsibility doesn’t end there. We’re meant to enjoy God’s grace, and then pass it on. We will not be content with only praising the Lord. We will seek that others join us in magnifying him. We want others to praise him too.

You see what this means?

The meaning and purpose of life, for nations as well as individuals, finds its fulfillment in praising God. In the presence of God, the political and national barriers disappear, and across the frontiers of countries and states, [humans] are linked together in a bond which unites them in God in fellowship with one another. (Artur Weiser)

This is why we engage in church planting, church revitalization, and missions. If this is God’s priority, it should be our priority too. God’s intent is that every people group in the world praise Yahweh and extol him. That, as Jesus said, we would “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19); that “gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations” (Matthew 24:14).

It’s God’s intent that all people groups praise and extol Yahweh.

Here’s the second important truth we learn in this passage:

Second, We Learn the Reason Behind God’s Intent

Why does God want all people to praise him?

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