Steadfast Love


Psalm 117
1Praise the Lord, all nations! Extol him, all peoples!
2For great is his steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.
Praise the Lord!

What can one say about less than 30 words? In these two verses we find the shortest of the 150 Psalms. It is a “wrap-up” of the previous four psalms and so the conclusions are succinct. We’re here to praise the Lord – All of us! The reasons for that praise? His steadfast love and faithfulness. What more do we need?

These two verses celebrate the deliverance of Israel from the Babylonian captivity, and as such also remind us of our deliverance from the captivity to sin that was ended by the death and resurrection of the Messiah. Only the steadfast love of God would be willing to sacrifice so much for us. Because of the brevity of this psalm I wonder if these words shouldn’t be memorized. My mind swirls on “His steadfast love” and suddenly there are dozens of applications for that love in my own personal life. Not only did Jesus die to save me, He is also here with me through the Holy Spirit for each of the struggles I face each day. And some days seem to have more than others! I don’t think that we spend enough time pondering His steadfast love, for it you truly spend a moment just letting those words resonate through your spirit, you will be – at least for a bit – inside of His peace. What can harm you if you reside in that steadfast love? Nothing.

So the psalm is brief and so is the devotion – unless you give those words their due and truly meditate upon them.

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