TO THE PRAISE OF HIS GLORY
Psalm 117 is the smallest Psalm in the Bible. All its content is this: "Praise the LORD, all your nations extol him, all your peoples. For great his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD". Although small, it is a psalm that refers to two questions of the greatest theological relevance: the reason for human existence and the universality of divine action in the world.
Man, after original sin, losted himself and God. He lives to build a world that gives him meaning. But after millennia, he still does not know the reason for existence. The psalmist, however, begins by speaking exactly about this subject. He says: "Praise the LORD, all your nations extol him, all your peoples”. He says this because he understands that peoples and nations, that is, man exists for the praise of God's glory. In fact, the Apostle Paul says, in his letter to the Ephesians, that God, in Christ, is separating a people for "the praise of His glory" (1:12,14).
Not that God is a tyrant who created beings for His praise and that He needs praise to feel good. But because there is something in his essence about which the psalmist spoke: "his love". Possibly love constitutes the most fundamental and basic attribute of the being of God, even before his power, his holiness, his justice? And this makes us see that we do not have a full understanding of what love is, just as God is beyond our understanding. Love is so closely related to God that the Apostle John defined him as follows: "God is love" (1John 4:8).
Thus it is inferred that it is from this condition that all the glory of God proceeds. For this reason, seraphim, cherubim and all classes of angels, as well as man, have as reaction before the splendor of God the acts of worship and praise to Him. It is impossible for the creature not to pour himself out in praise before the Creator; and only then does he attain the status of full dignity. God who is love draws the creature to Him and this makes man live for "the praise of His glory. Therefore, the reason for human existence is to live for God.
But the fallen man, that is, the man without God, understands this too little or simply does not accept it. Living for himself, he seeks his own glory and his own praise. This is what the serpent said to Eve: "...you, as God, will be...". Dead spiritually (Ephesians 2:1), man only discerns the world of matter and wants to be a god. However, the Christian does not think so. The Apostle Paul said, "For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord" (Romans 14:7,8).
The second question raised by the psalmist concerns the universality of divine action in the world. Although God appeared to the Jews, He was not a "national god" as the pagan peoples had, but God of all creation. This can be noted throughout the Old Testament, which presents numerous passages that show "that the destiny of all peoples lies in what God did in the midst and for his people, Israel [2]. For this reason Paul, apostle of the Gentiles, quoted the first verse of this Psalm to confirm the idea that Christ also came to the Gentiles (non-Jewish peoples) and that they too were targets of salvation provided by God through Jesus (Romans 15:8-11).
This question was relevant in the early church, so much so that Peter was harshly questioned by the Jerusalem Church for bringing the gospel to the family of a Gentile, the Roman captain, Cornelius (Acts 11:1-17). However, it should be noted that Christ did not come to restore the earthly kingdom of the Jews, but rather to implant the kingdom of God. This idea of "Kingdom of God" is central to the teachings of Jesus, so much so that, in Matthew alone, it is mentioned fifty times. One of Jesus last words to his disciples was: "go and make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:19).
Fallen man has created a world of his own, throughout the length of the Earth. However, the psalmist says: "God is the king of all the earth... God reigns over the nations" (Psalm 47:7,8). Thus, the situation of the present world resembles that of Israel (extract of humanity), before the Babylonian captivity. For having turned away from God, The LORD allowed their destruction, but promised a new Jerusalem, a new national order. At this point, we can see the following word of the Apostle Peter: "the presente heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly" (2 Peter 3:7). But that is not the end. Bible prophecy ends with an extract from mankind living for the praise of God. John says, "Then I saw new heavens and a new earth ... He who was seated on the throne said, 'I am making everything new'" (Revelation 21:1,5).
Antônio Maia - M. Div.
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[1] MAIA, Antônio. O Homem em Busca de Si - Reflexões Sobre a Condição Humana na Parábola do Filho Pródigo. amazon.com.br
[2] Bíblia NVI Comentada. São Paulo: Ed Vida, 2003, p. 1014.
[3] Bíblia NVI Comentada. São Paulo: Ed Vida, 2003, p. 1618.
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