Heaven Bound

    “Praise the Lord, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples. For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord.  Psalm 117

The shortest of the 150 Psalms, the center chapter of the King James Bible and the fifth Psalm of the Egyptian Hallel, what the 117th Psalm lacks in size, it more than makes up for in Spirit! 

It has been the premise of this study that the Psalms of the Egyptian Hallel, Psalms 113-118 (and the Psalms immediately preceding them) correspond with the years we are living in, each one providing detailed information regarding the soon return of Jesus.  If Psalm 118 corresponds with the year 2018, what then, might we discover about the year 2017 from this, the shortest verse in the Bible, Psalm 117.

The events of Psalm 118 seem to correspond with the return of Christ and the establishment of his millenial kingdom  during the fall feasts of 2018. If this should take place then, it would only stand to reason that the events of 2017 (on or around this time period) might very well be the destruction of Babylon as described in Revelation 18.

As I’m writing this, I’m wondering why so much detailed information is given in Psalm 118 but, so little in Psalm 117, Why would God provide so much detailed information in one chapter and so little in another?  

In doing a little research, I came across these words by Charles Spurgeon in his introduction to his commentary on the 117th Psalm that shed a little light on this for me.   http://www.spurgeon.org/treasury/ps117.htm

 “This Psalm, which is very little in its letter, is exceedingly large in its spirit; for, bursting beyond all bounds of race or nationality, it calls upon all mankind to praise the name of the Lord. In all probability it was frequently used as a brief hymn suitable for almost every occasion, and especially when the time for worship was short. Perhaps it was also sung at the commencement or at the close of other Psalms, just as we now use the doxology. It would have served either to open a service or to conclude it. It is both short and sweet. The same divine Spirit which expatiates in the 119th, here condenses his utterances into two short verses, but yet the same infinite fullness is present and perceptible. It may be worth noting that this is at once the shortest chapter of the Scriptures and the central portion of the whole Bible.”

Quite simply, the message of Psalm 117 (God’s great love for all mankind)  is central to the theme of scripture and is in fact, quite literally; at its very center.

In Romans 15:11 the apostle Paul quotes from the 117th Psalm; drawing from it, he makes his appeal to the Jews regarding the message of the gospel going to the Gentiles.

“Praise the Lord all you Gentiles, and sing praises to him, all you peoples.”

Here, Paul confirms that it was always God’s intention for salvation to be offered to the Gentiles – that Israel would be a “light to the nations” – and that God’s offer of  mercy and grace would extend to all the people’s of the world, and not to Israel alone.

Now this is important, because the nations as a whole have rejected God. They have chosen instead to follow a world system that is the spirit of Babylon; a world system that stands in direct opposition to God and everything he stands for.

We may speculate that Babylon of Revelation 18 is the United States, NYC or modern-day Iraq, but, these are only representative of the spirit of Babylon, the spirit of anti-christ, which has been at work from the time of the beginning and will very soon meet its final end. 

In Revelation 18, the world mourns the destruction of Babylon but, in heaven there is great rejoicing!

“Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for true and just are his judgments. He has condemned the great prostitute, who corrupted the earth by her adulteries. He has avenged on her the blood of his servants. And, again they shouted, Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up forever and ever.”   Revelation 19: 1-3.

It is following this tremendous event that the time is finally right for the marriage supper of the lamb (Rev. 19:6), which leads me to believe that the final destruction of Babylon is necessary before the final stages of God’s plan can proceed.

On seeing the destruction of Babylon, great words of lament can be heard, but, none more powerful than these:

“Rejoice over her, O heavens!  Rejoice saints, apostles and prophets! God has judged her for the way she treated you.”

God has judged her for the way she treated you!  Imagine that, when the world hurts one of God’s people, it hurts God. He takes it personally!  Therefore, you can see that God’s love, central to Psalm 117 is also central to the final destruction of the Babylonian system, a system which hates God and hates God’s people.

The words may be few, but, the message is clear. God’s love for his people is unwavering and true and his mercy endureth forever. Blessed be his name!

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, they shall prosper who love thee”  Psalm 122:6   Watching and waiting with YOU for the soon return of Jesus!  Cindy