Mercy at the expense of truth would turn Heaven into hell and drive God from His throne. David tried it with Absalom and, before long, he had a rebellion on his hands which drove him out of Jerusalem and into the jaws of death. God had to devise a means by which He could reconcile both His merciful kindness and His everlasting truth. The problem was solved at Calvary.
Jesus went to Calvary to die for us, the Just for us the unjust,to bring us to God. He took our guilt that we might take His goodness, took our sinfulness that we might take His sinlessness, took our ruin that we might take His righteousness. That was God's way of bringing mercy and truth together in an everlasting embrace. That is our cause for praise.
Last of all, the psalm sets before us:
III. THE COMMAND TO PRAISE (117:2c)
"Praise ye the LORD."
Astronomers are now discovering that many stars are binary stars, or twins. They are tied together and act and react the one on the other. God has a binary star,the bright and morning star. That binary star is Jesus. When Jesus came to Bethlehem, something unique happened in the universe. God took deity and humanity and so fused the one into the other that something new was brought into being — the person of Jesus. The child of Bethlehem was the Ancient of Days; the Son of God became the Son of Man; the eternal, uncreated, selfexisting One was now also a man born to die. That wondrous binary star has now made salvation possible forus.
We would be clods if we did not want to sing and shout His praise. We would advertise to the universe that we have no comprehension of Him at all, no real understanding of the greatness and the cost of our salvation.
That is the note that rings down through this Great Hallel: "Praise the Lord!"
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Adapted from Exploring the Psalms, Volume 2: An Expository Commentary by John Phillips. Used by permission of Kregel Publications. The John Phillips Commentary Series from Kregel is available at your local or online Christian bookseller, or contact Kregel at (800) 733-2607.
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John Phillips is a popular preacher and Bible study leader who now resides in Bowling Green, KY.
