Psalm 117

Psalm 117 is the 117th psalm of the Book of Psalms. With just two verses and sixteen words in Hebrew, it is the shortest of all 150 psalms.

It is the 595th of the 1,189 chapters of the King James Version of the Bible, making it the middle chapter. It is also the shortest chapter in this version of the Bible.

Uses

Judaism

It is one of six psalms (113-118) of which Hallel is composed. On all days when Hallel is recited, this psalm is recited in its entirety.

Christianity

In this psalm, the gentiles are invited to join in praise of God. Christians view this as a fulfillment of God's promise of mercy to the gentiles, pointing to God's promise that all nations would be blessed in the seed of Abraham, who they believe is Christ, as described in the book of Galatians. Galatians 3:16 says "The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say "and to seeds," meaning many people, but "and to your seed," meaning one person, who is Christ."

In the Roman Catholic church, the Rule of St Benedict, assigned this psalm to the Office of Vespers on Monday. St Benedict of Nursia generally used four psalms in Vespers, but because of the shortness of this psalm, he added a fifth when it was used. However, Psalm 117 is currently used in the Liturgy of the Hours every Saturday. The psalm may be sung after Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, used in Roman Catholic and some Anglican churches.

Psalms

The Book of Psalms, Tehillim in Hebrew (תְּהִלִּים or תהילים meaning "Praises"), commonly referred to simply as Psalms or "the Psalms", is the first book of the Ketuvim ("Writings"), the third section of the Hebrew Bible, and a book of the Christian Old Testament. The title is derived from the Greek translation, ψαλμοί psalmoi, meaning "instrumental music" and, by extension, "the words accompanying the music." The book is an anthology of individual psalms, with 150 in the Jewish and Western Christian tradition and more in the Eastern Christian churches. Many of the psalms are linked to the name of King David, although his authorship is not accepted by modern Bible scholars.

Structure

Benedictions

The Book of Psalms is divided into five sections, each closing with a doxology (i.e., a benediction) – these divisions were probably introduced by the final editors to imitate the five-fold division of the Torah:

Psalm (disambiguation)

Psalms is a book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament.

Psalm may also refer to:

Psalm (Terl Bryant album)

Psalm is an album by ex-Iona drummer Terl Bryant released in 1993.

Band

Personnel

Track listing

Disc – Total Time (56:38)