117:1–2 Let All Nations Praise Him for His Love. The song urges “all nations” (i.e., the Gentiles) to “praise the Lord” (i.e., the covenant God of Israel). The Lord’s steadfast love and faithfulness (cf. Ex. 34:6) is pledged to Israel but is intended ultimately to come to all the world. The referent of “us” (Ps. 117:2) could be “us, Israel, distinguished from you Gentiles” or else “us human beings.” The second is more likely, as the calling of Israel was for the sake of the whole world (Gen. 12:2–3; Ex. 19:5–6; 1 Kings 8:41–43), and the OT constantly nurtures the hope that a day will come in which the Gentiles will gladly join in worshiping the one true God (cf. Section Overview of Psalm 96). When Israel sang this in faith, the people would recall both their privileged position (147:19–20) and their reason for existence. In Romans 15:11, Paul quotes 117:1 as part of his argument for Jewish and Gentile Christians’ welcoming one another and worshiping together (Rom. 15:5–7): he wants these Christians to appreciate that the long-awaited time has arrived and thus to conduct themselves suitably.