Albert Barnes Commentary Psalms 117:1

"O praise Jehovah, all ye nations; Laud him, all ye peoples." — Psalms 117:1 (ASV)

O praise the Lord, all you nations — The idea is that God has a claim to universal worship, and that all the nations of the earth are obligated to adore Him as the true God. He is not the God of the Hebrew people only, but of all people; His praise should be celebrated not merely by one nation, but by all. This is one of the passages in the Old Testament, anticipating what is more fully disclosed in the New Testament, in which the sacred writer extends his vision beyond the narrow boundaries of Judea, and looks to the world, the whole world, as the theater on which the true religion was to be displayed, and for which it was designed.

It is language such as would be inspired by the Spirit of inspiration on the assumption that the time would come when the barrier between Jews and Gentiles would be broken down, and when all the nations of the earth would possess the true religion and unite in the worship of the same God.

This doctrine, however, was not fully made known until the coming of the Redeemer. The announcement of this was made by the Redeemer Himself (Matthew 12:21; Matthew 28:19). It was the occasion of a significant part of the trouble which the Apostle Paul had with his countrymen (Acts 18:6; Acts 21:21; Acts 22:21; Acts 26:20, 23).

It was one of the doctrines which Paul especially sought to establish as a great truth of Christianity—that all the barriers between the nations were to be broken down, and the Gospel proclaimed to all people alike (Romans 3:29; Romans 9:24, 30; Romans 11:11; Romans 15:9–11, 16, 18; Galatians 2:2; Ephesians 2:11–18; Ephesians 3:1–9). It is under the gospel that this language becomes especially appropriate.

Praise Him, all you people — People of all lands. The word here rendered “praise” — שׁבח shâbach — means properly to soothe, to still, to restrain — as, for example, billows (Psalms 89:9); and then, to praise, as if to soothe with praises — mulcere laudibus, Pacuv. The idea of soothing or mitigating, however, is not necessarily in the word, but it may be understood in the general sense of praise.

We may in fact often soothe or appease people — angry, jealous, suspicious people — by skillful flattery or praise, for there are few, even when under the influence of anger or hatred, who cannot be approached in this way, or who do not value praise and commendation more than they value indulging their passion; but we cannot hope thus to appease the anger of God. We approach Him to express our deep sense of His goodness, and our veneration for His character; we do not expect to turn Him from anger to love — to make Him forget His justice or our sins — by soothing flattery.