서론
Psalm 117 Introduction
英文原文
The occasion and the author of this psalm are alike unknown. DeWette regards it as a temple-psalm, and agrees with Rosenmuller in the supposition that it was sung either at the beginning or the end of the service in the temple. Knapp supposes that it was used as an intermediate service, sung during the progress of the general service to vary the devotion, and to awaken a new interest in the service, either sung by a choir or by the whole people.
In many manuscripts of Kennicott and De Rossi, and in several editions of the Scriptures, this psalm is united with the following. The psalm has no independent character or meaning of its own, and seems to have been designed, like the "Doxologies" in our Books of Psalms and Hymns, to be attached to other psalms as occasion might require. There is no psalm designed for public worship to which it might not thus properly be attached.
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Psalm 117:1
万国啊，你们都当赞美耶和华——这里的观念是：神配得普世的敬拜，地上万国都有责任敬拜祂这位真神。祂不只是希伯来人的神，更是万民的神；对祂的赞美不当仅由一国颂扬，而当由万国颂扬。这是旧约中预指新约更完全启示之内容的段落之一；在这些段落中，圣作者的目光超越了犹太的狭窄疆界，眺望世界——整个世界——视之为真宗教将要展示于其上的舞台，也是真宗教为之而设的对象。这样的语言，正是默示之灵在以下假定下所写出的：犹太人与外邦人之间的隔断将被拆毁，地上万国都将拥有真宗教，并联合敬拜同一位神。然而，这教义直到救赎主来临才充分显明。这教义是由救赎主亲自宣布的（试参 Matthew 8:11；Matthew 12:21；Matthew 28:19）；它是使徒保罗与本族同胞之间诸多纷争的重要起因之一（试参 Acts 13:46；Acts 18:6；Acts 21:21；Acts 22:21；Acts 26:20, Acts 26:23）；它也是保罗特别努力确立的基督教伟大真理之一，即万国之间的一切隔断都将被拆毁，福音要同样传给万民：Romans 3:29；Romans 9:24, Romans 9:30；Romans 11:11；Romans 15:9-11, Romans 15:16, Romans 15:18；Galatians 2:2；Ephesians 2:11-18；Ephesians 3:1-9。正是在福音之下，这语言才显得格外合宜。
万民哪，你们都当颂赞他——即万国万民。这里译作“赞美”的词——שׁבח shâbach——本义是抚慰、使之平静、抑制——例如平静波涛（Psalm 89:9）；继而指赞美，仿佛以赞美来抚慰——mulcere laudibus，帕库维乌（Pacuv）语。然而，抚慰或缓和的观念未必包含在这词中，它也可以按赞美的一般含义来理解。事实上，我们常能借巧妙的奉承或赞美去抚慰、平息人——愤怒的、嫉妒的、多疑的人——因为即使在愤怒或仇恨的影响之下，也很少有人不能以此接近，也很少有人不把称赞与褒扬看得比放纵情绪更重；但我们不能指望这样平息神的怒气。我们亲近祂，是要述说我们对祂良善的深切感受，以及对祂性情的敬畏；我们并不指望借安抚性的奉承使祂转怒为爱——使祂忘记祂的公义或我们的罪。
英文原文
O praise the Lord, all ye nations - The idea is that God has a claim to universal worship, and that all the nations of the earth are under obligations 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 indited by the Spirit of inspiration on the supposition 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 be in the possession of the true religion, and would 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 (compare Matthew 8:11; Matthew 12:21; Matthew 28:19); it was the occasion of no small part of the trouble which the Apostle Paul had with his countrymen (compare Acts 13:46; Acts 18:6; Acts 21:21; Acts 22:21; Acts 26:20, Acts 26:23); it was one of the doctrines which Paul especially endeavored 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, Romans 9:30; Romans 11:11; Romans 15:9-11, Romans 15:16, Romans 15:18; 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 ye people - People of all lands. The word here rendered "praise" - שׁבח shâbach - means properly to soothe, to still, to restrain - as, for example, billows Psalm 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 may not thus be approached, or who do not value praise and commendation more than they do the indulgence of passion; but we cannot hope thus to appease the anger of God. We approach him to utter 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.
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Psalm 117:2
因为他向我们大施慈爱——他的恩慈；他的怜悯；他的爱。万国——万民——都可以这样说，因此本篇适合普世的赞美。尤其是鉴于神在赐下救主一事上对人类的爱——这位救主并非特别或专属任何一个民族，而是为世人所赐（John 3:16）——更当如此说。
耶和华的诚实存到永远——神所说的一切：祂的宣告；祂的应许；祂对怜悯的保证。这些在它们被传扬的各地都是一样的，在世界的各个时代也都是一样的。真理是对事物如实本相的陈述；因此，真理必然始终如一。在世界最初的世代中，关于直角三角形两条直角边上正方形之和与斜边上正方形之关系的定理若为真，如今亦为真，且将永远为真；照样，神在任何一个时候所断言的，也必在历代各地始终不变。对亚伯拉罕是真理的，对我们也是真理；对保罗是真理的，对我们也是真理；对殉道者是真理的，对我们也是真理；对我们是真理的，对世界各地的万代也必是真理，且永远是真理。这一事实同样是普世赞美的正当根基，因此本篇也适合在各地万民中使用。在我们的语言中，这篇诗何等经常地成为基督教圣所中发出赞美之辞的媒介：
愿凡住在天下之下的，
都兴起对造物主的赞美；
愿救赎主的名被人歌颂，
遍及每一片土地，出于每一种语言。
主啊，你的慈爱永无穷尽；
永恒的真理伴随你的言语；
你的赞美必从这岸响到那岸，
直到日月升起落下不再。
英文原文
For his merciful kindness is great toward us - His kindness; his compassion; his love. All nations - all people - may say this, and therefore the psalm is adapted to universal praise. Especially may this be said in view of the love of God to mankind in the gift of a Saviour - a Saviour not for any one people especially or exclusively, but for the world, John 3:16.
And the truth of the Lord endureth for ever - All that God has said: his declarations; his promises; his assurances of mercy. They are the same in all lands where they are made known, and they are the same in all ages of the world. Truth is a representation of things as they are; and truth, therefore, must be ever the same. What was true in the first ages of the world in regard to the relation of the sum of the squares on the two sides of a right-angled triangle to the square of the hypothenuse is true now, and will always be true; and so, what God has affirmed at any one time will always remain the same in all ages and in all lands. What was truth to Abraham is truth to us; what was truth to Paul is truth to us; what was truth to the martyrs is truth to us; what is truth to us will be truth to all generations of the world in all lands, and will be truth forever. This fact, too, is a just foundation for universal praise, and therefore the psalm is so adapted to be used in all lands and among all people. How often in our own language has this psalm been the medium of the utterances of praise in Christian sanctuaries:
"From all that dwell below the skies,
Let the Creator's praise arise;
Let the Redeemer's name be sung,
Through every land, by every tongue.
Eternal are thy mercies, Lord;
Eternal truth attends thy word;
Thy praise shall sound from shore to shore,
Till suns shall rise and set no more.
本诗的场合与作者均不明。德维特 DeWette 视它为一篇圣殿诗篇，并与罗森米勒 Rosenmuller 持同样的设想，认为它是在圣殿礼拜的开头或结尾唱的。纳普 Knapp 认为它是作为一种居间的礼文使用的，在整体礼拜进行间歌唱，以变换敬拜的内容、唤起对礼拜新的兴趣，或由诗班歌唱，或由全体会众歌唱。
在肯尼科特 Kennicott 和德罗西 De Rossi 的许多抄本中，并在圣经的若干版本中，本诗与下一篇合为一篇。本诗没有自己独立的性质或意义，似乎是像我们诗歌集中的“荣耀颂”一样，被设计为按需要附于其他诗篇之上。凡为公共敬拜所设计的诗篇，没有一篇不可恰当地如此附上它。