Psalm 117 is the shortest psalm and indeed the shortest chapter in the whole of the Bible. There are only two verses. And not only is it the shortest chapter in the Bible, it is also the middle chapter of the Bible? There are 1189 chapters in the Bible and Psalm 117 is chapter number 595, slap-bang in the middle. Now when the Scriptures were originally written, and later compiled together, they didn’t have chapter and verse numbers – these were only added in the thirteenth century as a means of easy referencing (before the days of computers with paragraph and word counts). But in the Sovereignty of God there’s no such thing as chance and so it’s very interesting, is it not, that the central chapter of the Bible, being the inspired Word of God, should open and close with the instruction to “praise the LORD.” Psalm 117 serves as a permanent reminder that our praise of God should be at the very centre of our lives.

Psalm 117 is the shortest psalm and indeed the shortest chapter in the whole of the Bible. There are only two verses. And not only is it the shortest chapter in the Bible, it is also the middle chapter of the Bible? There are 1189 chapters in the Bible and Psalm 117 is chapter number 595, slap-bang in the middle. Now when the Scriptures were originally written, and later compiled together, they didn’t have chapter and verse numbers – these were only added in the thirteenth century as a means of easy referencing (before the days of computers with paragraph and word counts). But in the Sovereignty of God there’s no such thing as chance and so it’s very interesting, is it not, that the central chapter of the Bible, being the inspired Word of God, should open and close with the instruction to “praise the LORD.” Psalm 117 serves as a permanent reminder that our praise of God should be at the very centre of our lives.