Bible Fact · Psalm 117:2 — 'For great is his steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD!'
The Center of the Bible
The Fact
The Bible contains 1,189 chapters. The middle chapter is chapter 595 — Psalm 117, the shortest chapter in the Bible at just 2 verses. It reads: 'Praise the LORD, all nations! Extol him, all peoples! For great is his steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD!' The chapter on each side of the middle — Psalms 116 and 118 — are also praise Psalms. Psalm 118 contains what is often called the middle verse of the Bible: verse 8, 'It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man.' This positioning at the mathematical center of Scripture has delighted Bible scholars for centuries, though it results from the chapter-division system introduced in the 13th century AD (chapter divisions are not original to the manuscripts). Nevertheless, the symmetry is striking: at the heart of the Bible is a two-verse explosion of universal praise and a declaration that God's love endures forever.
Context
Chapter and verse divisions were added to the Bible in the medieval period for reference. Rabbi Nathan added chapter-like sections to the Hebrew Bible around AD 1448; the New Testament chapter divisions were set by Stephen Langton around AD 1227.
Significance
Whether intentional or coincidental, finding universal praise and God's enduring faithfulness at the mathematical center of Scripture is a beautiful emblem of what the whole Bible is about.
Reflection
Psalm 117's two verses contain everything: all nations praised, God's love declared great, his faithfulness declared eternal. Can you write a two-sentence prayer right now with those same elements?