The Gettysburg Address is famously brief, consisting of 272 words and delivered in just over two minutes. It is made up of ten sentences and three paragraphs. Edward Everett also delivered a speech that day at the same event. He spoke for two hours. Which speech is still remembered and recited today?

Proclamations and messages do not have to be verbose to be powerful and effective. Look at Psalm 117.

Psalm 117 Praise the Lord, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples. For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord.

That is the entire Psalm. Brief yet powerful and easy to remember. By the way, that last phrase in Hebrew is “Hallelu Yah.”  We should indeed Praise the Lord for the tremendous love He has shown us in sending Jesus to be our Savior.

The prophet Micah spoke of what Jesus would do for us in another short and mighty passage:

Micah 7:18–19 Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.

God’s anger over our sin was appeased by Jesus. He truly has compassion on us and no longer counts our trespasses against us when we put our faith in Jesus.