Psalm 145
Notes
Transcript
Psalm 145 is an incredible song of praise.
I don’t know if David wrote this Psalm as a primer on how to praise God, but it certainly could be used as such!
In this world around us full of uncertainty and chaos, but also of joy and happiness of the mountaintops, we learn from this Psalm that we are to praise him throughout it all!
David teaches us that we are to magnify the Lord in all circumstances, we are to declare his greatness and pass this on to the generations that follow.
My prayer is that as we explore this Psalm, we will draw evermore closer to our Creator, deepen our understanding of His character and within it hopefully we will find some inspiration to live lives that speak forth praise and glory to His name!
So let’s look at Psalm 145, and let’s look at some practical things that we to do, on a regular basis, in order to build this heart of praise in our lives.
Psalm 145
I. We Are to Exalt Him
I. We Are to Exalt Him
1 I will extol thee, my God, O king; And I will bless thy name for ever and ever.
There is a fresh commitment from David here in verse 1.
I will extol [exalt] thee
I will bless thy name
He exalts His name because He is worthy of all exaltation.
He is our God - as such he is the creator, life-giver, and sustainer of life.
As such He is worthy of our praise.
Sometimes in times of depression, we have temptation to feel or even say…why should I praise Him for this??
But we need to recognize that during our lowest times, we need to, even more than usual, depend upon what we know is true about Him.
We need to replace the lies that depression and despair tell us, with the truth of God’s Word.
We need to commit to exalt Him, no matter where we find ourselves… We need to bless His name for ever and ever!
But this is not a one time thing!
II. We Are to Praise Him Everyday
II. We Are to Praise Him Everyday
2 Every day will I bless thee; And I will praise thy name for ever and ever.
Every day we need to come back to Him with praise.
Verse one said I will bless thy name for ever and ever.
Verse two says I will praise thy name for ever and ever.
Not only are they different words in English, but they are different words in Hebrew as well.
The first bless - is the word barak, means to bless, kneel, salute It is a humbling yourself before a holy God and blessing Him.
The Second praise is halal, it means to praise, commend, boast about, to shine forth.
The Word hallelujah is the command to praise ye the Lord
Halel u yah
That is this word here halel - Praise - to boast about, to shine forth or shout forth about.
The point is we are to praise Him every day!
A hear that is continually focused on praising God, is a heart whose focus is out of the mire of life and on to the one who can help us.
We praise Him, not just for what he has done…but mostly for who He is!
We don’t let our circumstances determine our praise.
The devil will make sure we never praise Him!
God never changes - and neither does his worthiness of praise.
III. We Are to Speak of His Greatness
III. We Are to Speak of His Greatness
3 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; And his greatness is unsearchable.
4 One generation shall praise thy works to another, And shall declare thy mighty acts.
5 I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, And of thy wondrous works.
6 And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts: And I will declare thy greatness.
7 They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, And shall sing of thy righteousness.
These verses in this section, especially, repeatedly talk about speaking forth his greatness and praise.
Verse three tells his He is so great it is unsearchable.
You cannot find the end of His greatness!
You cannot figure it out
You cannot nail it down and define it!
No word fully describes it
No song fully exalts it
No praise can reach the worth of it.
His greatness is unsearchable!
We see here we are to:
A. Teach the Next Generation
A. Teach the Next Generation
Verse 4 says One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.
Oh, how important it is that we teach our children how good God is!
Share with them answers to prayer.
Involve them in the prayers for your needs, so that they can see when He answers them
Even if your children are grown, share with them your concerns and what you are praying for…and then share with them when they are answered.
You will never share your faith more than when you help them see that God is listening and He cares about your needs and even your wants!
Declare his mighty acts to the next generation!
I want so badly for my kids to see how God provides.
I’ve talked about it already, but how God miraclulously provided for our recent vacation is just astounding.
I began praying months and months ago.
I wanted to not just go to another state, but I wanted a place of real rest.
I wanted a place that had fun things around.
I wanted to have enough money to do things once we were there.
I wanted to be able to afford to get food at restaurants, some of the time, so that we wouldn’t have to come all the way back to the cabin in order to eat and then go all the way back…or even eat in the car.
God provided all of that, and then added even more so that my sister and dad could go with us!
That is an direct answer to prayer, and it was so needed during this time of grief…that we had no idea would be coming.
I want my kids to see that God answers prayer!
I want our church to see that God answers prayer!
But we need to speak about it!
B. Speak of His Honor and Majesty
B. Speak of His Honor and Majesty
Don’t just praise him for what He does…but praise Him also for who He is!
6 And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts: And I will declare thy greatness.
7 They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, And shall sing of thy righteousness.
the word honor - hadar means glory, splendor, majesty…it describes the very character of God.
The word majesty - is the word hod - it means vigor, authority, strength in battle.
We need to praise him before people for his incredible nature.
I have been talking to friends before, and you know how it works so often, the men stand over here and the women stand over there.
I remember once talking to a friend and we both overheard his name mentioned by his wife, you could see his ear perk up and even while he was talking he was listening carefully.
She said something very flattering and ego building about him, not realizing he could hear.
You could just see a whole change of demeanor in his presence.
A smile from deep within crept on his face, and he returned his attention to the conversation.
Wives you have no idea the power you have to build up or tear down your husbands.
Wives talk about how they want a strong vigorous husband, but they spend their time tearing him down in front him of or behind his back.
It’s no wonder so many men shrink away.
God deserves us to praise who He is!
And let’s be real…we are made in His image!
Continually utter the memory of thy great goodness and sing of thy righteousness!
And then...
IV. We Are to Make Known His Compassion
IV. We Are to Make Known His Compassion
8 The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; Slow to anger, and of great mercy.
9 The Lord is good to all: And his tender mercies are over all his works.
10 All thy works shall praise thee, O Lord; And thy saints shall bless thee.
11 They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, And talk of thy power;
12 To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, And the glorious majesty of his kingdom.
13 Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.
We need to speak forth about His compassions this includes
A. His Grace
A. His Grace
This word gracious - hannun - is solely used a s description of God.
God himself described himself this way to Moses
6 And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,
His grace is unspeakable, however we need to find the words and share it!
B. His Compassion
B. His Compassion
Aren’t you glad that he is full of compassion?
Jesus lived out this trait in His life here on earth.
C. His Patience
C. His Patience
The verse says he is slow to anger.
Oh, I don’t know about you, but I am so grateful.
If it were me I would have struck me dead a long time ago.
I am glad we are made in His image and no the other way around!
D. His Mercy
D. His Mercy
Slow to anger, and of great mercy.sustainer
This multi-faceted word hesed includes all of the ideas of kindness, loving kindness, mercy, goodness, faithfulness, love.
He is of great mercy!
E. His Goodness
E. His Goodness
verse 9, The Lord is good to all
word meaning good, well-pleasing, fruitful, morally correct, proper.
He always does the good thing, because He Himself is good.
Jesus himself said there is none good but God himself.
The verse says, his tender mercies are over all his works.
Everything He does shows forth his compassion, his mercy, his affection toward us.
Verse 10 tells us, All thy works shall praise thee, O Lord.
Everything He does has the result of turning around and showing forth His praise for who He is!
Is it any wonder that David continues and says, And thy saints shall bless thee.
How can we do anything but bless Him when He is so good!
F. His Kingdom
F. His Kingdom
The Bible says in verse 11 says that We need to Speak forth the glory of his kingdom - lead people to Him so they can partake of that kingdom
We need to talk of thy power, so that we can lead people to the strength of His hands.
If we are faithful to openly and faithfully proclaim his goodness and his mighty acts others will faithfully come to Him!
We are...
12 To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, And the glorious majesty of his kingdom.
13 Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.
Oh how others around us need to hear this truth!
This sinful world is not the end…we ahve a home, a kingdom awaiting us.
We have a promise of a new heaven, and new earth where will spend eternity.
It is up to them to heed, and accept the truth, but it is up to us to share!
V. We Are to Wait Upon His Provisions
V. We Are to Wait Upon His Provisions
14 The Lord upholdeth all that fall, And raiseth up all those that be bowed down.
15 The eyes of all wait upon thee; And thou givest them their meat in due season.
16 Thou openest thine hand, And satisfiest the desire of every living thing.
What beautiful words - the Lord upholdeth all that fall.
We need Him so!
He is our strength, He is our power.
When we fall He is there to hold us up.
Interestingly, this word samak - translated upholdeth in the King James - is a word that is used when speaking of laying the sins onto a sacrificial animal.
It is he who has taken our sins upon himself!
It is he who raises up those who are willing to bow themselves in humility before Him!
He has provided our forgiveness
He has provided our salvation
He has provided our very sustenance
Verse 15 says, “The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season.”
if we only truly knew how we depend upon him for our every meal!
God opens his hand, and satisfies the desire of every living thing.
The provision of God is not just to those who are His saints.
He provides for all…whether they realize it or not.
God cares and provides for the birds, the animals, and all of mankind.
His goodness is a call to repentance.
4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?
His desire is that all many would accept His provision for them!
9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
He wants us to see His provisions as what it is, a call of mercy to us.
We need to be busy sharing this good news.
And then sixth,
VI. We Are to Call Upon Him
VI. We Are to Call Upon Him
17 The Lord is righteous in all his ways, And holy in all his works.
18 The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, To all that call upon him in truth.
19 He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: He also will hear their cry, and will save them.
20 The Lord preserveth all them that love him: But all the wicked will he destroy.
21 My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord: And let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.
If we want to see Him in all His glory act upon and for our good in our lives…we need to call upon him!
The Lord is nigh (near) to all them that call upon him.
Here is right there when we call.
He is a gentleman…He does not force Himself upon our lives…He just waits for us to call…and there He is.
Verse 18 says he is night to those who call upon him in truth.
I believe the key there is not just calling upon Him so that we can get something from Him…but call upon Him.
3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
The truth emphasizes what we really want…we want Him.
Then what will happen?
He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him.
4 Delight thyself also in the Lord; And he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
If you are after Him, He will be found…and all the desires of your heart will be given Him.
It is important to understand though that He does change our desires the closer we are to Him!
That tends to happen.
The closer you are to someone the more your likes and dislikes kind of meld.
When I married my wife, when I was feeling snacky, I would run to the cubbard for the cookies or candy…she would run to the covered for the chips or salty food.
I have found myself in recent years craving salty things like popcorn, and pickles and olives more than I ever have before…and she is craving the gummy bears more than ever.
I know if I buy her gummy bears she will always be happy!
But I have to be careful, because we have recently found out the ones that have food dye trigger her migranes.
So I have to be real careful to read the lable!
But it’s funny how taste changes through the years the closer you get to someone.
The closer we get to the Lord, the more our taste will change toward what He desires for us.
But he also says that…He will hear their cry and save them.
What a great promise!
17 The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, And delivereth them out of all their troubles.
I love Psalm 91:15
15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.
He hears when we cry and He answers us.
But he doesn’t always take us out of the trouble…the deliver him is not necessarily removing him.
He is with us in the trouble, and will carry us through!
He will preserve us…as verse 20 tells us
20 The Lord preserveth all them that love him: But all the wicked will he destroy.
Is it really that hard to praise the Lord when we consider just how great and good he is!
Conclusion
Conclusion
David ends this Psalm with a declaration and a commitment.
21 My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord: And let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.
The same declaration as the beginning of the Psalm
I will praise the Lord
I will Bless His holy name for ever and ever.
you had better get used to praising the Lord!
It is what we are going to be spending eternity doing!
Oh, it won’t be one continual worship service…but we will have plenty of opportunity to praise him…for ever and ever!
Let’s start practicing now!!
He is worthy!