Sunday, December 3, 2017 pm
I Will Extol You, My God
Psalm 145
Tonight we examine another psalm of David.
In our study of the psalms, we have continually noted how David
praises God as he makes various observations about life.
This psalm is PURE praise, noting who God is.
Some have described it as David’s psalm of praise. In fact, this
is the only psalm described as “a praise of David” in the
superscription.
It
is an acrostic psalm, meaning each verse begins with a different letter
in alphabetical order Hebrew alphabet which has 22 letters), though one
letter is missing (reason unknown).
When we need to think about how
great our God is, this is a good psalm to go to.
a.
I will extol You
– the word
“extol” means to exalt, or lift up to a high place.
Certainly, when we think of God, He is worthy of being exalted.
Isaiah 55:9, the ways of God are higher than our ways.
b.
My God, O King
– Interesting how David describes God as a king.
While David is a king, he knows who rules over him.
David realizes his reign was God’s desire.
Recall how Samuel anointed him (1 Samuel 16:13).
Later, the LORD appears to him through Nathan and notes that his
throne would be established forever (2 Samuel 7:16-17).
The rest of that chapter is his “acceptance speech”.
Like David, no matter our station in life, we need to let God RULE in
our hearts and lives.
c.
I will bless your name forever and ever
– both bless and praise His name.
Perpetual praise! To
bless is to speak well of.
To praise is also to speak well of, but perhaps more highly, such as
boasting.
- Every day I will bless you.
It must be a daily occurrence.
- We bless His name
- We bless Him “forever and ever”
Such expressions mean this is ongoing activity.
As we “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17)
d.
We need to exalt God – do we look at God as David looked at God?
a.
Great is the LORD
– of high magnitude. His
greatness is unsearchable.
We cannot in human limits fathom His greatness.
Romans 11:33-36; Job
11:6, Zophar speaks to Job.
While some of his reasoning was false, he does truthfully note God, “Can
you search out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limits of
the Almighty? They are higher than heaven—what can you do? Deeper than
Sheol—what can you know? Their measure is longer than the earth And
broader than the sea. “If He passes by, imprisons, and gathers to
judgment, Then who can hinder Him?”
CONSIDERING his
greatness, He is GREATLY to be praised by us. Is there anything we can say
about Him, whether in our prayers or to others, that adequately
describes who He is?
It would do us good to contemplate how great He is.
b.
One generation shall
praise His works to another
– how we need this to be so!
i.
God IS and that cannot be denied. There is too
much evidence in this world to deny that God is!
Romans 1:20, Psalm 19:1, the heavens declare the glory of God…
ii.
He has always depended upon man to pass on His message to the next
generation.
The Old Law called upon parents to teach their children (Deut.
6:4-9). Israel’s health was
dependent upon this being obeyed.
It is also the best way for us to ensure the truth will be around
another generation.
c.
Meditate on His glorious splendor and wonderous works
– we ought to consider the “evidence” that points toward Him.
Our faith in Him is not blind.
Sometimes, we need to pause and think about these things.
There is an answer for EVERY argument the skeptic, agnostic or
atheist makes. They may
require faith (trust), but as we think we ought to be able to give a
defense (apologetics) for the hope that is in us (1 Peter 3:15)
d.
Men will speak of His
awesome acts and His greatness, and so will I (vs. 6) Will we?
Do we let our light shine?
Do we tell others about Jesus?
They will speak of His
goodness, sing of His righteousness.
Declaring that He is 1)
gracious, 2) compassionate, 3) slow to anger, 4) merciful, 5) good to
all (even the ungodly-cf. Psalm 119:68,
You are good, and do good; Teach me Your statutes;
Romans 2:4)
6) with tender mercy over all His works (compassionate).
e.
His saints will praise
Him, speaking of the glory of His kingdom. (10-13)
i.
Again, be reminded that
David is describing the kingdom as belonging to God.
It is likely that David has Israel in mind here, as they were God’s
chosen people and he was God’s chosen king, and his throne was to endure
forever. We know that his
physical lineage eventually failed.
Prophetically though, David could have been speaking of the
heavenly kingdom, His church.
ii.
It is a glorious kingdom – what God was able to accomplish with physical Israel
demonstrated His glory and it’s glory.
Ephesians 527 – Christ gave Himself for the church that He might present
her a glorious church.
Revelation 21:10-11, the “heavenly Jerusalem” that John saw descending
out of heaven had the glory of God.
iii.
It is a majestic kingdom
– again, see the above.
Also we know what is accomplished in His kingdom.
iv.
It is an everlasting kingdom with dominion that will endure throughout all
generations –
again, be reminded that the literal lineage of David came to an end as
the temple fell in 586 BC and Judah was carried away into captivity.
But our kingdom is an everlasting kingdom – 2 Peter 1:11, Hebrews 1:8,
But to the Son He says: “Your
throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the
scepter of Your kingdom.
12:28 -
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let
us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and
godly fear.
a.
He upholds all who fall
and raises up all who bow down
– God is able to help those in need.
In vs. 14-17, the one addressed is not clear.
Is David speaking of all mankind or all who are in the kingdom of
the LORD?
If all mankind, consider how God is good both to the just and
unjust – Matthew 5:45, Acts 14:17, James 1:17 – every good and perfect
gift is from above…, 2 Peter 3:9, etc.).
- Think also spiritually – He sent His Son to redeem fallen man.
If His followers, we find His longsuffering and His willingness
to lift up those who return to Him. He doesn’t abandon us when we let
Him down. 1 John 1:9 – if we
confess, He is faithful and just to forgive and cleanse; like the
prodigal son – He is waiting and ready to bring us back – Luke 15:20,
32.
- The truth is, we all stumble from time to time.
Some more often than others, and some more hard than others, but
we all stumble (could this be the point of 1 John 1:8, 10? I think of
Peter who denied Jesus after saying he would not, etc.) This is not
justification to keep sinning, but God knows and is willing to forgive
us, lift us up and restore us. As
study of Judah shows this too.
I lean toward the latter,
because they bow down (in repentance and humility) and look to Him –
something the ungodly will not do.
b.
The eyes of all look
expectantly to Him
– trusting Him to deliver us – Hebrews 11:6, 2 Peter 2:9, 2 Corinthians
1:9-10, Yes, we had the sentence
of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God
who raises the dead, who delivered us from so great a death, and does
deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us,
c.
He gives them their food
in due season – He is able to provide what we need (cf. Matthew 6:33)
d.
He opens His hand to
satisfy “every living thing”
– again, showing His universal goodness.
Consider the context of Matthew 6:33 where Jesus teaches us to
not worry. Matthew 6:26-32.
e.
He is righteous in all
His ways
- Romans 3:25-26 – in
sending Jesus He demonstrated this righteousness; Romans 1:16-17 –
revealed in His word.
f.
Gracious in all His works – Titus 3:4 – the kindness and the love of God our Savior….
g.
He is near to all who
call upon Him, in truth
– as we have seen. Through
Jesus, we can draw near to Him – Hebrews 7:19,
for the law made nothing perfect;
on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through
which we draw near to God. James
4:8 – IF we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us.
NOTE: We need to call upon Him IN TRUTH! We come to Him without guile –
you can’t hide anything form Him any ways!
h.
He fulfills the desires
of those who fear Him and cry out to Him – again we are reminded that He can give us what we need.
However, think of this – if we fear Him, what will we desire?
Whatever He wants of us!
i.
He preserves all who love Him – 2 Peter 2:9 – He knows how to deliver us.
We are kept by His power – 1 Peter 1:3-9.
j.
But the wicked He will destroy – God is good, but He is also severe -
Romans 11:22. A day
of reckoning is coming and all will rise to judgment – John 5:29
David concludes by saying,
My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD.
And all flesh shall bless His name forever and ever.
(vs. 21) Considering all that God is and has done, David has cause to
praise Him – both before Him (in prayers and writings) AND before
others. What about us?
Do we take the time to meditate upon how great and good God really is?
How we do this will have a direct bearing on our praise toward
Him. Think about it!