Dwelling in Psalm 145

Prayer/Welcome/ Intro

Opening Prayer:

Would you join me in preparing our hearts to receive what God has for us this morning in prayer?

Yahweh King of the Universe, We come before you this morning hungry. Hungry for more of you. We might even be aware of our hunger, but its there. We may have tried to satisfy it with things that will perish and rot, but we are hungry still. We ask that you provide for us now, the Spiritual food that we need to grow up in maturity in Christ. May we be transformed by this encounter with the written Word, each other and the Living Word, Jesus. May we walk out of here with the courage and power to Go be the church sent to live and love like you Lord! AND ALL GOD’S PEOPLE SAID?

Good Morning Church! I pray and Hope you are doing well!

Series Recap/Scripture Reading

We are continuing our series called Dwelling Deeply in the Word, where we are sitting with a Psalm each week in Lent and Allowing these Psalms to prepare us for the Celebration of Lent as we reflect on themes of Forgiveness, Our Need for God, Sin and So much more!

If you hadnt noticed this week’s Psalm has a completely different tone than the Psalms we have focused on so far in lent. I did this with the intention to transition us to be thinking about Palm Sunday next week where we remember King Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem and the People praising Him as King.

This Psalm is also a praise and celebration of the Rule of God. In many ways this is a complete song of praise. This Psalm includes every letter of the hebrew alphabet, it is an acrostic poem. Its a complete song. Its an A-Z Praise

Please read along as I read Psalm 145 out loud. (Read Scripture)

Lets walk through this Psalm together.

Walking Through the Text Together

Purpose to Exalt God and praise his name for ever and ever

Vs 4-7 Are a summary of God’s divine acts and deeds that the people are praising Yahweh for

Vs 8 is a quotation of Exodus 34:6-7 highlighting God’s Character

Vs 9- 11 Give us a picture of God as Creatior.

Notice verse 9. Says God has compassion on all he has made, really emphazes his compassion.

Verses 10 and 11 have a hyperlink to Romans 1 where Paul talks about God’s existence being known to everyone through his handy Work

In Verses 12-14 We get a portrait of God as King and Ruler

God’s Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom that edures for Generations

But what does God’s rule look like? Important when we compare it to that of a typical Kings rule

We know Kings can rule with an iron fist. And When we think about rulers and leader today, we can often think of them desiring power, being untrustworthy and oppressive.

God is a trustworthy King

He upholds those who fall down and lifts up those who are bowed down.

Verses 15-20 Depict God as provider

He gives them food at the proper time- hyperlink to Israel’s time in the desert

Satisfies the desires of every living thing- hyperlink to the birds of the sky and the lillies of the field

God provides for our needs.

Yet, God also provides not just rhough material things but is present in times of need.

He saves those who cry out to Him.

He watches over and protects those who love him.

Verse 21 is the closing doxology. A doxology is a liturgical expression of praise and Glory to God.

This Morning we are going to take some time to write our own Psalm of Praise with the pieces that we have studied in Psalm 145. Using a piece of paper and pencils. There should be lined paper available.

Include a purpose statement: what is the purpose of this Psalm? (It could be to praise Him, to thank God, to share a religious experience)

Write one or two lines about this.

Include a List of the Acts of God in your life

This could range from General to specific (Salvation to God answered my prayer for healing)

Include description of God’s characteristics.

Two Sections focused on a Portrait of God

Ex: God as King, God as Savior, God as Rescuer, God as Provider

Use verses 10-20 as a guide

End with a Doxology (Write your own Liturgical praise, you can base it off of the Doxology that we typically sing or make your own. )