We are called to Praise the Lord!

Good Morning Church, If you have your Bibles this morning would you turn with me to Psalm Chapter 147. The title of the message today is, “We Are Called to Praise the Lord.”

(Short Joke about the Horse “Praise The Lord”)

This Psalm begins with a command to Praise the Lord and it also ends with a command to give Praise to God. God rightfully deserves our praise. So, Today we can find many reasons to Praise God for what He has done, for what He is currently doing, and what He can and will do. Past, Present, and Future.

Psalm 147 was probably written after the Jewish people returned from being in exile and so we see the reason for not only individual praise but more so corporate praise. Throughout this Psalm we see the Power of God over all His creation and God’s Redeeming love for His people. God is majestic and merciful, He is a kind and gracious king, and He is also powerful and mighty and a just judge. The Psalmist here does a wonderful job of showing us all these wonderful truths.

Because of these wonderful things that we will see about God, we should come as God’s people to Praise His Name. As I have already said there are many reasons to Praise God and clearly here in this passage we will see just why we should Praise Him. I want to highlight today 3 Main or Central Reasons to give God our Praise.

1. Praise God For His Restoration.

Psalm 147:1–6 ESV

1 Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting. 2 The Lord builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the outcasts of Israel. 3 He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. 4 He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names. 5 Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure. 6 The Lord lifts up the humble; he casts the wicked to the ground.

When we take time to praise God the Psalmist reminds us here in verse 1 that it is good, pleasant and fitting. So, God is worthy of our praise. Church, joy comes to us when we praise God, because we realize how good God is and how good His commands are for our lives.

When you come to worship the Lord do you feel joy and excitement to worship Him? Stop and think with me how often do we get excited about entertainment? It is easy for us humans to get excited about movies, concerts, sports and much more, but for us as believers there should be nothing more joyful than getting together with the family and worshiping God. Our greatest joy in this life, our greatest delight, our greatest gift is knowing God and being able to worship Him. People who don’t know Christ, people who have never been saved don’t look forward to coming to church and worshiping the Lord. In fact, they dread that, and there of course is no joy for them. So, knowing that God is working in our lives, and in the midst of our church, is a beautiful, powerful and pleasurable thing for Christians.

When we pick up God’s Word and see commands like praising the Lord we should want to do this. We should not want to reject God’s Word for our lives. Here is how John sums it up.

1 John 5:3 ESV

3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.

True believers take joy in praising the Lord. Here in the first 6 verses we see that there is a wonderful reason we praise the Lord and namely it is because of God’s restoration.

A. The Lord Restored His People.

There are some scholars who believe that this Psalm was written in response to the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem as well as the rebuilding of the city walls after the Jews returned from captivity. We see this in verse 2.

As the exiles returned home, God in His grace restores His people. Notice in verse 3 however the condition of the peoples hearts. They were brokenhearted. The city walls were broken, the temple was broken and everything needed restored. We see this account when we read about Nehemiah’s brokenness.

Nehemiah 1:4 ESV

4 As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

While our situation is different today than what Israel was dealing with we see that the Lord still cares for the brokenhearted.

The Lord is not only a Builder and that He rebuilds that which is broken, but He is also a healer. God restores broken hearts as well as broken walls. God today can restore broken families, broken lives, broken people who are grieving. If you find today in your own life that you are crushed in your spirit, look to the one who was Crushed for you, and turn to Christ. Listen to Isaiah chapter 61.

Isaiah 61:1 ESV

1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;

Jesus used this phrase from Isaiah to announce his ministry in the book of Luke. Jesus understands what brokenness is all about. He understands what you are going through today. He can bring healing and one day he will bring ultimate healing. For those who are brokenhearted today would you turn to the Lord and know that He can restore your life.

B. We also see here that the Lord Rules Over His Creation.

The Psalmist now helps those who are brokenhearted to be reminded of God’s wonderful creation and that He rules and reigns over all things. Scientists today have no idea how many stars there are in the sky, but God know all of them by name because He was the one who created them and placed them there.

Genesis 1:1 ESV

1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

Genesis 1:14–16 ESV

14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. 16 And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars.

In Psalm chapter 19 we read that the heavens are declaring the glory of God. Since this is true we should not be anxious or worry about the future. We should rest in God’s power and wisdom and give praise to our Mighty Creator. So, the God who knows every star by name is also the God who restores the brokenhearted. The next time you stop and look up and the stars in the sky at night remind your self that God is in control and that He does care for you.

C. The last thing that I want you to see about Lord restoration is the fact that God is a Good Judge in the Vindication of His People.

What we see here in verses 5 and 6 are God is gracious to those in need, but He is also will give justice to those who are wicked. Someday God will punish those who have never turned from their sin and turned toward God. This passage here should remind us to live for God and to fear Him knowing that someday all will stand before God. The righteous will be declared just and right before God while the unrepentant will be declared guilty. God’s grace and justice were put on full display in Christ. Christ came to die for wicked sinners like you and I. So, we humble ourselves and confess our sin and live for Him, knowing that we can have joy and peace as Christ promises us so. Because of this we can praise the Lord.

2. Praise God For His Provision.

Psalm 147:7–11 ESV

7 Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; make melody to our God on the lyre! 8 He covers the heavens with clouds; he prepares rain for the earth; he makes grass grow on the hills. 9 He gives to the beasts their food, and to the young ravens that cry. 10 His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the legs of a man, 11 but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.

Why should we praise God? Today we can praise God because of His many provisions. Here is what this looks like.

A. God is the Good King who rules over His Creation.

With a stringed instrument, the people here are making music and singing their praises to God. What a beautiful sound this was to God’s ears. Here in verses 8-9 we see that we can praise God because He provides for His creation. It is easy for me to never really stop and think about the fact that everyday God takes care of His creation. God feeds the birds in the sky and the animals below everyday. He knows exactly what they need and provides for them. So often, we hear about Mother nature providing the rain and snow and sun, but Mother Nature doesn’t cause the grass to grow and the rain to fall and food to be there for animals. God does all of this. Since God knows how to take care of the animals how much more does He care for you and I. We need to stop and Praise God for His wisdom and power and grace as we take a look around us and see God’s wonderful creation. This leads us to how God takes pleasure in His people.

B. We can praise the Lord because He Justifies those who look to Him in Faith.

God values and delights in His people. He is not impressed with the power of this world or the power of mighty nations or mighty men. The awesome God and mighty creator of this world takes delight in His people worshiping and living for Him. The Lord delights in those who are in Christ. Yes, the Lord hates sin and desires for us to turn from sinful ways and live for Him. When we humbly come to God and repentant of our sin there is joy in heaven over one sinner. For those who have turned from their sin and are living for Christ you understand what true joy and peace are and because of this we can give Praise to the Lord today.

3. Praise God For His Protection.

Psalm 147:12–20 ESV

12 Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion! 13 For he strengthens the bars of your gates; he blesses your children within you. 14 He makes peace in your borders; he fills you with the finest of the wheat. 15 He sends out his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly. 16 He gives snow like wool; he scatters frost like ashes. 17 He hurls down his crystals of ice like crumbs; who can stand before his cold? 18 He sends out his word, and melts them; he makes his wind blow and the waters flow. 19 He declares his word to Jacob, his statutes and rules to Israel. 20 He has not dealt thus with any other nation; they do not know his rules. Praise the Lord!

A. Praise Starts with God’s People.

Verse 12 reminds us once again as God’s people to give the Lord praise. But why is this so? Verse 13 helps us to see just why. First of all, God makes the city secure with bars on the gates. In other words, God defends and protects his people. When we look back into the Old Testament we see that there were many times when the Lord came to the defense of His people and protected them from the enemies that surrounded them. The second reason we can praise the Lord is because God blesses His people with children. God increased the population of His people as they returned from exile. In verse 14 we see another wonderful reason to praise the Lord because God makes peace along Jerusalem’s borders and then provides His people with great food the finest of the wheat. The point I want to stress here is that peace, provision and protection all come from God. God provides for His creation as we have seen in verses 8-9, but God also has provided security and He sets up rule and order for us His people. Today God has provided for us through using farmers, truck drivers, retailers, teachers, oil field hands, and many other civic sources. God uses all kinds of people to help sustain His creation. When we show up at our places of work, we should work as unto the Lord. We should work hard so that others around us see Christ and ultimately so that God gets the glory.

B. We also see that Praise Continues through God’s Power in Nature.

When God speaks, creation obeys. God can cause the rains, the snow, the ice, the sun and everything else in creation to obey His voice. Listen to the book of Job.

Job 37:9–13 ESV

9 From its chamber comes the whirlwind, and cold from the scattering winds. 10 By the breath of God ice is given, and the broad waters are frozen fast. 11 He loads the thick cloud with moisture; the clouds scatter his lightning. 12 They turn around and around by his guidance, to accomplish all that he commands them on the face of the habitable world. 13 Whether for correction or for his land or for love, he causes it to happen.

God is in control of the weather and we as God’s people can praise Him for this. What this shows us is that God is in control, that He is powerful and that He loves us.

Charles Spurgeon once said, “It is wise to see God in winter and in distress as well as in summer and prosperity.”

C. God’s People Finally Praise Him because He has given us His Word.

In verse 19 we see that God revealed His Word to His people. God did not do this for other nations. God chose Israel to be the first recipient of His Word. This shows us God’s grace. And now by God’s providence we too can know about God and what His Word tells us. Sadly today there are many people who are misinformed about how God speaks. I hear many people today who say God spoke to them directly through a dream or vision. No, God speaks to us today through His written word and sadly most people are not reading His Word. Everything we need to know about this life is right here in God’s Word. Yes, I believe that the Holy Spirit can prompt us to do things for the Lord but God actually speaking to people is something we need to take very carefully and very serious. When people say, “God spoke to me,” it can come across as they are closer to God or are even trying to up someone else. The problem is that it is hard to argue with a person who says this because we don’t want to say “no He didn’t.” So, I would just caution you to be careful with the phrase, “God spoke to me” and “told me this.” It is much easier and correct when we say God’s Word told me this and then we compare it with Scripture. When we open up God’s Word daily the Father speaks to us right here. What a privilege it is to have a copy of God’s Word. If we didn’t have God’s Word we would not be able to see amazing Psalms like this one today. Never take God’s word for granted. Open it up, read it , study it, and hide it in your heart.

Conclusion: The words of this Psalm remind us today as God’s people of His nature and character as we worship God. This whole Psalm points us to the fact that God is the Creator of everything and is in control of everything and yet He lovingly cares for all of humanity.

The Psalmist ends everything with Praise the Lord. Church, there is no one like our God. There is no one like our Savior. God has shown us His Grace and His mercy through His restoration and protection and provision. Because of this we can praise the Lord.