Last acrostic Psalm. Every letter but the 14th which is nun.

It forms an end, too, to the main body of the book of Psalms itself.

This psalm is all about God.

Only title with the word Praise in it.

Today in many ways will be an introduction to this chapter and those to end the book of Psalms

If you need of like alliteration you have Greatness, Goodness, Glory, Government, Grace

I think alliteration is

precious in poetry

can be be powerful in preaching,

problematic for proper teaching,

and pertubing in personal application

Psalm 145 (KJV)

David’s Psalm of praise.

1 I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever.

2 Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The Greatness of the God is Central to our Lives

As we come to thanksgiving we are entering into a portion of Psalms about Praise.

Praise is about seeing and gratitude helps our seeing.

I am near sighted. How many? Not just physically but spiritually.

We can discover the greatest joy of gratitude by noticing how often God’s word links thanksgiving with praise.

Thanksgiving does focus more on what God does, and praise on who God is however there is a connection connection.

Psalm 35:18 “18 I will give thee thanks in the great congregation: I will praise thee among much people.”

Psalm 69:30 “30 I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving.”

Luke 17:15–16 “15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, 16 And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.”

Thanksgiving helps us see and praise who God is. And this act of seeing and praising God is thanksgiving’s greatest joy.

What do you after the meal next Thursday? The correct result of thanksgiving should be seeing God and praising Him.

Look at the thoroughness of David’s praise (v.1)

1. Praise starts with a humble approach to God.

Psalm 145:1 “1 I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever.”

David sees God as the King of Kings. / As a dad I submit to the Father of Fathers, as a shepherd I need to be led by the Chief Shepherds, etc.

Recognizing that the Holy Spirit in us is more powerful than anything in this world. 1 John 4:4 “4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.”

Why don’t we feel this? We are often dull to this spiritual reality.

Portion of Eph were Paul us praying for believers who do not feel the power of God in their lives now.

Ephesians 1:17–18 “17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: 18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,”

Knowledge was just being theologically accurate. The demons know.

Paul wants them to know the exceeding greatness. Ephesians 1:19 “19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,”

This is the knowledge that has to do with have a relationship with someone. Hosea 2:19–20 “19 And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies. 20 I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the LORD.”

We sometimes walk as unbelieving people. Ephesians 4:17–18 “17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, 18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:”

2. Praise is always personal even when it is happens corporately.

Psalm 145:1 “1 I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever.”

Through the Gospel you should have the light of the glory of God shining upon you. 2 Corinthians 4:6 “6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

New neighbors cut down trees. Now the sunlight shines upon our deck. Stand out there and just soak it up.

3. Stated resolve to an unchanging God

Psalm 145:1 “1 I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever.”

Psalm 145:2 “2 Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever.”

4. Praise is relevant for our every day lives.

Psalm 145:2 “2 Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever.”

Praise is not just for Sundays.

If we saw the greatness of God, we would not be so greedy and covetous at work on Monday.

If we saw the greatness of God, our eyes wouldn't stray after lustful images and thoughts when no one is around.

If we saw the greatness of God, we wouldn't get angry at our children so easily on Tuesday mornings.

If we saw the greatness of God, we wouldn't pout and get hurt so easily in our marriages in the middle of the week

If we saw the greatness of God, we wouldn't spend time watching mindless and unhelpful programs after work.

If we saw the greatness of God, we wouldn't get so discouraged with the evil and godlessness of our culture when we watch the news.

If we saw the greatness of God, we wouldn't live for Fridays when we get to shed so much of our responsibilities.

I want the manifold presence of God in my life. I need nothing more and will settle for nothing less. - Adrian Rogers

Why will we praise the Lord in this manner?

Recently read about the buyout of a football coach. It has really bothered me. I would like ask someone who wrote a million dollar check how they justify that decision. How do they value something so much higher than I do? What do you know that I don’t know?

God is great and greatly to be praised.

Psalm 145:3 “3 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.”

God is holy. Psalm 145:3 “3 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.”

God is unlike us. He is holy. God is not superhuman.

When we think of God’s holiness here is passage we should consider. Isaiah 6:1–3 “1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. 2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. 3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.”

We have pursued “happiness” over “holiness” but they are not at odds and will be found on the same path of following Jesus.

God’s actions are worthy of telling the next generation. Psalm 145:4 “4 One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.”

If anyone tells you a story about something God has done in their life and you heard it before, quietly sit there and hear it again. You are not the only one who is listening.

As a church we should be given to showing the wisdom of God. Ephesians 3:10 “10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,”

God has a glorious purpose in this world. Psalm 145:5 “5 I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works.”

Ephesians 2:7 “7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.”

God is good and we should sing of His goodness.

Isn’t goodness less than greatness?

In every way God is right and we should spend time remembering this. Psalm 145:7 “7 They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness.”

God never gets it wrong.

In every situation God demonstrates His goodness by being full of grace and compassion. Psalm 145:8 “8 The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.”

God is good to all. Psalm 145:9 “9 The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.”

Matthew 5:45 “45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.”

Every movement God makes is worthy of our praise. Psalm 145:10 “10 All thy works shall praise thee, O LORD; and thy saints shall bless thee.”

All thy works. If God has done something in your life and you do not understand, it is just that you cannot see what He is doing. It is not that He does not have a plan.

Ron Hamilton / Patch the Pirate

God never moves without purpose or plan When trying His servant and molding a man. Give thanks to the LORD though your testing seems long; In darkness He giveth a song.

O Rejoice in the LORD He makes no mistake, He knoweth the end of each path that I take, For when I am tried And purified, I shall come forth as gold.

Time of Response

Glory, Government, and Grace for another day.

Now it is your turn. I have shared with you worthy reasons to praise the Lord.

Now you need to share with others.

The Greatness of the God is Central to our Lives

You may recognize that your lack of gratitude has blurred your vision.