The Greatness of the God is Central to our Lives (2 of 2)

Somewhat of acrostic Psalm.

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.

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

If you don’t we are looking at “Praising God for Who He is and what He has done”

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

Review

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.”

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.”

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.”

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.”

Discussions of His rich grace and kindness should not be missing from our homes.

For our children to walk away from faith they should not only have to rebel against truth but also the implications of that truth; joy.

Let us teach this to the next generation.

God is good and we should sing of His goodness.

Perhaps you remember this common meal-time prayer from your childhood: “God is great, God is good, thank you Lord for this food.”

Isn’t goodness less than greatness? Seen also in Psalm 113.

Two different aspects rooted in God’s holiness.

Great: When we say that God is great, we call attention to the profound difference between Him and all creatures

Good: God does what is right. He never does what is wrong. God always acts in a righteous manner because His nature is holy.

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.

His rightness is great.

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.”

We are constantly bombarded with surveys. How did we do today?

God is always gracious and full of compassion.

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.

God’s acts are mighty and we should tell others

All God’s works, especially his saints, will praise the LORD. Psalm 145:10 “10 All thy works shall praise thee, O LORD; and thy saints shall bless thee.”

They tell of his power and glory and his everlasting kingdom Psalm 145:11 “11 They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power;” Psalm 145:12 “12 To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom.”

David again sensed the responsibility of God’s people to tell the wider world the greatness of what God has done (His mighty acts) - Great Commission

“I consider that one of the great lacks of the Church, nowadays, is not so much Christian preaching as Christian talking – not so much Christian prayer in the prayer-meeting, as Christian conversation in the parlor. How little do we hear concerning Christ!” (Spurgeon)

Added to the praise above is the word everlasting. Psalm 145:13 “13 Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.”

One reason why praise should continue forever (as in Psalm 145:2) is because God’s kingdom will last forever.

“These words are engraven on the door of a mosque in Damascus, which was formerly a Christian church. Originally they were plastered over by stucco; but this has dropped away, and the words stand out clearly defined. They seem to be contradicted by centuries of Mohammedanism; but they are essentially true.” (Meyer)

God rules with kindness to those in need

The Lord upholds all that fall

Psalm 145:14 “14 The LORD upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down.”

God’s compassion is especially evident toward those who fall and fail.

He does not despise or reject them; there is a sense in which He specially draws near them to hold them up.

If they allow their fall to rightly humble them, God will draw near and uphold them.

Based on True Kindliness

Absolute Impartiality Psalm 145:15–16 “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.”

Absolute sinlessness. Psalm 145:17 “17 The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.”

God’s Grace explained and Examined

How God’s Grace Is Reviewed Psalm 145:18–20 “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.”

God is approachable Psalm 145:18 “18 The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.”

God hears our cry Psalm 145:19–20a “19 He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them.”

God’s Grace can be rejected. Psalm 145:20b “20 The LORD preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy.”

God’s Grace should be made known. Psalm 145:21 “21 My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD: and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.”

The LORD is near to all who call upon Him:

God’s responsiveness to His praying people demonstrates the graciousness mentioned in the previous lines.

He will fulfill the desire and hear the cry of His people.

“They who long for God will always have as much of God as they long for and are capable of receiving.” (Maclaren)

Time of Response

he message of this praise psalm, and the others to follow in the grand doxology, have a very clear application: Praise the LORD, now and always, faithfully and enthusiastically. And although each of these psalms offer similar reasons for the praise, they each have their own emphases. Believers must praise the LORD now and forever for the greatness of his everlasting kingdom and for the gracious ways he responds to those who love him. Allen P Ross

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.