psalms 145 1-13 part 2

There’s a word from the lord, coming from the book of Psalms

Psalms 145: verses 1-13

And you should find these words as printed

A Praise of David.

145 I will extol You, my God, O King; And I will bless Your name forever and ever. 2 Every day I will bless You, And I will praise Your name forever and ever. 3 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; And His greatness is [b]unsearchable.

4 One generation shall praise Your works to another, And shall declare Your mighty acts. 5 I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, And on Your wondrous works. 6 Men shall speak of the might of Your awesome acts, And I will declare Your greatness. 7 They shall [e]utter the memory of Your great goodness, And shall sing of Your righteousness.

8 The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, Slow to anger and great in mercy. 9 The Lord is good to all, And His tender mercies are over all His works.

10 All Your works shall praise You, O Lord, And Your saints shall bless You. 11 They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom, And talk of Your power, 12 To make known to the sons of men His mighty acts, And the glorious majesty of His kingdom. 13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And Your dominion endures throughout all generations.

That’s enough, I want to talk for the next fleeting moments with the help of the holy spirit

I want to talk about

Introduction: in reality, most of us focus too much on what God does for us and not enough on who He is. Most of our praise is prompted by something God has done for us, some blessing, some answered prayer, or some help that we receive from Him. Certainly, we ought to praise God without reservation when He blesses or helps us. Not to do so is to be ungrateful. But to praise Him only for what He does for us reveals that we truly do not understand God. When we grasp who God is, we will be stirred to praise Him first and foremost for that reason.

Psalm 145 is the last of David’s psalms in the Hebrew hymnal. It is the only psalm in the entire book actually entitled A Psalm of Praise. David neither stated nor hinted at any specific occasion in his life that prompted him to write Psalm 145. It is a psalm of pure praise, born out of the heart of the greatest worshipper in the Old Testament. He praised God exuberantly from a spontaneous stirring of his soul. The noted preacher Charles H. Spurgeon described it as “praise pitched in a high key” and declared it to be David’s “crown jewel of praise.”1

Psalm 145 is also the last of the acrostic psalms—psalms in which each verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. One letter of the alphabet, the letter nun, is not included in the standard Hebrew text. A verse beginning with this letter would fall between verses 13 and 14. However, some translations, including the NIV, accept other ancient texts that include a verse starting with nun. In those Bible versions, it is added on to verse 13.

Regarding this psalm, Spurgeon proceeded to say, “Certainly David’s praise is the best of praise, for it is that of a man of experience, of sincerity, of calm deliberation, and of intense warmth of the heart. It is not for any one of us to render David’s praise, for David only could do that, but we may take David’s psalm as a model, and aim at making our own personal adoration as much like it as possible.”2 This is, When You Feel Stirred to Praise the LORD, 145:1–21.

1 (145:1–3) Exalt God as the King of your life.

David began his psalm of praise with a fresh commitment to exalt God as the King of his life. He vowed to praise God’s name unceasingly, every day of his life and throughout eternity—forever and ever (vv. 1–2). God’s name is the representation of all that He is. In this psalm, David does not praise God because of something the LORD had done for him but solely because of who He is. He exalted the LORD because of His unsearchable or infinite greatness—greatness beyond measure and comprehension (v. 3). Awestruck by God’s splendor and power, David declared that He is most worthy of our praise and is to be greatly or exceedingly praised.

Thought 1. We, too, ought to exalt God daily solely on the basis of who He is. All too often, our circumstances determine our praise. In good times, we are quick to praise the Lord. But in difficult times, we do not always feel like exalting Him.

God never changes, regardless of our circumstances. Even in our deepest valleys and darkest nights, He is still God, and He is still great. He is the King of the universe and the King of our lives, a King who loves us so much that He gave His only Son for our salvation. If for no other reason than this, we need to make a fresh commitment to praise His name at all times.

“Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen” (1 Ti. 1:17).

“O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph” (Ps. 47:1).

“The LORD reigneth; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of isles be glad thereof” (Ps. 97:1).

2 (145:4–10) Teach each generation about the LORD.

David declared that every generation has a sacred responsibility to teach the next generation about the LORD. Note that each of the verbs in these verses is imperfect, meaning that it is an incomplete or continuous action. This portrays God’s people giving ongoing, never-ending testimony about God’s mighty works in their behalf. The story must never stop; each generation has an obligation to tell it to the next.

a. Declare God’s works (vv. 4–7).

God has displayed His infinite greatness through His wonderful works. Every generation is to proclaim His mighty acts and awesome power to its children and grandchildren (v. 4).

David pledged to do his part in passing on the message of God’s greatness to those who came behind him. He was committed to speak about God’s glorious splendor as well as His majesty and honor. Furthermore, he promised to meditate on God’s wonderful works, the miracles He had performed (v. 5).

The Hebrew word for speak also means to ponder or consider. It can be translated as meditate as well. The word used here is in the first person singular; thus, the accurate translation is I will speak.

David declared that, along with him, the people would also describe the power of God’s awe-inspiring works and deeds (v. 6). They would remember and joyfully celebrate as they uttered or talked about the abundance of His goodness and righteousness (v. 7). Note that utter means “to pour forth like a bubbling spring.” All of God’s people should naturally be joyful as they relate the testimonies of the great things God has done.

b. Declare God’s nature (vv. 8–10).

Along with God’s wonderful works, every generation needs to tell the next generation about God’s loving nature. God’s people have a holy obligation to teach their children and grandchildren about the LORD, that He is gracious or merciful, compassionate, patient, and great in mercy (chesed), that is, in His steadfast, unfailing love (v. 8; Ex. 34:6; Ps. 86:15; Ne. 9:17). He is good to all, and He sheds His tender mercies, or shows compassion, on all of His creation (v. 9; Jn. 3:16). Tender mercies (rachamim) comes from the Hebrew word for womb. It speaks of the deep, tender love a mother has for her helpless newborn baby (Is. 49:15). It is deep compassion, intensely emotional affection felt from the most inward parts of a person’s being. This is how the LORD feels about us.

Because of the LORD’s gracious, loving nature, He deserves our highest praise. David declared that all creation will one day praise God for His abundant goodness. All His saints or godly followers will bless Him for His faithful love (v. 10).

Thought 1. As followers of Christ, we have a sacred duty to teach our children and grandchildren about the Lord (Ps. 34:11). From the time they are little, we should teach them about God’s wonderful works. Beginning with creation and proceeding to the resurrection of Christ, we need to instill in their hearts God’s great love for humanity. We need to tell them what the Lord has done in our own lives in addition to the mighty acts of God preserved in His Word. All of us have experienced God’s wonderful works in one way or another. Every family has specific stories about God’s faithfulness and unfailing love. We have seen Him do great things for us. At times in our lives, we have seen God make a way where there was no way. We have witnessed Him do what seemed impossible. He has supernaturally led us, provided for us, protected us, and healed us. His presence has been with us through every trial, strengthening and encouraging us to press on.

A godly legacy is the greatest legacy any individual or family can have. We cannot let the record of God’s goodness follow us to our graves. We should do everything we can to ensure that our children and grandchildren know what the Lord has done for us. It is our responsibility to tell them about His love, faithfulness, and mercy.

“And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Ep. 6:4).

“And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (2 Ti. 3:15).

“That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones? Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever” (Jos. 4:6–7).

“A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation. They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this” (Ps. 22:30–31).

“We will not hide them from their children, showing to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done” (Ps. 78:4).

3 (145:11–13) Tell others about God’s kingdom and His power.

It was not enough for God’s people to bear witness about God’s works and His nature; they were also commissioned to share a very special message about God’s kingdom and power (v. 11). God deserves to be glorified by the people of all nations. The Israelites were to testify about the LORD’s mighty acts and the majesty of His kingdom so that everyone could know Him (v. 12). They were to proclaim to all people that the LORD is the mighty King of the universe and that His kingdom and rule are eternal (v. 13). It is God’s will for all people on earth to believe in Him and be saved (1 Ti. 2:4; 2 Pe. 3:9).

Thought 1. We have a holy duty to tell others about the LORD. Jesus commissioned us to proclaim the gospel to every creature and to bear witness about Him throughout the entire world (Mt. 28:18–20; Mk. 16:15; Ac. 1:8). We need to let every person know about God’s great love for them. We need to tell them that our heavenly Father demonstrated His love by sacrificing His only Son so that we could be forgiven and receive eternal life. We also need to warn people about God’s coming judgment on all who reject His dear Son. This is our personal obligation as believers and followers of Jesus Christ.

“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen” (Mt. 28:18–20).

Thought 1. We need to be faithful in proclaiming God’s great love and care for all people. We should also bear testimony to what the LORD has done for us and help others recognize God’s goodness to them. The LORD is gracious to all people, even those who do not know and fear Him (Mt. 5:45). Think about it: every good thing in our world and in our lives is a gift from God (Js. 1:17). God wants all people to understand this truth. The earth is overflowing with evidence of His goodness (Ps. 33:5). Our lives are sustained on this earth by His generous hand. Therefore, God wants every individual to recognize “the riches of His goodness” so that they might turn in repentance and faith to Him (Ro. 2:4).

Most importantly, God demonstrated His great love and care for humanity by providing for our greatest need: He gave His one and only Son so that we might be forgiven of our sins and receive eternal life. The salvation God offers is the ultimate manifestation of His love. Above all that He gives us, we need to proclaim this salvation to the world.