Why Theology Matters

Call to Worship Text

Psalm 145 KJV 1900

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.

Text

Hosea 4:1–12 KJV 1900

1 Hear the word of the Lord, ye children of Israel: For the Lord hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, Because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. 2 By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, And blood toucheth blood. 3 Therefore shall the land mourn, And every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, With the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; Yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away. 4 Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another: For thy people are as they that strive with the priest. 5 Therefore shalt thou fall in the day, And the prophet also shall fall with thee in the night, And I will destroy thy mother. 6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: Because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: Seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. 7 As they were increased, so they sinned against me: Therefore will I change their glory into shame. 8 They eat up the sin of my people, And they set their heart on their iniquity. 9 And there shall be, like people, like priest: And I will punish them for their ways, And reward them their doings. 10 For they shall eat, and not have enough: They shall commit whoredom, and shall not increase: Because they have left off to take heed to the Lord. 11 Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart. 12 My people ask counsel at their stocks, And their staff declareth unto them: For the spirit of whoredoms hath caused them to err, And they have gone a whoring from under their God.

Introduction

Hosea 4 picks up after the greatest love story in the Old Testament. We have seen Hosea pursue Gomer and the meaning of the names of their children in a previous message. Suffice to say, the very reason Hosea the Prophet was told to take a harlot for a wife was to demonstrate the relationship between the faithful God and the rebellious and unfaithful nation of Israel. As we move into Chapter 4, Hosea tells us why Israel is in the shape it is in spiritually. As Hosea warns of looming judgment for their rebellion and wickedness, in verse four, God brings a charge against Israel. He speaks of one who strives against a priest. What does that mean? It is described in Deuteronomy 17:12,

Deuteronomy 17:12 KJV 1900

12 And the man that will do presumptuously, and will not hearken unto the priest that standeth to minister there before the Lord thy God, or unto the judge, even that man shall die: and thou shalt put away the evil from Israel.

God says through Hosea that they are worthy of death. How did they get this far gone? Verse 6 tells us that they are destroyed for a lack of knowledge. Why do they lack knowledge? They have rejected it. Therefore, God is rejecting them. They forgot the Law of God. When they forgot his Law, the logical result is sin. And according to verses 7-8, sin is exactly what they did. They set their heart on it. They pursued sin. Verse 12 tells us that they have been and are continuing to be unfaithful to their God as a man would be unfaithful to his wife with harlots.

And this brings us to the title of today’s message, Why Theology Matters. Jeremiah in his day was frustrated because his prophecies of judgment fell on deaf ears. The people thought God would never destroy them nor Jerusalem because of the Temple of the Lord. This was a result of bad theology. How so, you ask? They were unbalanced in their understanding of who God is. They embraced the love of God in his covenant relationship with Israel. While focusing only on the benevolence of God towards Israel, they neglected his righteous hatred towards sin and his wrath towards sinners. Notice what I just said. I said they neglected his righteous hatred towards sin and his wrath towards sinners. But wait, many of us have been told that God hates the sin and loves the sinner. Which one will he cast into the Lake of Fire on the Day of Judgment? It isn’t the sin. It is the sinner. Theology matters. Jesus said in John 3:36,

John 3:36 LSB

36 “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

I have a tremendous burden for sound theology. I have said there is a dearth of sound theology in the pulpits of America. We are easily sickened by the woke Leftist pastors and pastrices. We turn our heads in disgust at the blessing of homosexual unions and debauchery among church leadership. But when is the last time you were sickened by a preacher preaching his opinions and pet peeves rather than providing an exposition of the scripture? When is the last time you were righteously indignant because someone abused the text of scripture and totally abandoned its clear contextual meaning so that he could insert his own man-made doctrine into the pages of scripture? When is the last time you saw a group of rebel hell bound sinners in desperate need of the gospel message and all they heard was that God loves them just the way they are and caused them to leave feeling great because they don’t have to repent. Their pathetic acknowledgement of Jesus has fooled them into thinking they are fine, when they left more so on the road to hell than when they came in. When is the last time you sat down in a pew feeling like someone had ripped your heart out of your chest and pleading for something from God only to hear platitudes and poems instead of a preacher who could take the Bible and tell you why God is the only one who can heal your hurt? Theology matters.

It has been said that most people’s theology is shaped more my the music they listen to than by the word of God. So much of today’s Christian music is so weak and watered down that there is very little truth of God in it. Most Southern Gospel songs focus so much on heaven and blessings. Most contemporary Christian music is all about man rather than God. I’m not being over-critical. There are good songs in both of those genres. I thank God for hymns, but many churches never get any deeper than a couple songs like The Old Rugged Cross or Amazing Grace. Thank God for the deep theology found in Christmas hymns. We have adopted thematic worship at Sophia Baptist Church. Our philosophy is that we don’t just preach the word here. We sing the word, we pray the word, and we live the word. Most people do not realize it, but there are some amazing songs with deep theological meaning. We will be incorporating more and more of them into our worship. But there is no song book with deeper theological undertones than what we find in the Book of Psalms. Today in our call to worship, we read Psalm 145. I wish to point out and merely highlight some of the theology found in this majestic psalm and show you why theology matters.

Psalm 145 is a Psalm of David. Above this psalm in the Legacy Standard Bible, this Psalm is titled “Yahweh’s Greatness is Unsearchable”. Psalm 145 is one of the most majestic poems in all of scripture. It is an acrostic, meaning that each verse starts with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet… almost. In the Hebrew Masoretic Text, the verse related to the Hebrew letter “Nun” is missing after the “Mem” in verse 13. But, in the Greek Septuagint of the Jewish scriptures and in the Dead Sea Scrolls, we have that verse which reads something like, “The Lord is faithful in all his words, and holy in all his works.”

While it is attributed to David, we do not have background on this psalm like we do with some others. It is part of the final Davidic collection (Psalms 138-145). Some scholars suggest that it was written while David was king and perhaps near the end of his life. John MacArthur suggests that Psalm 145 may have been David’s final psalm of praise that summarized his lifelong devotion to God and his recognition of God’s sovereignty over his life. This psalm stands out as being unique among all 150 Psalms in that this is the only psalm explicitly labeled as a "tehillah" (hymn of praise) in the Hebrew Bible.

But what’s the big deal? It’s a psalm of praise. But the reason why it matters is because this magnum opus of praise; this masterpiece of exaltation; this perhaps final praise offered by David is so majestic because David knew who God is. Psalm 145 covers a number of theological topics such as the Nature of God. That is called Theology proper. He speaks of God’s sovereignty, greatness, majesty, righteousness, faithfulness, grace, mercy, patience, and love.

He speaks of God’s power in describing his mighty acts, his providence, Creation, provision, salvation, and his righteous judgment.

He speaks of God’s preeminence in speaking of God’s eternal reign, his dominion over all things, his glory, and his power.

He speaks of God’s holiness and worthiness of worship along with meditation or prayer to him, proclamation of his holy name, and of reverence that is due only to him.

He speaks of God’s relationship with his Creation in speaking of his nearness, compassion for the weak, benevolence for both the just and the unjust, his preservation of the faithful, and the righteous judgment of the wicked.

As David walks through the Hebrew alphabet, the very elements that we use to put together words in order to express our human thought, David demonstrates that every letter points to him. Every fragment of a word testifies of him. The fulness of human expression ought to be to him. I taught you from the time I first arrived at Sophia Baptist Church that the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. If this is David’s final song, he is glorifying him and enjoying him. Despite his failures and flaws, if that’s how he went out, he would have no problem fitting in when all the redeemed sing a new song as the angels cry Holy Holy Holy is the Lord God almighty. Every verse of Psalm 145 is theological:

Verses 1-3: God's Majesty and Greatness

God as King: "I will extol you, my God and King" (v. 1) – The sovereignty of God as the eternal ruler.

Eternal Worship: "Bless your name forever and ever" (v. 1-2) – The eternal worthiness of God to be praised.

God's Greatness: "Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised" (v. 3) – The infinite greatness of God.

Incomprehensibility: "His greatness is unsearchable" (v. 3) – The idea that God's nature and works are beyond human understanding.

Verses 4-7: God's Works and Glory

Generational Testimony: "One generation shall commend your works to another" (v. 4) – The importance of passing down knowledge of God’s deeds.

God's Mighty Acts: "Declare your mighty acts" (v. 4) – God's power and intervention in history.

God's Majesty: "On the glorious splendor of your majesty" (v. 5) – The beauty and grandeur of God's being.

Meditation on God's Works: "On your wondrous works, I will meditate" (v. 5) – Theological reflection on God's actions.

God's Awesome Deeds: "They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds" (v. 6) – God's power inspires awe and reverence.

God's Abundant Goodness: "Pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness" (v. 7) – God's goodness is overflowing and worthy of proclamation.

God's Righteousness: "Sing aloud of your righteousness" (v. 7) – God's moral perfection and justice.

Verses 8-9: God's Character

God's Grace and Mercy: "The Lord is gracious and merciful" (v. 8) – God's unmerited favor and compassion.

God's Patience: "Slow to anger" (v. 8) – God's forbearance and long-suffering.

God's Steadfast Love: "Abounding in steadfast love" (v. 8) – God's covenantal, faithful love.

God's Universal Goodness: "The Lord is good to all" (v. 9) – God's benevolence extends to all creation.

God's Mercy Over Creation: "His mercy is over all that he has made" (v. 9) – God's care and compassion for all creatures.

Verses 10-13: God's Kingdom

Universal Praise: "All your works shall give thanks to you" (v. 10) – All creation acknowledges God's greatness.

God's Saints: "Your saints shall bless you" (v. 10) – The people of God respond in worship.

God's Glory and Power: "Speak of the glory of your kingdom and tell of your power" (v. 11) – God's kingdom is glorious and powerful.

God's Everlasting Kingdom: "Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom" (v. 13) – The eternal reign of God.

God's Sovereignty: "Your dominion endures throughout all generations" (v. 13) – God's rule is unchanging and eternal.

Verses 14-16: God's Providence

God's Care for the Weak: "The Lord upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down" (v. 14) – God's compassion for the vulnerable.

God as Provider: "You give them their food in due season" (v. 15) – God's provision for all living things.

God's Generosity: "You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing" (v. 16) – God's abundant provision and care.

Verses 17-20: God's Righteousness and Faithfulness

God's Righteousness: "The Lord is righteous in all his ways" (v. 17) – God's actions are always just and right.

God's Faithfulness: "Kind in all his works" (v. 17) – God's kindness reflects His faithfulness. God's Nearness: "The Lord is near to all who call on him" (v. 18) – God's accessibility to those who seek Him.

God's Faithfulness to His Promises: "To all who call on him in truth" (v. 18) – God honors those who approach Him sincerely.

God's Deliverance: "He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them" (v. 19) – God's salvation for those who revere Him.

God's Preservation: "The Lord preserves all who love him" (v. 20) – God's protection of His people.

God's Justice: "But all the wicked he will destroy" (v. 20) – God's judgment against evil.

Verse 21: Eternal Praise

Eternal Worship: "My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord" (v. 21) – The call to continually praise God.

Universal Worship: "Let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever" (v. 21) – The ultimate goal of creation is to glorify God.

Application

What have we learned from Psalm 145? Yahweh’s Greatness is Unsearchable!

Theology matters. Without it, you don’t know who God is. You Do not know who you are. Without theology, you have no understanding of your need of a savior. You have no true appreciation for what Christ has done for you, and you have no assurance that it is sufficient on the days when you are not. Theology matters. Learn it; love it; live it. By God’s grace, I will teach it to you.