The ABC's of Praise
Thanksgiving 2020 • Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 14 viewsBecause of God’s greatness, mercy, provision, and nearness, He alone is worthy of our praise; therefore, His people should constantly express their adoration of Him.
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Handout
Please turn with me in your Bible to Psalm 145 as we consider The ABC’s of Praise.
As you may have figured out by now, I am a very talented fellow. I can sing to you the ABC’s forward as well as backward. Obviously, singing this song forward is not an issue at. But if you’d like, I can demonstrate how I sing it backward. Any takers?
The reason for our title this morning is that Psalm 145 is an acrostic poem, which means that the first word of each verse (in Hebrew) begins with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet. There are a handful of psalm which use this device in their composition. The most famous is Psalm 119 which dedicates eight verses to each of the Hebrew alphabet’s twenty-two letters. If you are really paying attention you may have noticed that I stated that there are twenty-two letters in the Hebrew alphabet, but there are only twenty-one verses in this psalm. So let’s deal with that before we start our exposition.
A verse beginning with the Hebrew letter nun` is missing from the Masoretic text, which is the source for the English Bible’s translation of the OT. However, since it is supplied in the Septuagint as well as one of the Dead Sea scrolls some modern translations have inserted it at the end of verse 13. If you are using the NIV your will find a second couplet which states:
The LORD is faithful to all his promises
and loving toward all he has made.
The ESV adds a similar statement but puts it in brackets to indicate that it is questionable as to whether it truly belongs or not.
One commentator had this to say:
The New Bible Commentary Psalm 145. An ABC of the Glory of the Lord
It is usually supposed that it has been lost and most would applaud the NIV in supplying the nun-line from other sources (13b, see NIV mg.). It is neither certain nor obvious that this should be done. It is far easier to see why some versions should supply the line than to see how it could ever have been lost. The distinctive character of Hebrew poetry is to subordinate form to meaning and we should at least consider that the poet deliberately omitted one letter in order to indicate that, not even with the help of revelation, can the human mind fully grasp the glories of God.
This beautiful hymn of praise is the last of the psalms that are ascribed to David. David maintains that because of God’s greatness, mercy, provision, and nearness, He alone is worthy of our praise; therefore, His people should constantly express their adoration of Him.
As we meditate on the ABC’s of Praise this morning, we will look at the
A — Affirmation
B — Basis
C — Commitment
of praise.
Let’s read this psalm together.
A Psalm of Praise, of David.
I will extol You, my God, O King, And I will bless Your name forever and ever.
Every day I will bless You, And I will praise Your name forever and ever.
Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised, And His greatness is unsearchable.
One generation shall praise Your works to another, And shall declare Your mighty acts.
On the glorious splendor of Your majesty And on Your wonderful works, I will meditate.
Men shall speak of the power of Your awesome acts, And I will tell of Your greatness.
They shall eagerly utter the memory of Your abundant goodness And will shout joyfully of Your righteousness.
The Lord is gracious and merciful; Slow to anger and great in lovingkindness.
The Lord is good to all, And His mercies are over all His works.
All Your works shall give thanks to You, O Lord, And Your godly ones shall bless You.
They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom And talk of Your power;
To make known to the sons of men Your mighty acts And the glory of the majesty of Your kingdom.
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And Your dominion endures throughout all generations.
The Lord sustains all who fall And raises up all who are bowed down.
The eyes of all look to You, And You give them their food in due time.
You open Your hand And satisfy the desire of every living thing.
The Lord is righteous in all His ways And kind in all His deeds.
The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth.
He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He will also hear their cry and will save them.
The Lord keeps all who love Him, But all the wicked He will destroy.
My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord, And all flesh will bless His holy name forever and ever.
Let’s consider first
A — The Affirmation of Praise
A — The Affirmation of Praise
As we consider the affirmation of praise we will look at David’s commitment to praise, and his constant consistence in praise.
First notice
David’s Commitment to Praise God
David’s Commitment to Praise God
Look again at verse 1-2.
I will extol You, my God, O King, And I will bless Your name forever and ever.
Every day I will bless You, And I will praise Your name forever and ever.
Note that:
The believer in Jesus Christ should be committed to purposeful praise.
Did you notice in our text the way in which David referred to the Lord?
My God — the sovereign Creator
My King — the ruler and master
Did you notice the three synonyms for the expression of adoration?
Extol — to praise someone with great enthusiasm — to sing praises
Bless — this gives the idea of kneeling in submission
Praise — this gives the idea of boasting or commending
Let’s look now at
David’s Constant Consistence in Praise
David’s Constant Consistence in Praise
As we look at verses 1-2 again notice the references to time.
I will extol You, my God, O King, And I will bless Your name forever and ever.
Every day I will bless You, And I will praise Your name forever and ever.
David commits himself to constant, eternal adoration of God.
Spurgeon once said:
“If we were asked, ‘Do you pray?’ the answer would be quickly given by every Christian person, ‘Of course I do.’ Suppose there was added, ‘And do you pray every day?’ the prompt reply would be, ‘Yes, many times in the day. I could not live without prayer.’ But what if the inquiry changed to, ‘Do you bless God every day? Is praise as certain and constant a practice with you as prayer?’ I am not sure the answer would be so certain, so general, or so prompt. We might have to stop a little while before we gave the reply; and I fear, in some cases, when the reply did come, it would be, ‘I am afraid I have been negligent in praise.’ In that case, have we not been wrong? Should we omit praise anymore than we omit prayer? And should not praise come daily and as many times in the day as prayer does?”
We’ve been looking at David’s affirmation of praise to God. Now let’s turn our attention to
B — The Basis For Praise
B — The Basis For Praise
David uses the bulk of this psalm to explain the reasons for why he has committed himself to praising God continually.
The first basis for praise is that
The Lord is Great
The Lord is Great
Look at verses 3-7.
Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised, And His greatness is unsearchable.
One generation shall praise Your works to another, And shall declare Your mighty acts.
On the glorious splendor of Your majesty And on Your wonderful works, I will meditate.
Men shall speak of the power of Your awesome acts, And I will tell of Your greatness.
They shall eagerly utter the memory of Your abundant goodness And will shout joyfully of Your righteousness.
Throughout this panoply of praise we learn various things about God’s greatness:
God’s greatness is limitless.
Look again at verse 3.
Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised, And His greatness is unsearchable.
Elsewhere David attested to this same truth.
Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders which You have done, And Your thoughts toward us; There is none to compare with You. If I would declare and speak of them, They would be too numerous to count.
Next we see that
God’s greatness is awe-inspiring.
Look at verses 4-6.
One generation shall praise Your works to another, And shall declare Your mighty acts.
On the glorious splendor of Your majesty And on Your wonderful works, I will meditate.
Men shall speak of the power of Your awesome acts, And I will tell of Your greatness.
Derek Kidner wrote: Even David could have had little inkling of the fulfilment in store for his words, not only in the fact that his generation still speaks to ours, ... but in that God’s mighty acts, wondrous works and terrible (or ‘awesome’) acts would reach a new climax in the gospel events, and still be moving now towards their consummation.
Did you notice the emphasis on God’s praise being verbalized to others?
Spurgeon commented that believers should be best known for being followers of Christ rather than for being industrious with money, politics, mechanics, music or a whole host of other things. “We will never know the fullness of the joy that Jesus brings to the soul unless, under the power of the Holy Spirit, we take the Lord our Master to be our all in all, and make him the fountain of our delight! ‘He is my Savior, my Christ, and my Lord.’ Let this be our loudest boast.”
Note next that
God’s greatness is good.
Look at the first phrase of verse 7:
They shall eagerly utter the memory of Your abundant goodness...
Finally notice that
God’s greatness is reliable.
Look at the last part of verse 7:
And will shout joyfully of Your righteousness.
So, we’ve seen that David’s first basis for praising God is God’s greatness. Let’s notice next that David’s second basis is
The Lord’s Graciousness
The Lord’s Graciousness
Note that:
It is through the study of God’s Word that we come to the knowledge of His grace.
Why do I say that? Because verse 8-9 are a restatement of a passage from the life of Moses. When Moses asked to see God’s glory, the Lord passed by him and stated words very similar to what David wrote here. In other words, David came to this understanding because he had meditated on the God’s written word. Look at verses 8-9.
The Lord is gracious and merciful; Slow to anger and great in lovingkindness.
The Lord is good to all, And His mercies are over all His works.
We should be so grateful for the truth these verses present. Why is that? Because if God wasn’t gracious and merciful, and slow to anger we would all be doomed!
Note that
Because of God mercy, grace, patience, and goodness, all of creation should offer their gratitude to Him.
As you most of you probably know by now, I am both a political and theological conservative. I make no apologies for being conservative. But the other day I heard a conservative political pundit make a statement that I took issue with. He said:
Thanksgiving is about thanking our country for the freedom we have.
It sure seems to me that the purpose of the holiday we call Thanksgiving is to give thanks to God for His provision, protection, and other such things.
Look at verse 10-12.
All Your works shall give thanks to You, O Lord, And Your godly ones shall bless You.
They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom And talk of Your power;
To make known to the sons of men Your mighty acts And the glory of the majesty of Your kingdom.
Note that:
True gratitude to God is verbalized to others.
Look at verse 13.
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And Your dominion endures throughout all generations.
The final basis for praise which David mentioned in our text is
The Lord’s Righteous Dealings
The Lord’s Righteous Dealings
The first righteous dealing which David mentions has to do with God’s provision. Look at verses 14-16.
The Lord sustains all who fall And raises up all who are bowed down.
The eyes of all look to You, And You give them their food in due time.
You open Your hand And satisfy the desire of every living thing.
First we see that God will exalt those who humble themselves before Him. On the flip side, God will humble those who exalt themselves before Him!
I remember an old movie featuring Jimmy Stewart, it took place during the time of the Civil War. And there was a scene in which Stewart’s character was praying over dinner. Here is what he prayed: “We cooked the harvest. It wouldn't be here and we wouldn't be eating it if we hadn't done it all ourselves. We worked dog-bone hard for every crumb and morsel, but we thank you Lord just the same for the food we're about to eat, amen.”
It always came across to me that this man was taking the glory away from God, to whom it was rightfully due.
God is the one who created the foods from which we find nourishment
God is the one who sends rain show crops can grow
God is the one who gives wisdom to men so they can farm, etc.
Next, we see that God not only takes care of His flock, but He cares for all of creation. He feeds the birds of the air. He clothes the grass of the field. And all of creation looks forward to its redemption.
The second righteous dealing has to do with the kindness of God’s acts. Look at verse 17.
The Lord is righteous in all His ways And kind in all His deeds.
The kindness of God extends beyond common grace.
Blessed be the Lord, For He has shown me His marvelous kindness in a strong city!
God’s kindness is associated with His word.
For His lovingkindness is great toward us, And the truth of the Lord is everlasting. Praise the Lord!
Though God disciplines His covenant people, still His kindness is eternal.
“In an outburst of anger I hid My face from you for a moment, But with everlasting lovingkindness I will have compassion on you,” Says the Lord your Redeemer.
God’s kindness is seen mostly in the cross of Christ, and the grace which is found in Christ Jesus.
so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
Therefore, because of God’s kindness, we who belong to Him should reflect His kindness.
So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience;
The third mentioned righteous dealing has to do with listening to the believer’s prayers. Look at verses 18-19.
The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth.
He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He will also hear their cry and will save them.
The fourth righteous dealing has to do with preservation of God’s people. Look at verse 20.
The Lord keeps all who love Him, But all the wicked He will destroy.
The Lord keeps those who love Him through the work of Christ on the cross.
God
Man
Sin
Christ
Cross
Resurrection
Response
We’ve been looking at the ABC’s of praise. So far we’ve looked at A — David’s affirmation of praise, and B — David’s basis of praise. Let’s turn our attention now to
C — The Commitment to Praise
C — The Commitment to Praise
Look at verse 21.
My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord, And all flesh will bless His holy name forever and ever.
Personally I’m struck by the various ways in which David has referred to the verbalizing of our praise of God.
One generation shall praise Your works to another (vs. 4)
Men shall speak of the power of Your awesome acts (vs. 6a)
I will tell of Your greatness (vs. 6b)
They shall eagerly utter the memory of Your abundant goodness (vs. 7)
Your godly ones shall bless You (vs. 10)
My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord (vs. 21)
I know that times are tough right now. Many of our nation’s leaders, especially in the medical field, are warning against having large gatherings for Thanksgiving. Some want folks to celebrate virtually — I’m not sure how good a virtual pumpkin pie will taste. And I’m not going to judge those who either choose to gather with others, or choose to isolate. I’m not sure there is a right and a wrong with either choice.
But I will ask that you join in with this challenge: Affirm your commitment to praise God, meditate on the basis of our praise — which is the Lord’s greatness, graciousness, and righteous dealings with us, and reaffirm your commitment to verbalize your praise to God.
Let’s pray.
Closing Song: #5
I Sing Praises