Psalm 145 - Praise of God with the Soundtrack of Life
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INTRO:
Good morning GracePointe. It is such a joy to gather together with you today and see what God would teach us about Himself as we glorify Him. We are finishing up our series psalms of Summer. It really has been an enjoyable and worship producing time as we have been looked at what it means to worship, pray, and give thanks to the Lord. Today is the last Sunday of that series. That is right, I am closing it out. Next week we will begin our series on James and talking about a Faith that works. James is a no-nonsense kind of book. A tell-it-like-it-is book. I promise you that each one of us will be challenged in it. But the result of that challenge is a deeper walk with Christ and a faith that thrives no matter what is going on. I hope that you plan to be here next week as we focus on the book of James for the rest of the year.
plug sept 19 forums 5:45 pm. sept 23 at 7. Sept 25 at 9. Child care and some food as we talk about our future pastoral leadership team.
To close it out, today we will be ending our series in Psalm 145. This Psalm is a well rounded Psalm in that it touches on a few big ideas we have covered in this series.
Before we jump into that, I want to take time to talk specifically about music. I have figured up that I have played music for over 1000 different gatherings whether that be church or festivals or weddings. A quick story about funny things that happen at events or gigs. I recently played an 80th birthday party for someone I did not know but really enjoyed getting to know. She is Grandma Linda and her lovely family in West Linn. With over 40 of their family members all in attendance as they had dinner and a reception. Fun event. Right in the middle of the event as I am playing music, Linda’s husband Jim walks up talking quite loudly to his friend. “yeah check this out…you will like this.” He begins pointing a remote right at me. Now I understand that some of you would like to have this control over a musician like myself but it really doesn’t work that way. In any case, he is pointing this remote at me as I am playing acoustic guitar. I just continue to keep playing. He frustratingly points the remote at me and is pressing buttons. He then remarks...”Oh i see what the problem is…” he walks behind me and he begins rummaging in my cases and such. At this point, I am not frustrated for I recognize that this is going to be a funny story later. Just ride it out....oh and I am still playing music, singing, all that.
He moves a few things…walks back out in front of me and says to his friend “I got it now” and presses the button. Right behind me…what I thought was a ledge is an outdoor TV that rises up from the ground. 65 inches. I now realize that this guy may want to try out this TV. I am still playing music…I have stopped singing because well what’s the point. I am playing a soundtrack to an embarrassing moment right now. My own embarrassing moment. He says loudly to his friend...”yep....installed it a few weeks ago. You think there might be a game on!” About the time it registers that the guy might put a game on directly behind me as I play....his wife, the lady of honor on her 80th birthday, comes rolling around the corner and says “oh jim you stop that. This lovely young man is playing music and your showing people that dadgum tv again. You better not have put netflix on while he is playing!” She begins to shush him and his friend out of the room and turns to me and gives me a thumbs up sign. haha
Outdoor TV’s aside, music is a vehicle for emotion and ideas. Music makes people move. A few baptists just moved uncomfortably in their chairs at the mention of music and movement. At the very least, music alters how people move. They go from sitting still. Music starts......and a toe starts to tap. Fingers start to snap. Hands begin to clap. People are still and then music helps make them move. It only gets more prominent as the lyrics and melodies come together and now people are singing. Ideas fuse with this music of movement…now we have direction. All from a song. Musicians usED TO LEAD armies into battle because of this phenomenon
It is this big book of Songs that Israel used to help reorient themselves back to God. When they were off track, they would say, pray, sing, memorize and move to these songs. And this was not just the Old Testament either. Jesus would go the synagogue and would have been immersed in these psalms. Scholars point to the Psalms as the way that anyone growing up in the Jewish faith would learn about prayer, worship, and reorienting your life around being identified as people of God. The Psalms helped the people move toward God.
Martin Luther found the Psalms to be a school of prayer: “The Christian can learn to pray in the psalter, The number of moods which are expressed here, joy and suffering, hope and care, make it possible for every Christian to find themselves in it, and to pray with the psalms.
In our study of Psalms I would put forth that the songs found in this book are encouraging us to move in our walks with Christ. To move away from sinful living and pride and move toward God. Psalm 96:1 encourages us to sing to the Lord a new song....to take the character and majesty of God and partner it with rhythm and music of life to help us walk in step with our Master. But we must ask ourselves…What is the soundtrack playing in your life?
Let us turn in our bibles to Psalm 145. I will be in the ESV version today. If you don’t have a bible, we would love to get you one. Just raise your hand and we will get you a bible to keep.
as. You turn there - some backstory on this Psalm.
BACKGROUND
Psalm 145 - A Praise of David -
This is the last attributed psalm of David.it is unique in that is is labeled a song of praise. It is also the only psalm designated in its heading by the Hebrew word for psalm (tĕhillāh) whose plural form was the designation for the entire book. A great psalm to end our series in the Psalms is to go with the one titled Psalm. Another interesting note is that In Psalm 145, each verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Thus, verse one begins with aleph, verse 2 with beyt, and so forth. This is referred to as an acrostic psalm and Acrostics were most likely memory devices to aid in private and public — individual and corporate — recitation; literarily, they summarized all that could be said or that needed to be said about a particular subject, from aleph to tav, from “A” to “Z.” Adele Berlin says this about Psalm 145, another alphabetic acrostic: “The poet praises God with everything from A to Z: his praise is all-inclusive.” To appreciate the difficulty posed by the acrostic model, consider how difficult you would find it to compose a 26 verse poem with each verse starting with the next letter of the alphabet from A to Z.
One scholar points to the acrostic nature as being something useful in Jewish practice. “In Jewish practice this psalm was recited twice in the morning and once in the evening service. The Talmud commends all who repeat it three times a day as having a share in the world to come.” (Willem VanGemeren)
Let us read it now together. we are going to take it in chunks. I am going to read the whole thing and pray that as you read it, God will remind you through His word and His spirit that He is worthy of praise.
Psalm 145:1–3 (ESV)
I will extol you, my God and King,
and bless your name forever and ever.
Every day I will bless you
and praise your name forever and ever.
Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,
and his greatness is unsearchable.
HOW SHOULD WE PRAISE
HOW SHOULD WE PRAISE
Just a marvelous reminder of how we should Praise God. I would like to point out a few ways that David praises God through out this Psalm. First we are to
Lift Him Up and Confess His Character to our life
Lift Him Up and Confess His Character to our life
Start with who God is and lift him up above all else. He is the first and the last. The alpha and omega. He is your God…but He is also THE KING. Lift Him up to His proper place.
1 I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. 2 Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever. 3 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.
To extol is to praise, to lift high, to exalt. David honored and promoted the name of God in the most personal of ways: David is a human king. A leader of others. In the land, King David would have commanded attention, respect, and interaction. However, David describes God as his King....one that David is bowing to, giving attention, respect, and interaction. Satan wants this right relationship made wrong. Pride and Sid point to us being on the pedestal and everyone serving us and our needs. But we are reminded here this reminder to put God in the proper position as the only object of our worship. Lift him high, exalt him. Put God on the pedestal that he so rightly deserves and where He belongs.
24 “Remember to extol his work, of which men have sung.
4 Sing to God, sing praises to his name; lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts; his name is the Lord; exult before him!
Paul points to this idea as well in
11 And again, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples extol him.”
Confess His Character
Confess His Character
In addition to lifting God up, Praise God for His character. When David goes on to praise the name of God. He does not focus on his (David’s problems) he instead puts all focus on the character of God. David went on to make confessions or proclamations about His God’s character.
3 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable. 4 One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts. 5 On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate. 6 They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds, and I will declare your greatness. 7 They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness and shall sing aloud of your righteousness. 8 The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 9 The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.
In verses 3-8, the psalm singer enumerates a number of attributes of God. The Lord is great (verses 3, 6); good (verses 7,); and compassionate (verses 8, 9). Other words, such as “righteousness” (verse 7); “steadfast love” (hesed) (verse 8); and “works” (verses 4, 5) occur repeatedly in the verses.
We are to have God in the proper position as our Lord and King. He is lifted up. But we are also to remember all the wonderful attributes of His personality and character. Satan wants to change your thinking from about God, his mighty deeds, his goodness....Satan says think about your problems....think about your accomplishments…honestly think about anything else. Not God.
Think about it, when we are full of pride, wrath, impatience, unforgiveness, malice, lust and all the other sinful feelings, we can be guilty of putting those feelings on the Lord. I have messed up and I can’t go to God because He won’t give me another chance. Really what we are thinking is that we wouldn’t give ourselves another chance if we were God. But God is not like us…his ways are not our ways. He is abounding in steadfast love and his mercy is over all that was made. We remember his character.
This helps us maintain that proper focus in our lives where God is King and His character is our primary influence in how we are shaped to be more and more like Jesus. Jesus who exemplifies these characteristics in the ultimate sacrifice.
5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,
Jesus was abounding in steadfast love and provided mercy over all that was made. It is this character that we are to confess, meditate on.
So we are to each lift Him up and confess His character. But we are not in a vacuum. This life, contrary to our obsession in the western world with individualism, is all about community and serving one another. In this, God is pointing us to Praise His Character to others and tell our story of rescue.
Praise His Characters to others, tell your story of rescue
Praise His Characters to others, tell your story of rescue
10 All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord, and all your saints shall bless you! 11 They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom and tell of your power, 12 to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. 13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations. The Lord is faithful in all his words and kind in all his works. 14 The Lord upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down.
One generation shall praise Your works to another: David looked for God’s people to encourage each other in praise. An older generation might inspire a younger generation to praise by remembering God’s mighty acts in the past. A young generation might stir praise in an older generation by declaring the fresh and new things God was doing. We need each other in the same room so we can praise His works to one another!
ii. “The generations shall unite in this: together they shall make up an extraordinary history. Each generation shall contribute its chapter, and all the generations together shall compose a volume of matchless character.” (Charles Spurgeon) The character of God. His works. The generations will unite. That sounds so wonderful to me. Each generation contributing to its chapter. Not battling or belittling. But adding to the mighty volume of God’s mighty works.
Honesty time - How can I live my life so that people think less about me and more about the Jesus. In the conversations I have with people, do they hear Jesus? Do they hear about him? Not in a salesman way.....If you don’t put Jesus in your heart today…I can’t save you any money! No! Jesus is mighty and his greatest work of redemption is staring at you in the mirror every morning. Tell that story! Tell those mighty deeds.
15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,
This is not giving our 2 cents on how the world is going to hell in a hand basket. This Psalm actually wants to us to be known as fountains of life. Do an inventory of your speech? How much have you talked to others about God’s position and character and deliverance in your life? Have you talked more about the issues/problems/stress around you? We can all admit, that yes…its easier to complain than to point others to Jesus.
A great question i saw recently....If God was to answer all your prayers today....how much would benefit others? If the benefit to others is a side note, we are not having the mind of Christ.
Check your heart - Renew a right spirit in me, create in me a clean heart.
Lament to Him and remember His deliverance
Lament to Him and remember His deliverance
In our praise to Him....as we lift Him up and we tell ourselves and others about His character, we must also realize that life doesn’t go as planned. Crisis, stress, division and all the other tremors of Sin are felt through out our existence. From this, we experience sorrow. Everyone experiences at some point in their lives....sorrow on some level. But as Christians we must always keep in mind that God tells us time and time again as it does in Psalm 145:18-19
18 The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. 19 He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them.
Lament is a uniquely christian thing in that it is a form of prayer. The Bible is filled with this song of sorrow. Over a third of the Psalms are laments. The book of Lamentations weeps over the destruction of Jerusalem. Jesus lamented in the final hours of his life.
“Laments turn toward God when sorrow tempts you to run from him.”
It is more than just the expression of sorrow or the venting of emotion. Lamenting involves talking to God about pain. And it has a unique purpose: trust. It is a gift and an invitation to pour out to Him the things that our breaking our hearts. Pouring out our fear, our stress, frustration and grief. The purpose of this lamenting is to renew our confidence in God.
This happened to me recently. I got up early and drove to Seattle a few weeks ago to purchase a used piece of music equipment. I don’t know if any of you are like this but there comes a point where I have obsessed over some music gear so much…it would actually be more profitable for me to just buy it so I can move on. The amount of time researching has now reached unhealthy levels. My accountant, my dear wife Jen, reminds me that budgets don’t think like that! And I am so thankful for that reminder.
In any case, I am driving up having a good time listening to music and seeing the sun rise around the Tacoma area. All of the sudden, I am lamenting and filled with great sorrow. My brother lived in Tacoma for a bit and his condo was on this hill as you came around the corner. I had not realized what seeing his old apartment complex from the road would do. I am filled with regret, sadness, and anger at the finality of it all. But I have learned the hard way....I didn’t stop there. I began talking to the Lord. Telling him how I felt. Telling him what I missed about Code. As I lamented, the conversation naturally began to turn to me trusting Him with my pain. I was reminded of God’s faithfulness. That God’s will is that all would have everlasting life with Him. That is ultimate plan. My brother is part of that plan and I can trust the Lord in that plan. My lamenting has a purpose and it is the health of my soul. That is true for me and for you as we follow after Jesus.
As you lift God up, as you confess His character to yourself and others and as you lament and even in your sorrow, trust in the Lord Jesus Christ....this type of living sets marks you as a follower of God. It is these markers that tell others “I worship God”.
The Lord preserves all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.
My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.
WHAT IS YOUR SOUNDTRACK?
WHAT IS YOUR SOUNDTRACK?
Continuing this theme of praise to God, I want to expand out and conclude with looking at the markers of our live and the psalms.
My question to you today is what psalm or experience is your soundtrack today. In the psalms we have covered all kinds of different psalms/songs that God intends to help us seek Him.
Experience of Orientation - Psalm of Praise.
Experience of Orientation - Psalm of Praise.
The first is a Psalm of Praise. Perhaps you are in a spot where a Psalm of Praise is the soundtrack for your day. Psalms of praise can be a powerful symphony of praise and testimony. It is a cry of joy, proclaiming God’s kindness, righteousness, faithfulness, majesty, glory, and love. This Psalm comes from the heart of one who is in complete awe of God, and the admiration and praise is contagious. Psalms of orientation speak of things like creation, wisdom, and the favor of God. An example would be
3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?
-This category of psalms helps to orient you with the Lord. Here we see David totally oriented toward God. He's thinking intentially with worship and wonder of God in light of his creation. It is a thriving relationship where He knows who God is and knows him personnally . Best yet…God knows him. He’s humbled in light of this reality and worship pours from his mouth. David is genuinely impressed with God.As you go through life, is the song that is playing in your life one of genuine awe at the Lord?
Experience of Disorientation - Psalm of Lament
Experience of Disorientation - Psalm of Lament
Another experience in our faith is one of disorientation. we go through sometimes extended seasons of feeling totally disoriented in our relationship with God, ourselves, and the world around us. It is in the seasons of disorientation that life just doesn’t make sense. Things have fallen apart at work or at home or in a relationship and we're left in a thick fog, full of questions and doubts. Psalms of disorientation are both corporately and privately sung in the Old Testament. These honest words of anger, hurt,, depression, despair, and deep questioning of God permeate the psalm. But we still cry out to the one who we know can save us. Remember it is pouting out our hearts to the Lord.
1 How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?
The answer lies in our last experience. How thankful that we are never far away from reorienting back to the Lord.
Thanksgiving - Reorientation
Thanksgiving - Reorientation
In experiencing reorientation and the thankfulness that is expressed. These psalms are where the psalmist has experienced God as his Rescuer! Listen to the words of
21 When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart, 22 I was brutish and ignorant; I was like a beast toward you. 23 Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. 24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. 25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
It is our rescue story and it reminds us and others of how each one of us has a chapter in the prodigal son story. The joy of once being lost and now being found! From emerging from the fog and chaos and having clarity. God came through. God made a way when there was no way. And we believe that God can do that again and again and again. When there was no hope, when I was full of lament, God’s grace exploded into the situation. This is our rescue story. I hope that this week as you live out your life, you will choose to experience God through the psalms. Through song....pick an experience and see how God reveals himself in Praise, Lament and Thanksgiving. May others see this soundtrack that you live to and come to know the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us pray.
Pray:
Lord we pray that we may learn to glorify you more and more each day as we also catch glimpses of your greatness. Lord you have never stopped being good from beginning to now and forever, your goodness keeps going. We have just stopped being grateful. We apologize and seek your forgiveness for having pride and not remembering that each one of us has a rescue story. May we lift you up, confess and celebrate your character to ourselves and others. Even in the pit of despair, may we trust you. Even in our grief may we trust you. No matter what lord, we are never far from being found by you. Thank you that our purpose is to glorify you and be in your presence forever. Thank you God and we pray this all in the awesome name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Will you stand with me as I leave you with a charge to give thanks to God and choose a soundtrack of praise for our lives.
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Have a great rest of the day!