Believers Praise The Name Of The Lord

BELIEVERS PRAISE THE NAME OF THE LORD

PSALM 145:15-21 - July 10, 2005 – Pentecost 8 / Harvest Festival

Dear Fellow-Redeemed & Saints in the Lord:

Whew! Another year has come and gone and the harvest is gathered in, and it is gathered in safely. It has been blessed abundantly. Between the planting and the har-vesting, we have had many thoughts and concerns. We are always worried about the lack of water. We are concerned about the late frost and early heat, and we wondered if there would be any crop at all. Yet, beyond our expectations, the Lord has blessed us once again. He reminds us that all of our worry and concern doesn’t change the out-come of how He is going to bless us. We can be thankful about that. We can praise the name of the Lord that He still is going to bless us even though we might wonder at times. We heard the parable of the sower and how sometimes that crop is thirty times, sixty times or hundred times--all according to what the Lord determines.

We turn to Corinthians and find that Paul realized what he did and what the other apostles and prophets did was of no account. It was God who deserved all the credit, because He gives the increase. He is talking there again about the Word of God, but also applies to our physical blessings too. He says, "So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor" (1 Corinthians 3:7,8). The Lord promises to bless.

Today, the Psalm writer reminds us to praise the name of the Lord. We gather together each Sunday to praise the name of the Lord, but today we truly concentrate on how our God has graciously shown His divine love for us. We are reminded that our lives are lives of praise.

BELIEVERS PRAISE THE NAME OF THE LORD; because:

I. Our Lord satisfies completely.

II. Our Lord is always righteous.

I. OUR LORD SATISFIES COMPLETELY

Today’s Psalm is another Psalm of David. We think of David who started out as a shepherd boy, and God called him and raised him up to be king of the children of Is-rael. As king, David became one of the greatest kings. Solomon, his son, was greater. At times the people of Israel looked at David as God Himself. It could have been very easy for David to think, "Look at all of the things I have done. Look at all the enemies I have defeated." Yet, time and again as you read his Psalms you realize that he realized that it was only the Lord God who deserved all praise and honor and glory.

Right in the middle of this Psalm in verse 15 he writes: The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. David realized that he had looked to the Lord to be provided with the very basics, the very food that he would eat. Not only himself but also everyone else and everything else looked to the Lord to provide. The Lord provides for human beings, and He provides for His creatures too. David states that in verse 16: You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing. Sometimes people don’t think of the birds of the air, but they too are provided for. Later on Solomon wrote: The beauty of God’s creation. Who can compare with that? Yet the Lord takes care of that and supplies their every desire. Who can compare with the lilies of the field? God takes care of that. The Lord God who created the heavens and the earth takes care of His creation to the infinite and smallest detail. As the Lord God is concerned with the smallest details in nature our Lord God also takes care of us and satisfies us.

But there is a difference. The animals don’t come and give praise to God. The unbelievers don’t come and give praise to God. They are so self-concerned so as to think only of themselves. An unbelieving society only thinks that mankind and the world bails them out of trouble. But -- to thank God, that is something only believers do.

In verse 19: He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them. The believers cry out to the Lord. They cry out in times of trouble. Believ-ers also cry out in times of thanksgiving to praise Him for all the things He has done. Think of David. Time and again he had been delivered from his enemies. The Lord had saved him and the nation. David praised the name of the Lord. We think of David who turned away from God for a time. There was a time when David committed adultery and murdered the commander of his army. David cried out to God, and God saved him. The Lord satisfied David completely with the forgiveness of sins.