Summer Psalms #11 - The Psalm of Boundless Praise
Psalm 103:1-22
Sermon by Rick Crandall
McClendon Baptist Church - Aug. 12, 2009
*Last Friday morning Ed Turnage was walking out of the donut shop and said a hearty “Good morning” to the man coming in. Ed was taken aback when the man rudely replied, “What’s good about it?!?”
*Ed was shocked, but looking back on it, he wanted to say, “How much time have you got?” -- A couple of hours? -- A couple of days? -- We could talk forever about what the Lord has done for us!”
*We could “bless” the Lord forever. The word picture in Psalm 103 is kneeling in adoration to bless God, congratulating Him, exalting Him, praising Him.
1. Psalm 103 tells us that God deserves boundless praise! So let His praise radiate through every part of your heart.
*As David said in vs. 1, “Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name!” David started by talking to himself. Do you ever do that? Sometimes it’s a good thing to do, especially as we urge ourselves to do something good. Here David raised the bar of praise in his own heart. “Bless the Lord, O my soul; And ALL that is within me, bless His holy name!”
*God wants to see praise in every part of your heart. How much praise can the Lord see in you right now? Jerry Shirley called this growing praise “walking the path of praise,” and Jerry said, “Nobody can praise God for you. We must choose whether we will walk the path of praise or just continue to follow the avenue of the average. Nobody can praise God for you. Don’t leave this place saying ‘we praised God in church today’ if YOU didn’t praise Him. God isn’t looking at US, He’s looking at YOU. You can be surrounded by people who are praising God, but if you aren’t joining in the exaltation, you will rob God of the glory He deserves.” (1)
*That’s why David pleaded with himself, “Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name!” God deserves boundless praise! So let His praise radiate through every part of your heart.
2. And remember His goodness in your life.
*In vs. 2-5, David remembered God’s goodness in His life:
2. Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits:
3. Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases,
4. Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies,
5. Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
*David was looking back over his life here. He was counting his blessings like God wants us to do. And David said, “Wow! God sure has been good to me! He forgives all my iniquities. He heals all my diseases, He redeems my life from the destruction I deserve! On top of that, the Lord has crowned me with loving kindness and tender mercies, and He has satisfied my mouth with good things, so that my youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”
*“Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits!” God wants us to remember that He is the source of every good thing in our lives.
*Author Alex Haley always kept an unusual picture hanging on his office wall. It was a picture of a turtle on top of a fence post. Sometimes people would ask, “Why is that there?” And Haley would answer, “Every time I write something significant. Every time I read my words and think that they are wonderful, and begin to feel proud of myself. I look at the turtle on top of the fence post and remember that he didn’t get there on his own. He had help.” (2)
*So have we! God wants us to count our blessings, and when we do, we will say, “Wow God! You sure have been good to me!” “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits!” God deserves boundless praise! So remember His goodness in your life.
3. And recite His wonderful ways.
*In vs. 6-13, David begins to talk about the wonderful ways in which God relates to men. In vs. 6, he stresses God’s righteousness: “The Lord executes righteousness And justice for all who are oppressed.” Then in vs. 7, David stresses God’s revelation of Himself: “He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel.”
*In vs. 8-12, David stresses God’s forgiveness:
8. The Lord is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.
9. He will not always strive or (chide) with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever.
10. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor punished us according to our iniquities.
11. For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;
12. As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
*“As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us!” The closest galaxy to our own Milky Way is the Andromeda Galaxy. It’s about as big as ours, 100,000 light years across. And this next-door galaxy is 2 million light years away. But when God took our sins away, He was just getting started when He got to the Andromeda Galaxy! As far as the east is from the west, that’s how far He has removed our transgressions from us!
*But where did they go? There was only one place that they ever could have gone. And that was on Jesus Christ, when He died on the Cross for us. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
*The ultimate forgiveness came at the ultimate cost: The Father gave His only Son to die on the cross for us. But Jesus rose again from the dead! He is alive forever! And God promises total forgiveness to all who trust in Him.
*David stresses the forgiveness of God. Then in vs. 13-14, he stresses the fatherhood of God:
13. As a father pities his children, So the Lord pities those who fear (or reverence) Him.
14. For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.
*When we recognize that God is God, and we are accountable to Him.
-When we realize that we are lost without Him...
-When we realize that He loves us and sent His Son to die for us...
-When we receive His Risen Son as our Lord and Savior...
-Then we are born-again into the family of God, and these great words from 1 John 3:1-2 apply to us:
1. Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.
2. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
*Believers, now we are children of God! Think about the caring relationship every good father has with his children. Our daughter, Katie, turned 23 on Monday. I still have this yellow paper duck she made in kindergarten. You can barely read it now, but on the front it says, “My little yellow ducky is really kind of funny. For when you turn him over, he becomes the Easter bunny.”
*All good dads have things like this, little things that are big to us, because they came from our children. And our Heavenly Father has the same kind of care for His children, only infinitely greater. He cares about the big things and the little things in your life. He cares about everything in your life. “As a father pities his children, So the Lord pities those who fear (or reverence) Him. For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.”
*Praise the Lord! These are just some of God’s wonderful ways. God deserves boundless praise! So recite His wonderful ways.
4. And rely on Him for life.
*In vs. 14-18 David reminds us that our praise must be built on a foundation of faith. There is no praise where there is no faith. But we can trust God to fully overcome all the frailties of this life.
14. For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.
15. As for man, his days are like grass; As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.
16. For the wind passes over it, and it is gone, And its place remembers it no more.
17. But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting On those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children’s children,
18. To such as keep His covenant, And to those who remember His commandments to do them.
*The kind of faith we see in these verses naturally brings praise to our hearts. Do you have this faith? Today Ron, Ed and I went down to Columbia for the funeral of Wilbur Garner -- J.V.’s brother. J.V.’s son James preached the funeral and he shared a story from Bruce Larson, a story of the difference faith makes in our lives.
*Bruce Larson talked about the many people he counseled in New York City, and he said, “Often I would suggest they walk with me from my office down to the RCA Building on Fifth Avenue. In the entrance of that building is a gigantic statue of Atlas, a beautifully proportioned man who, with all his muscles straining, is holding the world upon his shoulders. There he is, the most powerfully built man in the world, and he can barely stand up under this burden.
*‘Now that’s one way to live,’ I would point out to my companion, ‘trying to carry the world on your shoulders. But now come across the street with me.’ On the other side of Fifth Avenue is Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, and there behind the altar is a little (statue) of the boy Jesus, perhaps eight or nine years old, and with no effort he is holding the whole world in one hand.” (3)
*And James Garner asked, “Which side of the street do you want to live on?” Let’s live on the side of faith! Let’s live on the side where Jesus has the whole world in His hand. That will put praise in our hearts.
*God deserves boundless praise! So rely on Him for life.
5. And help His praise reach every place in creation.
*In vs. 19-22, we see David’s great desire and God’s great desire that His praise should echo from every corner of creation:
19. The Lord has established His throne in heaven, And His kingdom rules over all.
20. Bless the Lord, you His angels, Who excel in strength, who do His word, Heeding the voice of His word.
21. Bless the Lord, all you His hosts, You ministers of His, who do His pleasure.
22. Bless the Lord, all His works, In all places of His dominion. Bless the Lord, O my soul!
*God wants His praise to echo from every corner of creation. We hear this again in Psalm 148:
1. Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens; Praise Him in the heights!
2. Praise Him, all His angels; Praise Him, all His hosts!
3. Praise Him, sun and moon; Praise Him, all you stars of light!
4. Praise Him, you heavens of heavens, And you waters above the heavens!
5. Let them praise the name of the Lord, For He commanded and they were created.
6. He has also established them forever and ever; He has made a decree which shall not pass away.
7. Praise the Lord from the earth, You great sea creatures and all the depths;
8. Fire and hail, snow and clouds; Stormy wind, fulfilling His word;
9. Mountains and all hills; Fruitful trees and all cedars;
10. Beasts and all cattle; Creeping things and flying fowl;
11. Kings of the earth and all peoples; Princes and all judges of the earth;
12. Both young men and maidens; Old men and children.
13. Let them praise the name of the Lord, For His name alone is exalted; His glory is above the earth and heaven.
14. And He has exalted the horn of His people, The praise of all His saints Of the children of Israel, A people near to Him. Praise the Lord!
*God deserves boundless praise! -- Let’s praise the Lord right now.
1. SermonCentral sermon “The Path of Praise” by Jerry Shirley - Psalm 34:1-7 - gbcdecatur.org/sermons
2. SermonCentral illustration - SOURCE: Melvin Newland
3. SermonCentral illustration - SOURCE: Bruce Larson, Believe and Belong.
