David wrote a beautiful psalm – psalm 145.
• It is an acrostic psalm, with each line starting with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet, in alphabetical order. There should be 22 and the psalm has 21 because the second half of verse 13 is a new alphabet.
• We have 8 psalms written this way. Psalm 119 (longest) is a famous one, where each group of eight sentences start with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
Some regard this as his crown jewel of praise, because it’s the last in the Psalms that has David’s name on it, and it’s titled “A psalm of praise” (once).
• David praises God and acknowledges His role in his life. This psalm expresses in 7 different ways God’s role in our lives today.
(1) David acknowledges GOD’S POSITION in life (vv.1-2)
1 I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever.
2 Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever.
David is a king but He exalts the Lord as “my God the King”.
• The king calling another King. God is the King of kings. No one is above David but God is.
• This is God’s rightful place in our lives. And it places us in the rightful place, recognizing Him as the Lord of our lives.
He is worthy to be praised, every day and forever, David says.
• “Every day I will praise you” shows that David spent time with the Lord daily.
• And this is the only activity that we are doing today that will last forever, in eternity to come.
• It is the most natural thing to do, if we truly know Him.
• C.S. Lewis: “We praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment. It is not out of compliment that lovers keep on telling one another how beautiful they are; the delight is incomplete till it is expressed.”
True fulfillment comes in worshipping God. Apart from that, we struggle with the frustrations and emptiness of life.
• Let’s give Him a thought every day, and honour His role in our lives.
(2) David acknowledges GOD’S POWER (vv.3-6)
3 Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.
4 One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts.
5 They will speak of the glorious splendour of your majesty, and I will meditate on your wonderful works.
6 They will tell of the power of your awesome works, and I will proclaim your great deeds.
God is not dormant. He is actively working.
• Paul says in Eph 3:20 that God is “able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us.”
• If that is the case, then His works must be noticeable. We are to meditate on God’s wonderful works, to observe and think about His works.
Just read from Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations about the marvels of God’s creation:
• One Second of Sun’s Energy - The sun radiates more energy in one second than man has used since the beginning of civilization. In one second, a typical quasar throws out enough energy to supply all the earth’s electrical needs for billions of years.
• No Scale Model of the Universe - Anything may be reproduced on scale model except the universe. The impossibility of making such a model accurately is shown by the fact that, if the earth were represented by a ball only one inch in diameter, the nearest star, Alpha Centauri, would have to be placed nearly 82,000km away. (The circumference of the earth at the equator is 40,075.16 km).
Give a thought, and you will be amazed. David says, “His greatness no one can fathom.”
This is only part of David’s emphasis. Note what he says further.
• “One generation will COMMEND God’s works to another, they will TELL of God’s mighty acts. They will SPEAK of the glorious splendor of God’s majesty… they will TELL of the power of God’s awesome works, and I will PROCLAIM God’s great deeds.”
• It must be communicated; they must be passed on. Let the next generation see the attractiveness of God! How? Through us!
J. I. Packer: “This is where most of us go astray. Our thoughts of God are not great enough; we fail to reckon with the reality of His limitless wisdom and power. Because we ourselves are limited and weak, we imagine that at some points God is too, and find it hard to believe that He is not. We think of God as too much like we are.”
Bill Hybels has this wooden block “God Is Able” placed at the place where he prays. He says, “I value the reminder, because it’s an exercise in futility to pray if I don’t think God is able to answer.”
• You’ve got to believe it and own it, he says. A person who truly believes this refuses to doubt God. Until you own it, you will be a faint-hearted pray-er.
• If you believe in a sub-standard God, the next generation will catch on from you and soon they too will believe in a water-downed Gospel and an inferior God.
(3) David acknowledges GOD’S PERSONALITY (vv.7-9)
7 They will celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness.
8 The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.
9 The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.
You can almost sense that David is running out of words to describe God.
• Look at the words he used: abundant goodness, righteousness, gracious, compassionate, slow to anger, rich in love, good to all, has compassion.
• He says they will ‘celebrate and joyfully sing’ (v.7) because of WHO He is.
J. B. Philips wrote a book YOUR GOD IS TOO SMALL, and spent the first half of the book (13 chapters) tearing down the misconceptions about God! Some of the chapters are ‘resident policeman, grand old man, God-in-a-box, managing director, second-hand God, projected image…” It may seem to some that a great deal of time has been spent in ‘clearing the ground’, but it is absolutely necessary. Else in our minds, we have a sub-standard God.
(4) David acknowledges GOD’S PRE-EMINENCE (vv.10-13a)
10 All you have made will praise you, O LORD; your saints will extol you.
11 They will tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might,
12 so that all men may know of your mighty acts and the glorious splendour of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations.
That’s the security we have. God has no rivals, not even the devil.
• For God’s Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom. If this is not certain, then we have every reason to be afraid today. Nothing is guaranteed for us.
• But His Kingdom is an everlasting one, therefore our security is eternal.
(5) David acknowledges GOD’S PROVISION (vv.13b-16)
The LORD is faithful to all His promises and loving toward all he has made.
14 The LORD upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time.
16 You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.
Having said so much about God’s greatness and majesty (it almost comes across as if He is distant and aloof).
• David makes a sudden change in perspective, and tells us that God cares even for the very basic needs of man.
• This Mighty God cares about the one who has fallen, and one who has no food.
• Such concerns seem small and insignificant in the light of what has been said before. But the fact is, this is our God. He is as personal as that.
• He “opens His hand to satisfy you”. He is so willing to help you.
(6) David acknowledges GOD’S PRESENCE (vv.17-19)
17 The LORD is righteous in all his ways and loving toward all he has made.
18 The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.
19 He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them.
While God is the Lord of the universe, He is also very near to us.
• God is NEAR to all who call on Him. He is always there but we always feel His presence. Those who draw close will feel Him.
• It is good that God gives us things; but what is more important is that God gives us Himself. His presence is everything.
• You want to experience His presence? PRAY and He is there. Not that He is distant if we do not pray, but that we are distant if we do not pray.
EQUAL RIGHTS, SAME PRIVILEGES
A pilot frequently flew his small private plane in and out of Toronto International Airport. A pastor friend asked him if he ever encountered problems taking off and landing a small craft at an airport that was dominated by so many large jets.
He said, "My plane may be small, but I have the same rights, the same privileges, and the same access to that airport as anyone else - even the jumbo jets!"
The pastor thought about it and said, “Well, it's the same with prayer, when we approach to the throne of grace. No matter who we are or how small we are in comparison with others, or how low our station in life, we take a back seat to no one. No one is given priority treatment.”
In a world that offers preferential treatment to the wealthy, the famous, and the VIPs, it's encouraging to know that every child of God has equal access to the Father in heaven.
• I’m sure it feels great and exciting to be standing next to someone great, like the President. How much more special it is for us to be in His presence. Pray, and that’s will be our honour.
• "The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth." (v.18)
(7) David acknowledges GOD’S PRESERVATION (vv.20-21)
20 The LORD watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.
21 My mouth will speak in praise of the LORD. Let every creature praise his holy name for ever and ever.
As His children, God gives us this ‘guarantee’ or assurance that we are protected.
• You can have the confidence that God is watching over you today, and all the way until we see Him again.
• Nothing in the universe matters to Him as much as what is going on in your life this day! You believe this?
• We are the only creation in all of God’s massive creation that is made in His likeness. We have His mark.
You don’t have to pester Him to get His attention. You don’t have to beg Him to listen to you, or try to convince Him that you mean business.
• In fact, it is the other way around. We need convincing. We need to be convinced that God is listening to us and that He is willing to help.
Let’s stay connected with God and acknowledge His role in our life.
• Recognize His Position – He is the Lord of my life.
• Recognize His Power – He is my ever-present help in times of trouble.
• Recognize His Personality – He is good and that will never change.
• Recognize His Pre-eminence – I are fully secured in Him, He is in control.
• Recognize His Provision – I have no lack, need not worry.
• Recognize His Presence – I trust Him to be there for me.
• Recognize His Preservation – all the way till the end of my journey.
