Today you get a linguistics lesson. Those of you who come here all the time know that I don’t stand up here and pontificate on Greek participles and Hebrew verbs every week. First I’m not smart enough, second it’s boring. But today you’re going to hear about Hebrew verbs, because it’s essential to what the Scripture is saying to us this morning.
In English we have what we call the imperative mood. This is how drill sergeants form sentences: "Do pushups!" "Run!"
And it’s also how parents form sentences: "Eat your Broccoli!"
And even how wives sometimes form sentences: "Pick up your underwear!"
The thing these all have in common is the person being addressed. In English the imperative mood is only found in 2d person. "You do this or that."
One of the things that makes the Hebrew language interesting is that the imperative mood can also be used in the first person. For example I can give myself a command to "Do Pushups" or "Run" or Pickup my underwear" of course I never would, but you get the point.
Now it’s not that we English speakers don’t understand the concept of first person imperative, we do this all the time--especially when we’re trying to convince ourselves to do something: hold a girls hand for the first time, bungi jump, go on a diet, etc.
We give ourselves commands, it’s just that the language doesn’t support it. Well the Hebrew language does. And heres where the language lesson intersects our text: In the 103d Psalm David repeatedly gives himself an order, What is the order? "Praise the Lord."
I’d like to suggest that this is an example that we need to follow. Oh I don’t doubt that we give the Lord thanks--this week in fact we set aside special time to do so. But if David is using the first person imperative here, perhaps he’s at a place where he doesn’t necessarily feel like thanking or praising the Lord. He says to himself, "do it anyway"
Whether we feel like it or not we need to tell ourselves to praise the Lord. There’s the sermon right there. In every circumstance praise the Lord. Now what I’d like to do is apply it to three circumstances of our lives.
This isn’t the way I normally form a sermon outline, and I’ll admit that this morning’s outline doesn’t necessarily flow from the text. But I felt pretty strongly as I worked on the outline that the Lord was saying to do it this way, and I’ve already given away the bottom line of what I believe the text is saying to us. So let’s look at three circumstances where we need to put it into practice.
I will praise the Lord when times are...
I. Hard
When life is not a bowl of cherries, when difficulty and doubts loom nearby, we need to remember that we serve a God, as verse 4 says...
v. 4 ...who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you
with love and compassion,
When we find it hard to identify the hand of God working in our life we need to remember as verse 6 says...
v. 6 The LORD works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.
When are souls ring hollow within us and we feel as though there is no one who knows or cares, we need to command ourselves to remember as verse 11 says..
v. 11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
Great is his love for those who fear him;
"In 1636, amid the darkness of the Thirty Years’ War, a German pastor, Martin Rinkart, is said to have buried five thousand of his parishioners in one year, and average of fifteen a day. His parish was ravaged by war, death, and economic disaster. In the heart of that darkness, with the cries of fear outside his window, he sat down and wrote this table grace for his children:
Now thank we all our God
With heart and hands and voices;
Who wondrous things has done,
In whom His world rejoices.
Who, from our mother’s arms,
Hath led us on our way
With countless gifts of love
And still is ours today.
Here was a man who knew thanksgiving comes from love of God, not from outward circumstances. [Don Maddox]
Some of you here today have said good-bye recently to loved ones who are now serving their country far from home, you need to follow David’s example today and say "Praise the Lord, O my soul!" Some of you have recently lost those near to you, either through death or other difficult circumstances, you need to learn to say "Praise the Lord O my soul" Others of you are facing turmoil of other kinds, in your jobs, in your families, in school, wherever trouble lies around you, if you would define the circumstances of your life as hard you need to say to yourself "Praise the Lord, O my soul!"
But it’s not just when life is difficult that we need to give ourselves this first person imperative, it’s also when life is...
II. Ho-Hum
Sometimes when life is just cruising along as normal, when nothing spectacular is happening either for the good or the bad, we can forget the need to praise the Lord, that’s why David says in verse 2...
v. 2 Praise the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
When it seems like life is just plain old, plain old, we could use a reminder that plain old is a lot better than it could, than it should be because as it says in verse 10...
v. 10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
There’s a Chinese legend about A group of elderly, cultured gentlemen who met often to exchange wisdom and drink tea. Each host tried to find the finest and most costly varieties, to create exotic blends that would arouse the admiration of his guests.
When the most venerable and respected of the group entertained, he served his tea with unprecedented ceremony, measuring the leaves from a golden box. The assembled connoisseurs praised this exquisite tea. The host smiled and said, "The tea you have found so delightful is the same tea our peasants drink. I hope it will be a reminder to all that the good things in life are not necessarily the rarest or the most costly. [K. Hughes, Liberating Ministry From The Success Syndrome, Tyndale, 1988, p. 133.]
It can be easy to forget the benefits of the Lord in the normal circumstances of life, but that’s dangerous, we need to be reminded that what we consider ordinary has been made extraordinary because of what Christ has done for us and we need to say: Praise the Lord, O my soul.
Finally, when the circumstances of our life are neither hard nor ho-hum but rather genuinely happy we need to praise the Lord.
III. Happy
When things are going well, sometimes it’s easy to congratulate ourselves and forget who the author of those good things is. That is the Lord, as verse 5 says...
v. 5 who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
And when we’re feeling pretty good about ourselves and all that we’ve accomplished it would be good for us to realize that God knows the real deal about us, as verse 14 says...
v. 14 [for he] knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.
One day the longtime pastor of Moody Memorial church in Chicago, H.A. Ironside, was in a crowded restaurant. Just as Ironside was about to begin his meal, a man approached and asked if he could join him. Ironside invited him to have a seat. Then, as was his custom, Ironside bowed his head in prayer. When he opened his eyes, the other man asked, "Do you have a headache?" Ironside replied, "No, I don’t." The other man asked, "Well, is there something wrong with your food?" Ironside replied, "No, I was simply thanking God as I always do before I eat."
The man said, "Oh, you’re one of those, are you? Well, I want you to know I never give thanks. I earn my money by the sweat of my brow and I don’t have to give thanks to anybody when I eat. I just start right in!"
Ironside said, "Yes, you’re just like my dog. That’s what he does too!" [Ray Stedman, Folk Psalms of Faith.]
Sometimes when life is going well we’re tempted to plunge ahead like dogs, never thanking the Lord who is the source of our blessings. When you’re celebrating your recent promotion, when you’ve been selected for special honor, when you’re making wedding plans. Don’t forget the first person imperative "Praise the Lord, O my soul.
Whether life is hard, Ho-Hum or Happy. As the Psalmist says: Praise the Lord O my Soul and forget not all His benefits!
