The Revival Of Praise & Worship Series

Psalm 145:1–21 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. 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. 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. 15 The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. 16 You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing. 17 The LORD is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works. 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. 20 The LORD preserves all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy. 21 My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD, and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever. (ESV)

As you can imagine, right now there is a great debate among orthodox Christians about meeting for worship. Some point to the public health issues and the Biblical command to obey governing ordinances in temporarily restricting meeting. Others point to the biblical directives to not neglect corporate worship and Jesus’ command to render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and unto God what is God’s. Regardless of what side people fall on or along the spectrum, everyone will agree that something is missing. The corporate body of Christ physically together in worship is missing. People are missing interacting with one another and many of the corporate activities that we have been accustomed to are missing.

Psalm 145 is an alphabetic acrostic, though in most Hebrew manuscripts but the strophe commencing with the Hebrew letter nun is missing (v. 13b). However, one Hebrew manuscript contains it, as do the Dead Sea Scrolls and early translations such as the Syriac and Greek. Some other later versions, including Scottish Gaelic, have also included it. The final section of Davidic psalms (Ps. 138–145) is concluded by a song of praise in Psalm 145 that extols the universal kingship of God and his gracious and just provision for all his creatures. Psalm 145 is the capstone of all the acrostic, or alphabetic, psalms (see also 9–10; 25; 34; 37; 111–112; 119). Like four other acrostic psalms (9–10; 25; 34), this one is incomplete: the Hebrew alphabet having twenty-two letters, only twenty-one verses appearing in this psalm (Hindson, E. E., & Kroll, W. M. (Eds.). (1994). KJV Bible Commentary (p. 1185). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.).Among all the psalms with titles, this is the only one that uses the word ‘praise’ (Heb., tehillâh), which word also reappears in the final verse (‘in praise of the LORD’, tehillat yhwh). In heaven, we shall praise the Lord forever and forever, but now is the time to get prepared as we praise Him from day to day. No matter how dark and difficult the day may be, there is always something for which we can praise the Lord—even if it is only that the situation is not always this bad! (Wiersbe, W. W. (2004). Be exultant (1st ed., p. 210). Colorado Springs, CO: Cook Communications Ministries.)

This may seem like a strange time to talk about corporate worship when we are prohibited from corporately coming together. The question is how much of a loss is this to you? Times where the people of God were in exile, not able to worship together in the temple, were times of lament. The most dangerous reaction to the present restrictions is to say that this is just fine for I prefer just worshipping from my couch. Just a cursory look at the “one another” expectations that God has for our corporate body show that we can’t do them apart. When God has transformed a heart and brought revival through His people there is a change in their thoughts, language, actions, but most specifically in their worship. Through The Revival of Praise and Worship, God and His actions are the language of a people’s praise, and the worshipful delight of their hearts.