The Revival Of Praise & Worship Series

Today is Super bowl Sunday. There is no bigger sports phenomena in the world for a combination of viewership, marketing, advertising and hype. As excited as people get for sporting events, it’s no exaggeration that there are Super bowl fanatics. Celebrating their favourite team, and player, they gather together today with their friends, and with great enthusiasm for this special event.

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.)

People celebrate what they are most excited about. What runs through our minds and what is shown in our enthusiasm, shows what we delight in. Regardless of what we profess, we show what or whom we most value. It’s not hard to listen to our words, see in our enthusiasm and watch our activities to understand our value system. 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 is the language of a people’s praise, and the worshipful delight of their hearts.

In Psalm 145, we see The Revival of Praise & Worship through the adoration of 1) God’s Greatness (Psalm 145:1–6) 2) God’s Goodness (Psalm 145:7–10) 3) God’s Government (Psalm 145:11–13) and 4) God’s Grace (Psalm 145:14–21).

The Revival of Praise & Worship through the adoration of:

1) God’s Greatness (Psalm 145:1–6)

Psalm 145:1–6 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. (ESV)

The language which opens this song of praise concerning the great king and his kingdom. With the expression: “I will”, each member of the congregation pledges (themselves) to this (Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (p. 1122). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.).

• Worship begins with every person committing themselves to recognizing and humbling themselves before God. It is not something a leader does for them, or the collective effect, or even something Christ can do for you, but what He enables for you to do. He enables us to worship and praise my God and King.

To extol Him means to exalt or bless Him. In other words, to declare the praises and honors belonging to Him (Beeke, J. R., Barrett, M. P. V., & Bilkes, G. M. (Eds.). (2014). The Reformation Heritage KJV Study Bible (p. 877). Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage Books.) At times when God was praised by his people, language such as that in these psalms (and David’s doxology in 1 Chron. 29:10–13) provided a reservoir from which appropriate expressions could be drawn. What does this ultimate King deserve? What can we give him when we come into his presence? It was usual to bring kings gifts, but there is no mere thing that we can give God that God does not possess already. Everything is already his. The only thing we can give is our praise, or worship. To extol and bless His name (Boice, J. M. (2005). Psalms 107–150: An Expositional Commentary (p. 1250). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.). To praise God’s name means responding to His revealed character; in this psalm (v:1, 11–13) (Lennox, S. J. (1999). Psalms: a Bible commentary in the Wesleyan tradition (p. 423). Indianapolis, IN: Wesleyan Publishing House.)