Psalms 145-147
Today, let’s focus on Psalm 145 together.
Can you believe that there are days that we forget to praise God? I mean, this happens far too often in my own life! As I read this psalm today, my spirit was filled with praise for God, for who He is and all that He has done.
What is it that keeps us from praising God? Business, laziness, apathy, complacency, familiarity, jadedness?
Do you realize that the creator of the universe loves you? The God who holds the stars in place, who tells the oceans where to stop, the winds where to blow, the mountains where to stand, loves you and cares for you!
David begins this psalm with, in verse 1, a personal commitment to praise a relational God. He says “I WILL extol you, MY God and King.” When we come to a place of knowing God relationally and personally, our desire to praise Him should grow!
I love David’s commitment and intentionality of continuous praise to God on a daily basis, “He says I WILL praise…forever and ever…every day I WILL bless you!” What if we praised God every day for who He is and all that He has done? This psalm is said to have been read 3 times daily by Israelites as a psalm of praise!
This is actually known as an acrostic psalm, which means it uses every letter of the Hebrew alphabet. It is said that this was done for easy memorization; it also shows that God is worthy of praise from A to Z! I tried this, this morning. I tried to go through every letter of the alphabet and say something God is worthy to be praised for with each letter! It was a fun exercise and by the end I was just in awe of God. (If anyone can think of a “Q” or an “X” let me know!)
The psalm then goes on and lists all the reasons that God is worthy to be praised! It begins with David’s commitment to praise the Lord, but then it invites all the saints to praise the Lord beginning in verse 10 and then ends with a universal call for every living thing to, “bless his holy name forever.”
One thing I love is the recognition in verse 4 that “one generation shall commend your works to another.” As we praise the Lord for who He is and all that He has done, our children, and our children’s children will praise the Lord! A culture that forgets to praise the Lord will quickly drift from the Lord, and praise other “gods” other than the one true God who is worthy of all praise!
Go through this psalm and circle all the reasons that God is worthy to be praised! May your heart be filled with praise today as you read this psalm! Can you close your eyes for a minute and picture our church in the midst of a culture that praises so many things other than God? Now, picture our church with our hands lifted, shouting praise to God, lifting up our voices in song to the one who is worthy to be praised! Now, picture the global church singing praise to the Lord!
Look at verse 13, it says, “Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations.” Think about the Lord’s prayer in Matthew 6, “Your kingdom come…” God is establishing his kingdom, through salvation, in the hearts of man and His kingdom is filled with praise to the King of Kings and lord of Lords…who is our creator, sustainer, salvation, and Lord!