Psalms of Praise

The end of the book of Psalms ends with a crescendo of praise to God for his character and his mighty deeds. In this message, Pastor Ryan walks through Psalm 145 to show how we should be like David and look for all the reasons we can praise and worship our God.

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Message:

We’re nearing the end of our walk through the Psalms Greatest Hits and any Greatest Hits album must include the culmination of the book. So today I want to emphasize Psalms 145-150, the Psalms of Praise. Psalm 145 is titled “A Psalm of Praise,” and Psalms 146-150 all begin and end with praises to God. This sets these songs apart from all those that come before them. They encourage all creation to praise, worship and adore God for who He is and what He has done.

The Praise Psalms repeat over and over how amazing God is. They’re similar to a teen-age love letter – you remember the letters you used to write to your crush – or maybe the ones you and your spouse wrote to each other in early years. You told them how amazing they were and how much you liked/loved them.

I’m sure you noticed I said “early years.” Most of us have seen how the frequency of our little notes or cards wanes as years go by. I’m possibly the worst of all husbands! I can’t remember the last time I bought Michelle a card. I usually scramble on “the day of,” find a blank sheet of paper, fold it in half, write some cliché on the front, write “I love you” on the inside, and scribble my name. (Nothing says love and admiration like a doodle that looks like it took 15 seconds to put together!)

Please don’t take this the wrong way. I love my wife, and I’m sure you love your spouse and family even if the note writing isn’t as frequent as it used to be. But there is something special about taking the time to express your feelings – to share how thankful you are for that person and how much you appreciate them. We understand the importance of doing this in our relationships because we also know how much it means to us when we receive that kind of message.

Several months ago, as I was teaching the youth about how we connect with God, I realized the book The 5 Love Languages actually applies perfectly to our relationship with God. Here’s how our spiritual life fits the categories of the book:

• Words of Affirmation – Praise and Worship;
• Quality Time – Prayer and Devotional Time;
• Giving Gifts – Tithes and Offerings;
• Acts of Service – Ministry, Missions and Evangelization;
• Physical Touch – Communion and Fellowship with the Body of Christ.

Psalm 145 is the last of the psalms written by David. Notice the words he used to affirm, worship, praise, thank, and appreciate God for who He is and what He has done (as based in the ESV Bible translation):

• “Exalt” (v. 1: to tell how great God is); 
• “Bless” (vv. 1, 2, to speak well of God for his generosity); 
• “Praise” (vv. 2, 3: to glorify God for his magnificent qualities); 
• “Commend” and “Declare” (v. 4: to speak highly of God);
• “Meditate” (v. 5);
• “Speak” (v. 6);
• “Pour forth” (v. 7);
• “Sing aloud” (v. 7);
• “Give thanks” (v. 10).

The author has utilized all the vocabulary he can muster to describe this great activity of praising God for His greatness and goodness.

The Theology of Psalms As Seen in Psalm 145

As we have spent several weeks walking through many of the famous Psalms, one thing that stands out is how complete of an understanding of God one can form simply by reading through this songbook of the Israelites. Notice how many of the themes we have covered in the previous messages are part of this Psalm, and are given as reason for praising and worshipping God.

God’s Reputation:

¹ I will exalt you, my God the King;

I will praise your name forever and ever.

² Every day I will praise you

and extol your name forever and ever.

³ Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;

his greatness no one can fathom. 

⁴ One generation commends your works to another;

they tell of your mighty acts. 

⁵ They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty—

and I will meditate on your wonderful works.

⁶ They tell of the power of your awesome works—

and I will proclaim your great deeds.

⁷ They celebrate your abundant goodness

and joyfully sing of your righteousness.

You may remember our study of the reputation of God in Psalm 8. That’s exactly where Psalm 145 begins also. The Israelites were to pass down the stories of God’s mighty works so each generation would fall in love with the power and glory of their God.

The Love and Mercy of God:

 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. 

When we looked at the Imprecatory Psalms last week (those difficult passages of curses to bash in their enemies’ teeth and to dash infants on the rocks) I explained that it’s inaccurate to say the God of the Old Testament is mean and cruel while Jesus in the New Testament is all love. Here in Psalm 145 we see how the Israelites recognized God’s faithful love and mercy. (However, before the psalm is over, we will also see His righteous vengeance.)

The Kingdom Focus:

¹⁰ All your works praise you, Lord; 

your faithful people extol you. 

¹¹ They tell of the glory of your kingdom 

and speak of your might, 

¹² so that all people may know of your mighty acts 

and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. 

¹³ Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, 

and your dominion endures through all generations. 

Here the psalmist shifts to a focus on God’s Kingdom. Remember that Psalm 72 spoke of the perfect kingdom described by Solomon but fulfilled in Jesus. In Psalm 145 we see that God’s everlasting kingdom will triumph far beyond the kings of the ancient world and is now ruled by a righteous and eternal king, King Jesus.

Faithful Provision and Care:

The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises 

 and faithful in all he does. 

¹⁴ The Lord upholds all 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. 

¹⁷ The Lord is righteous in all his ways 

and faithful in all he does. 

¹⁸ The Lord is near to all who call on him, 

to all who call on him in truth. 

Psalm 23 showed Jesus as our Good Shepherd, who leads us to green pastures and quiet waters. He protects us as we walk through the valley of the shadow of death. He prepares everything for us and ultimately makes sure we arrive safely at our heavenly home. Psalm 145 shows exactly the same things: He is helping those who fall, giving food in due season, and satisfying our needs and desires.

Two Paths:

¹⁹ He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;

he hears their cry and saves them.

²⁰ The Lord watches over all who love him,

but all the wicked he will destroy.

We launched this series with Psalm 1, where two paths are described: the path of the righteous and that of the wicked. In Psalm 145 we again see that there is not just one path that leads everyone to God. The psalmist makes it very clear that there are two ways with two outcomes.

The people who fear Him, who see Jesus as both Savior and Lord – as the one to whom we submit our lives – will have our desires fulfilled and our cries heard. We will be preserved. But as we have seen throughout the Psalms, God is righteous and just! Love is not love if there are no consequences for the wicked. As we saw last week, we leave judgment to God and keep seeking for our enemies to turn from their wicked ways and experience the grace and mercy of God.

Our Response is to Praise the Lord

²¹ My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord. 

Let every creature praise his holy name 

for ever and ever.

The psalmist has shown us God’s goodness, His love, His mercy, His glorious reputation, His Kingdom, His provision and care, His righteousness, and His justice. The conclusion is that HE IS WORTHY OF PRAISE!

He deserves our worship, our honor and our adoration because there is no one like Him! He alone provides for us so completely that our every desire is truly satisfied. Everyone is looking for that ONE THING that will satisfy them. (In fact, I often find myself looking for just one more thing to bring me joy.) But that is the world trying to deceive us into taking our eyes off the ONE who deserves our everything!

Worship is for Our Good:

Some people look at these psalms and think God is some sort of egomaniac who makes people bow down and do all these things to satisfy His own need for approval. However, here’s what we need to know: our praise and worship of God is actually for our good. God has the whole of creation singing His praise every day when the sun rises and the lightning flashes and the baby bird pops out of its shell. God doesn’t NEED anything from us!

Have you ever given a gift to someone who didn’t seem to appreciate it? That’s irritating for the giver of the gift, no doubt; but it says a great deal about the heart of the one who received the gift. They don’t value what we offered. Maybe they think they deserved it or that it isn’t as good as something else they wanted. It points to a heart issue.

When we, as the people of God, fail to praise Him for the provision and care He gives us – for the incredible creation He has placed us in to rule and reign, for the guidance He provides – it points to a heart issue inside of us. It means that we have either stopped recognizing the immense value of the gift or that we have become entitled and selfish and think we deserve His gifts.

The act of praise and worship reorients our hearts. It reminds us of the goodness of God and forces us to name all the ways God is good and faithful. It pulls us out of our entitled, self-centered rut and centers us back on the One who has provided everything for us. As a love language, when we speak or sing words of praise, we rekindle our love for the One who first loved us.

Today’s message is a simple one: be a people who praise the Lord!

While you may have stopped writing sappy love notes to your spouse years ago, never stop speaking and singing praise to your God. (And here’s some free advice: while you might not write notes anymore, don’t stop telling your spouse of your love!)

Our words have power. Yes, God wants to hear our adoration of Him; but, more than that, we need to worship Him! Otherwise our hearts wander and we find something else, of far lesser value, to worship.

To reorient your heart to God, make it a practice to spend time with Him each day and come to church each Sunday.  This will remind you of why He is worthy of praise. You will remember the incredible value of all the gifts He has given you: salvation, forgiveness, peace, joy, hope – the list can go on and on. The more you take the time to think through all the reasons to praise God, just like David did in Psalm 145, the more you will fall in love with Him all over again.

We conclude our study today by praising God, with the reading of the final psalm, Psalm 150:

¹ Praise the Lord.

  Praise God in his sanctuary; 

  praise him in his mighty heavens. 

² Praise him for his acts of power; 

  praise him for his surpassing greatness. 

³ Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, 

  praise him with the harp and lyre, 

⁴ praise him with timbrel and dancing, 

  praise him with the strings and pipe, 

⁵ praise him with the clash of cymbals, 

  praise him with resounding cymbals. 

⁶ Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. 

  Praise the Lord. 

Psalm 150:1-6