Psalm 146:7-10

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/9/2012 8:39:51 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                Focus:  Ps. 146:7-10

 

            Message of the verses:  We will continue to look at the 146^th Psalm remembering what Dr. Wiersbe wrote at the end of his introductory commentary on this psalm:  “The author of this psalm understood that God was not just a part of life but the heart of life.”

 

            Life Means Loving God (vv.7-9):  “7 Who executes justice for the oppressed; Who gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free. 8  The LORD opens the eyes of the blind; The LORD raises up those who are bowed down; The LORD loves the righteous; 9  The LORD protects the strangers; He supports the fatherless and the widow, But He thwarts the way of the wicked.”

 

            1 John 4:19 says, “We love because he first loved us.”  Now here are some verses that state that God loves:  “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, (Eph. 5:25).”  “"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:16).”  “"Because He loved your fathers, therefore He chose their descendants after them. And He personally brought you from Egypt by His great power, (Deu. 4:37).”  “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Rom. 5:8).”  “"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me (Gal. 2:20).”

            As we look at the verses from Psalm 146 we see things in them that Jesus Christ did while He was on the earth demonstrating His love, for He opened the eyes of the blind, (John 9), He set the prisoners free from sin by dying on the cross to pay for their sins. 

            When we looked at 1John 4:19 we saw that the only way that we have the ability to truly love God and others is because He first of all loved us.  Let’s look at some more verses from 1 John 4:  “20 If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also.”  John is saying that because God first loved us we are to demonstrate that love, by loving others.  Dr. Wiersbe writes, “if we truly love God, we will love those who need God’s help and will do all we can to help them (1John 3:10-24; James 2:14-26).  Living in love means more than enjoying God’s love for us.  It also means sharing God’s love with others.”

            Life Means Reigning with God (v. 10):  “10 The LORD will reign forever, Your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the LORD!”

 

            There is a verse in the book of Ephesians that states, “and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Eph. 2:6).”  This verse states that believers are now seated with Christ in the heavenly places, and this has been a mystery to me, but I do believe it.  John MacArthur writes the following from his study Bible:  “The tense of ‘raised’ and ‘seated’ indicates that these are immediate and direct results of salvation.  Now only is the believer dead to sin and alive to righteousness through Christ’s resurrection, but he also enjoys his Lord’s exaltation and shares in His preeminent glory.  In the heavenly places:  The supernatural realm where God reigns.  In 3:10 and 6:12, however, it also refers to the supernatural sphere where Satan temporarily rules.  This spiritual realm is where believers’ blessings are (cf. 1:3), THEIR INHERITANCE IS (1Pe. 1:4), their affections should be (Col. 3:3), and where they enjoy fellowship with the Lord.  It is the realm from which all divine relations has come and where all praise and petitions go.”

            Why is this important?  Well we may think that the time when we begin to reign with the Lord will be when we get to heaven, but the time when we reign with Him has begun the moment that we have been saved.  God uses believers to do His work on earth and that means that we all have ministries to accomplish for the Lord, and that is how we are reigning with Him here on earth.

            The psalmist finishes this psalm by telling us to Praise the Lord.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I have understood that I have a ministry for the Lord, to do work for Him that He has planned for me in eternity past (Eph. 2:10), but it was not so clear that this ministry meant reigning with Him.  It is good to learn things and to put them in to practice. 

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Contentment, and to be transformed continue to be my steps of faith.

 

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 130:1-8

 

            11 Out of the depths I have cried to You, O LORD. 2  Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive To the voice of my supplications. 3  If You, LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? 4  But there is forgiveness with You, That You may be feared.

    5 I wait for the LORD, my soul does wait, And in His word do I hope. 6  My soul waits for the Lord More than the watchmen for the morning; Indeed, more than the watchmen for the morning. 7  O Israel, hope in the LORD; For with the LORD there is lovingkindness, And with Him is abundant redemption. 8  And He will redeem Israel From all his iniquities.

 

12/9/2012 9:26:53 AM

Psalm 146:1-6

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/8/2012 9:17:17 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                            Focus:  Psalm 146 PT-1

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                           Reference:  Psalm 146:1-6

 

            Message of the verses:  We will continue to do as we have been doing through most of the book of Psalms by looking at several introductions by different Bible Commentators in order to better understand the psalm that we are about to study.  In the introduction to the last psalm (145) we learned that all the remaining six psalms would be considered “praise psalms.”

 

            “This and all the rest of the psalms that follow begin and end with Hallelujah, a word which puts much of God’s praise into a little compass; for in it we praise him by his name Jah, the contraction of Jehovah. In this excellent psalm of praise,

 

   I. The psalmist engages himself to praise God, #Ps 146:1, 2.

 

   II. He engages others to trust in him, which is one necessary and acceptable way of praising him.

 

1. He shows why we should not trust in men, #Ps 146:3, 4.

 

2. Why we should trust in God (#Ps 146:5), because of his power in the kingdom of nature (#Ps 146:6), his dominion in the kingdom of providence (#Ps 146:7), and his grace in the kingdom of the Messiah (#Ps 146:8,9), that everlasting kingdom (#Ps 146:10), to which many of the Jewish writers refer this psalm, and to which therefore we should have an eye, in the singing of it.”  (Matthew Henry)

 

            “DIVISION: & etc. We are now among the Hallelujahs. The rest of our journey lies through the Delectable Mountains. All is praise to the close of the book. The key is high pitched: the music is upon the high sounding cymbals. O for a heart full of joyful gratitude, that we may run, and leap, and glorify God, even as these Psalms do.

 

      Alexander thinks that this song may be regarded as composed of two equal parts; in the first we see the happiness of those who trust in God, and not in man (#Ps 146:1-5), while the second gives the reason drawn from the Divine perfections (#Ps 146:5-10). This might suffice for our purpose; but as there is really no break at all, we will keep it entire. It is "one pearl," a sacred censer of holy incense, pouring forth one sweet perfume.”  (Charles H. Spurgeon)

 

            “The last five psalms are the ‘Hallelujah Psalms’ that focus our attention on praising the Lord.  This psalm begins with a vow to praise God throughout life.  The next psalm tells us it is ‘good and pleasant’ to praise the Lord, and 148 reminds us that when we praise God, we join with all creation , for heaven and earth praise Him.  In 149, God’s people are admonished to worship joyfully, and the last psalm tells us where and why and how ‘everything that has breath’ should praise the Lord.  These five psalms are a short curse in worship, and God’s people today would do well to heed their message.  Sanctuaries are turning into religious theaters and ‘worship’ is becoming more and more entertainment.  The author of this psalm understood that God was not just a part of life but the heart of life.  Paul had the same conviction (Phil. 1:21; Col. 3:4).”  (Warren Wiersbe)

 

            “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain (Phil. 1:21).”

             “When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory (Col. 3:4).”

 

            Life Means Praising God (vv. 1-2):  “1 Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD, O my soul! 2 I will praise the LORD while I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.”

 

            I have mentioned in earlier Spiritual Diaries that Warren Wiersbe’s insight into the Word of God has been something that I can praise the Lord for.  It is said of him that he puts the cookies on the shelf where you can reach them.  There are times when I read his commentary that I have to share exactly what he has written, and this is one of those times.  “To receive the gifts and ignore the Giver is the essence of idolatry.  The writer promised God he would praise Him all of his life, and certainly this is wise preparation for praising Him for eternity (104:33).  To live a life of praise is to overcome criticism and complaining, to stop competing against others and comparing ourselves with them.  It means to be grateful in and for everything (1Thes. 5:18; Eph. 5:20) and really believe that God is working all things together for our good (Romans 8:28).  A life of praise is free from constant anxiety and discouragement as we focus on the Lord, who is mentioned eleven times in this psalm.” 

            After reading this I not only agree with it, but am a bit convicted by what I have read and have a desire to seek to praise the Lord more, knowing that it will be a wonderful part of what I do in heaven.

 

            Life Means Trusting God (vv. 3-6):  “3 Do not trust in princes, In mortal man, in whom there is no salvation. 4  His spirit departs, he returns to the earth; In that very day his thoughts perish.  5 How blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, Whose hope is in the LORD his God, 6  Who made heaven and earth, The sea and all that is in them; Who keeps faith forever;”

 

            In the first part of this section of Psalm 146 we hear the psalmist telling his readers not to trust in man, for there is no salvation in man.  When we look at the history of Israel, right from the beginning when Abraham was called as the father of Israel we see time and time again that they put their trust in Egypt.  Both Abraham and Isaac went down to Egypt because their faith was weak.  They were trusting in men and not in the God who called them.  I suppose we do this today in the United States, and perhaps it is done in other countries as well.  It seems that believers are more comfortable with having leaders who are believers, but they are still men, and God is in control of all leaders, for He is the One who puts them into power, and so are faith should be in the Lord and not in the leaders.  We must remember that God is in control of all things and has a plan that no one will ever stop even though there are any times when we don’t understand it, but we still need to trust the Lord.

            We see in the fifth verse the last of twenty-five beatitudes that are found in the book of psalms. (Warren Wiersbe)  We also read about the God whom we are to put are trust in.  We are to trust in the God of Jacob as seen in verse five.  After reading the commentary from Dr. Wiersbe on the God of Jacob I was greatly encouraged, for when we look at the life of Jacob we can understand how the Lord can help people who are weak like me.  “Jacob was far from being perfect, yet God honored his faith and helped him in times of need.  Jacob trusted God’s promises, for his hope was in the Lord, but too often he depended on his own schemes to see him through.”  (Warren Wiersbe)

            Our God is not only the God of Jacob, but verse six tells us that He is the God who created the heavens and the earth.  This tells us of the power and wisdom that God possess and is a part of His attributes, and character.  Stop and think about creation, the creation that is described in the pages of Scripture, especially in Genesis chapters one and two.  We see these words “God said” eight times in regard to how God created what He created:

“Ge 1:3  Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light.

Ge 1:6  Then God said, "Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters."

Ge 1:9  Then God said, "Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear"; and it was so.

Ge 1:11  Then God said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit after their kind with seed in them"; and it was so.

Ge 1:14  Then God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years;

Ge 1:20  Then God said, "Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the heavens."

Ge 1:24  Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth after their kind"; and it was so.

Ge 1:26  Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’”

            When we see these words “God said” we know that this is the Word of God, and Hebrews 4:12 states that the Word of God is powerful, and so when we look at how God created this universe we understand that God is all powerful.  A Good One to have on your side and to put your trust in. I know that there are people today that state that the world was created in a different way that what we see in these eight  verses, but think about what their real motives are when trying to discredit the creation that is spoken of in the Scriptures.  Their motive is that if you can take God out of the creation of the universe then you don’t have to answer to Him.  Wrong!  We are told in the Scriptures that all people will someday have to bow down before the Lord.

            We also see in verse six that God is the God who keeps faith forever.  God is the covenant keeping God.  God made a covenant through the blood of Jesus Christ that is found in the New Testament, which means “New Covenant.”  We know that God is the God who will keep His covenants that He has made, including the covenant that He made with Abraham in Genesis 15.  That covenant is a covenant God made with the people of Israel, and one day the Lord Jesus Christ will come back to planet earth and sit on the throne of David and reign on earth for 1000 years.  God Keeps His Covenants.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I am amazed at when my prayers that I pray before beginning to study the Word of God are answered in the portion that I am studying.  My prayer before beginning today’s SD was confessing to the Lord that there are times when my devotions are more duty than doing them out of love for God and so my prayer was to make sure that I am in a relationship with my Lord and not in a religion.  Christianity is a relationship with the Living God and not a religion.  The section that I copied from Warren Wiersbe on the first point from this psalm was an answer to my prayer. 

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Praise is powerful!  Continue to learn contentment.  Continue to have my mind transformed by the Word of God.

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 130:1-7

 

            1 Out of the debts I cried to You, O LORD.  2 Lord, hear my voice!  Let Your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.  3 If You, Lord should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?  4 But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared.

            5 I wait for the Lord, my soul does wait, and in His Word do I hope.  6 My soul waits for the Lord more than the watchman for the morning; indeed more than the watchman for the morning.  7 O Israel, hope in the LORD; For with the Lord there is lovingkindness, and with Him is abundant redemption.

 

12/8/2012 10:57:43 AM

 

PT-2 "Psalm 145: (Psalm 145:7-21)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/7/2012 10:17:30 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                             Focus:  Psalm 145-PT-2

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                            Reference:  Ps. 145:7-21

 

            Message of the verses:  We will continue looking at Psalm 145 in today’s Spiritual Diary.  Dr. Wiersbe wrote the following at the end of his introductory commentary, “But along with telling us why we should praise the Lord David tells us when we should praise Him.”

 

            Praise God from Nation to Nation (vv. 8-13a):  “8 The LORD is gracious and merciful; Slow to anger and great in lovingkindness. 9 The LORD is good to all, And His mercies are over all His works. 10 All Your works shall give thanks to You, O LORD, And Your godly ones shall bless You. 11  They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom And talk of Your power; 12  To make known to the sons of men Your mighty acts And the glory of the majesty of Your kingdom. 13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.”

 

            One of the words that we see repeated in this psalm is the word “all” as it is seen fourteen times in the NASB translation.  I will paste the verses that have the word “all” in them so we can see where they occur.

“Ps 145:9 The LORD is good to all, And His mercies are over all His works.

Ps 145:10 All Your works shall give thanks to You, O LORD, And Your godly ones shall bless You.

Ps 145:13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And Your dominion endures throughout all generations.

Ps 145:14 The LORD sustains all who fall And raises up all who are bowed down.

Ps 145:15 The eyes of all look to You, And You give them their food in due time.

Ps 145:17 The LORD is righteous in all His ways And kind in all His deeds.

Ps 145:18 The LORD is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth.

Ps 145:20 The LORD keeps all who love Him, But all the wicked He will destroy.

Ps 145:21 My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD, And all flesh will bless His holy name forever and ever.”

 

            Sometimes it is best to just let the Bible be its own commentator.

 

            The nation of Israel was suppose to tell their neighbors about who the Lord is and what He has done for them, as Jesus told the woman at the well, “Salvation is of the Jews, “ but the Jews were so proud of what they thought they had that they did not want to bring others into the fold.  As believers today we are suppose to tell all who will listen about the good news of the Gospel, but sometimes we forget that and just want to stay in our little comfortable houses and churches and forget all about the great commission.

 

            Praise God from Need to Need (vv. 13b-16):  “And Your dominion endures throughout all generations. 14 The LORD sustains all who fall And raises up all who are bowed down. 15 The eyes of all look to You, And You give them their food in due time. 16 You open Your hand And satisfy the desire of every living thing.”

 

            I like the way that Dr. Wiersbe explains how God works; in his commentary on this section when he says “Our great God is not an ‘absentee land lord’ who collects the rent but never repairs the roof.  He knows our every need and He is there to help those who call on Him—those who fall, those carrying back-breaking burdens, those who hunger, and certainly those who want to be saved from their sins.”

 

            The Bible talks about “common grace,” and that is grace that God gives to all of His creations.  Air to breathe, food to eat, and things like this are all supplied by the Lord to those who believe in Him, and those who don’t.  As believers when we are not supplied the things that we think we need we are to have a different attitude than those who are not believers, for sometimes by not having all we want we learn to rely more closely upon the Lord.  One thing that I surely fear in my life is that I don’t always praise the Lord for all of the wonderful things that He has given to me especially salvation.  See what Peter writes in his last letter, “3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. 4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.”  Are these not wonderful gifts from God that we should praise Him for.  He gives us what we do not deserve or will ever be able to earn (grace), and He holds back what we do deserve (mercy).

 

            Praise God from Prayer to Prayer (vv. 17-21):  “17 The LORD is righteous in all His ways And kind in all His deeds. 18 The LORD is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth. 19 He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He will also hear their cry and will save them. 20 The LORD keeps all who love Him, But all the wicked He will destroy. 21 My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD, And all flesh will bless His holy name forever and ever.”

 

               David is writing about prayer in this section.  What is prayer any way?  “Prayer is not just a creature coming to the Creator, or a servant coming to the Master; it is a child coming to the heavenly Father, knowing that He will meet the need.“ (Read Luke 11:1-13) (Warren Wiersbe)

            It is vital that when the Lord answers our prayers that we praise the Lord for answering our prayers.  How often do we forget?

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Perhaps the 145^th Psalm should be the next portion of Scripture that I put to memory since it is all about praising the Lord, something I surely need to do more.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Remember to praise the Lord for answered prayers, and for the wonderful blessings He has given to me.  Continue to learn contentment, and continue to seek to have my mind transformed by the Word of God.

 

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 130:1-7

 

            1 Out of the debts I cried to You, O LORD.  2 Lord hear my voice!  Let Your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.  3 If You LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?  4 But there is forgiveness with You, That You may be feared.

            5 I wait for the LORD, my soul does wait, And in His Word do I hope.  6 My soul waits for the Lord more than the watchman for the morning; indeed more than the watchman for the morning.  7 O Israel, hope in the LORD; For with the LORD there is lovingkindness, and with Him is abundant redemption.

 

12/7/2012 11:34:52 AM                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

 

           

PT-1 Psalm 145 (Ps. 145:1-7)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/6/2012 9:36:10 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                             Focus:  Psalm 145 PT-1

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                            Reference:  Psalm 145:1-7

 

            Message of the verses:  As we begin to look at Psalm 145 in Today’s Spiritual Diary we will do as we have been doing for most of the psalms and that is look at several introductions to the psalm by different Bible Commentators in order for us to better understand what the psalmist has written about and how we can learn from the psalm in order to apply it to our lives.

 

            “This psalm is rendered by Ainsworth "a hymn of David"; and the whole book of Psalms is from hence called "the Book of Hymns"; see #Eph 5:19; It seems to have been a psalm David took great delight in, and it may be that he often repeated and sung it, as it was made by him with great care and contrivance, in a very curious manner, as well as he was assisted in it by divine inspiration; for it is wrote in an alphabetical order, each verse: beginning with the letter of the alphabet in course, and goes through the whole, excepting one letter; and very probably it was composed in this form that it might be the more easily committed to memory, and retained in it. The Jews have a very high opinion of it; their Rabbins say, that whoever says this psalm thrice every day may be sure of being a child of the world to come. This is mentioned by Arama and Kimchi; and which the latter explains thus, not he that says it any way, but with his mouth, and with his heart, and with his tongue. It seems to have been written by David after the Lord had granted him all his requests put up in the preceding psalms, and had given him rest from all his enemies; and when he turned his prayers into praises; for this psalm is wholly praise from one end to the other; and so are all the five following ones; they begin and end with "hallelujah": nor is there a single petition in them, as I remember; so that it may in some sense be said, "here the prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended". It no doubt, as Cocceius observes, belongs to the Messiah and his kingdom, which is everlasting, #Ps 145:13.”  (John Gill)

 

            “The five foregoing psalms were all of a piece, all full of prayers; this, and the five that follow it to the end of the book, are all of a piece too, all full of praises; and though only this is entitled David’s psalm yet we have no reason to think but that they were all his as well as all the foregoing prayers. And it is observable,

 

“1. That after five psalms of prayer follow six psalms of praise; for those that are much in prayer shall not want matter for praise, and those that have sped in prayer must abound in praise. Our thanksgivings for mercy, when we have received it, should even exceed our supplications for it when we were in pursuit of it. David, in the last of his begging psalms, had promised to praise God (#Ps 144:9), and here he performs his promise.

 

“2. That the book of Psalms concludes with psalms of praise, all praise, for praise, is the conclusion of the whole matter; it is that in which all the psalms centre. And it intimates that God’s people, towards the end of their life, should abound much in praise, and the rather because, at the end of their life, they hope to remove to the world of everlasting praise, and the nearer they come to heaven the more they should accustom themselves to the work of heaven. This is one of those psalms which are composed alphabetically (as Psalm 25 and 34, &c.), that it might be the more easily committed to memory, and kept in mind. The Jewish writers justly extol this psalm as a star of the first magnitude in this bright constellation; and some of them have an extravagant saying concerning it, not much unlike some of the popish superstitions, That whosoever will sing this psalm constantly three times a day shall certainly be happy in the world to come. In this psalm,

 

   “I. David engages himself and others to praise God,

 

#Ps 145:1,2,4-7,10-12.

 

    “II. He fastens upon those things that are proper matter for praise, God’s greatness (#Ps 145:3), his goodness (#Ps 145:8,9), the proofs of both in the administration of his kingdom (#Ps 145:13), the kingdom of providence (#Ps 145:14-16), the kingdom of grace (#Ps 145:17-20), and then he concludes with a resolution to continue praising God (#Ps 145:21) with which resolution our hearts must be filled, and in which they must be fixed, in singing this psalm.”  (Matthew Henry)

 

            “This is one of the alphabetical psalms, composed with much art, and, doubtless, so arranged that the memory might be aided. The Holy Spirit condescends to use even the more artificial methods of the poet, to secure attention, and impress the heart.

 

Title: David’s Psalm Of Praise. It is David’s, David’s very own, David’s favourite. It is David’s Praise just as another (#Ps 86:1-17) is David’s Prayer. It is altogether praise, and praise pitched in a high key. David had blessed God many a time in other psalms, but this he regarded as his peculiar, his crown jewel of praise. Certainly David’s praise is the best of praise, for it is that of a man of experience, of sincerity, of calm deliberation, and of intense warmth of the heart. It is not for any one of us to render David’s praise, for David only could do that, but we may take David’s psalm as a model, and aim at making our own personal adoration as much, like it as possible: we shall be long before we equal our model. Let each Christian reader present his own praise unto the Lord, and call it by his own name. What a wealth of varied praise will thus be presented through Christ Jesus!

 

Division: The psalm does not fall into any marked divisions, but is one and indivisible.  Our other translators have mapped out this song with considerable discernment. It is or a perfect arrangement, but it will suit our convenience in exposition. David praiseth God for his fame or glory (#Ps 145:1-7), for his goodness (#Ps 145:8-10), for his kingdom (#Ps 145:11-13), for his providence (#Ps 145:14-16), for his saving mercy (#Ps 145:17-21).”  (Charles H. Spurgeon)

 

            “This is the last psalm in the book attributed to David, and it is also an acrostic.  The Hebrew letter nun (our letter n) is missing at verse 14, although some early versions based on the Septuagint have a verse starting with nun.  See NIV marginal note.)  This is the only psalm called ‘A psalm of praise.’  David mentioned several attributes of God, among them His greatness (v.3), His grace, goodness and compassion (vv. 8-9), His glory and might (v.11), His righteousness and kindness (v. 17), and His providential care (v.20).  Who could not praise a God with these wonderful characteristics?  But along with telling us why we should praise the Lord David tells us when we should praise Him.”  (Warren Wiersbe)

 

            Praise God from Day to Day (vv. 1-2):  1 A Psalm of Praise, of David: I will extol You, my God, O King, And I will bless Your name forever and ever. 2 Every day I will bless You, And I will praise Your name forever and ever.”

 

            David speaks of praising the Lord every day and also forever and forever.  As we look at how the universe works we see that the earth rotates around in 24 hours and as it is rotating around it is also rotating around the sun, which takes 365 days.  This is the way that God designed the universe to work.  Time began when God created the earth and we are to take time each day to praise the Lord, as we have much to praise Him for.  First of all we can praise Him for the Lord Jesus Christ who has provided salvation for those who have called upon His name to come into their lives and forgive them of their sins.  We certainly can praise the Lord for His Word, which we can read, study, memorize and meditate on.  We can praise Him for our lives, and the privilege of living on planet earth at this time in history.  We are told by the apostle Paul that we are to give thanks in everything for this is the will for us in Christ Jesus.  Giving thanks is surely a form of praising the Lord.  When we look at the book of Revelations and also the sixth chapter of Isaiah we see that in heaven God is being praised at every moment, and when we are taken to heaven we will have that privilege too.

 

            Praise God from Generation to Generation (vv. 3-7):  “3 Great is the LORD, and highly to be praised, And His greatness is unsearchable. 4 One generation shall praise Your works to another, And shall declare Your mighty acts. 5 On the glorious splendor of Your majesty And on Your wonderful works, I will meditate. 6 Men shall speak of the power of Your awesome acts, And I will tell of Your greatness. 7 They shall eagerly utter the memory of Your abundant goodness And will shout joyfully of Your righteousness.”

 

            As I prepare in my mind the things that I believe God is prompting me to include in our Christmas letter, something that I try to do each year, I have been impressed by the Lord this morning before I got out of bed to write this letter about Christmas memories, memories from my childhood along with my wife’s childhood, and then memories from when our children were small and then move onto memories with our grandchildren.  I can say that God has been involved in all of my Christmas memories, even before I knew Him.

            As David writes this section of Psalm 145 he is writing about the memories that he has about how the Lord had worked in his life.  David wanted to take the time to praise the Lord for the things that He had done in his life.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “God is so great that the human mind cannot fathom Him, but the human heart can love Him and tell others how great He is.”  He later writes, “David was not writing only about theology; he was also writing about personal witness, what the Lord has done in our own lives.”  Psalm 34:11 states “Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.”  Paul writes to Timothy in 2Timothy 2:2 “The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”  We must remember that this was the last letter that is recorded in the Bible written by Paul, and when a person nears the end of his life they tell others what is most important to them.  As older believers in Jesus Christ we must tell younger believers the important things we have learned from following Jesus Christ.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I have been thinking about memories today, and then I begin to read Psalm 145 and wouldn’t you know it the psalm has a portion about memories in it.  God is great!

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust the Lord to continue to teach me contentment, and to continue to encourage me to be transformed by the renewing of my mind, and remember this is done by the Word of God.

 

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 130:1-7

 

            1Out of the debts I cried to You, O LORD.  2 Lord, hear my voice!  Let Your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.  3 If You, LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?  4 But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared.

            5 I wait for the Lord, my soul does wait, An in His Word do I hope.  6 My soul waits for the Lord more than the watchman for the morning; indeed more than the watchman for the morning.  7 O Israel, hope in the LORD; For with the LORD there is lovingkindness, And with Him is abundant redemption.

 

12/6/2012 10:46:20 AM