Psalm Ch145v1-21 - Praise The Lord

Psalm 145. If you have the church Bible, it's 631, page 631.

So this is the psalm that Bryce is going to be preaching to us in just a second.

So I'll read the psalm for us, and then I'll pray for you, Bryce, and you can take over.

Psalm 145.

It's a psalm of praise of David.

I will exalt you, my God the King. I will praise your name forever and ever.

Every day I will praise you and extol your name forever and ever.

Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise. His greatness no one can fathom.

One generation commends your works to another. They tell of your mighty acts.

They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty, and I will meditate on your wonderful works.

They tell of the power of your awesome works, and I will proclaim your great deeds.

They celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness.

The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, and rich in love.

The Lord is good to all. He has compassion on all he has made.

All your works praise you, Lord. Your faithful people extol you.

They tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might,

so that all people may know of your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.

Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations.

The Lord is trustworthy in all his promises and faithful in all he does.

The Lord upholds all who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down.

The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time.

You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.

The Lord is righteous in all his ways and faithful in all he does.

The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.

He fulfills the desires of those who fear him.

He hears their cry and saves them.

The Lord watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.

My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord.

Let every creature praise his holy name forever and ever.

Father God, we thank you for your servant Bryce.

We pray for him, that you would fill him with your Holy Spirit,

and that the words that come out of his mouth are words ordained by you to teach us.

We pray for the rest of us sitting under his preaching,

that we would listen well, and that we would take on board

what you're trying to say to us this morning.

Thank you for your word.

Please speak to us in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Thanks, Bryce.

Thanks, Bryce.

Thank you, Connor.

And thank you for having me here this morning.

What a privilege to come and worship with you.

And thank you for the choices of those songs and for the musicians.

Those fit precisely with what we're going to talk about in Psalm 145.

So you might keep your Bibles open there.

Psalm 145 is the text we'll be looking at this morning.

Just to say that it's so good to be with you.

Karigaline, we know, is our older sister.

That's really the reality.

I bring love and greetings from Douglas Baptist,

and we're so thankful for the way that you have faithfully pressed on.

You have a reputation, a good one.

I think of the church in Thessalonica, where Paul says,

we know about your work of faith.

We know about your labor that's driven by your love.

We have heard about your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

And we can say these words about Karigaline Baptist.

We're very thankful for you.

Keep pressing on.

So let me pray and ask God for help as we look at Psalm 145.

Father, we thank you as well that you say to the Thessalonians

that the gospel came not only with words,

but also in power and in the Holy Spirit

and with deep conviction.

That's what we're asking for today.

Let your words come as words,

but in power,

in the Spirit,

with real conviction.

To me,

to all of us,

we plead with you.

Amen.

This summer,

I was traveling in North America,

doing an awful lot of driving.

And my son Jonathan came for a major leg of the driving bit

that left behind the girls.

And Jonathan and I went on this kind of tour

of northeastern Canada and the United States.

And we were driving from Washington, D.C. area

up to the Toronto airport.

And as we were coming up,

Jonathan says,

Dad, can we stop at Niagara Falls?

Like, I know you took me there when I was a smallie,

but now Jonathan's nearly 16.

And he was like,

I'd like to see it kind of where I could appreciate it.

So we were driving right through Niagara,

right past.

And so I said,

sure,

we'll stop.

So we stopped.

And while we were there,

it's just this incredible scene

of so much water

rushing over the falls.

While we were there,

we saw,

Jonathan said,

what's all those people down there?

And they were all wearing these rain ponchos

and they were going up these stairs

next to the Horseshoe Falls.

And I found out afterwards

that what it is,

it's a tour called

Journey Behind the Falls.

And you can actually go right behind the waterfall

and you can actually look out

some kind of holes in the caves

and see the water gushing down

and there's these rails.

Can you imagine if you were on that tour?

And if you were,

while you were on the tour,

you start to lean over the rail

and do this.

And the tour guide says,

you hold it,

what are you doing?

That's very dangerous.

You can't be leaning over rails.

What are you trying to do?

And you're like,

well,

I'm trying to measure

how much water

is coming over the Niagara Falls.

And of course,

your guide would say,

that's ridiculous.

A 300 mil cup

and you're trying to measure

the amount of water

over the falls.

Well,

that is what

Psalm 145

is like

for David.

He's completely

overwhelmed.

By the way,

if the flow is quite heavy

over the,

depends on

the conditions,

but Niagara Falls

in one second,

apparently,

three million

liters

of water

in one second.

Can you imagine

trying to fit

three million

apple juice boxes

in your cupboard

or inside

in your fridge?

Can you picture that?

That comes to

roughly

168 million

liters

per minute,

240 trillion

liters

per day.

You cannot

measure that

with 300 mil cups.

And David

is trying to measure

the greatness

of God

and he's got

the same quandary.

That's what's going on

in Psalm 145.

He's overwhelmed.

Think of that

kind of water

coming down

inside in your shower.

Your drain

would be

immediately

overwhelmed.

David

is

wowed

by

God.

And that's

what's coming

out in this

Psalm.

Verse

21 in this

Psalm

is absolutely

key.

It's the last

verse of the

Psalm and it

says these

words.

My mouth

will

speak

in praise

of the Lord.

Let every

creature

praise his

holy name

forever

and ever.

Why that's

special is that

Psalm 145

is the last

Psalm in

book 5 of

the five books

of the Psalms.

And if we were

reading it in

Hebrew we would

see that this

is a special

kind of separate

benediction

that comes at

the end of the

five books

of the Psalms.

And David

says my

mouth

will

speak.

Some of you

may have heard

there's a quote

that flies

around out

there that

it says

preach the

gospel at

all times

use words

if necessary.

And it kind

of sounds

quite noble

that you

would preach

the gospel

with your

life without

using words.

And most

certainly our

lives should

preach the

gospel.

But can we

say biblically

that's faulty.

We should say

preach the

gospel at

all times

words will be

absolutely

necessary if

you're to

preach the

gospel.

And David

wants to

use words.

My mouth

will

speak.

Throughout

the Psalms

we have

those many

many different

examples of

how the

mouth must

be used.

With singing

lips my

mouth will

praise you.

Psalm 62.

We could go

on and on

through the

Psalms.

My mouth

must be

involved

in praise.

David

must open

his mouth

and literally

speak.

of the

magnificence

of God.

So what

about us?

Are we

wowed and

overwhelmed

enough by

God that

we've got

to open

our mouths

and speak?

When something

has captured

your attention

and fascinated

you, you

must speak

about it,

right?

This is

David in

Psalm 145.

Now the

Psalms are

the songbook

that Jesus

sang from.

There's this

important

perspective that

emerges.

In the

Psalms,

the central

figure in

the Psalms

on first

reading seems

to be

David.

God has

made a

covenant

with David

and God

has promised

that there

will be

a son of

David who

will rule

on his

throne

forever and

ever.

But as

you start

to work

your way

through the

books of

the Psalms,

you start

to realize

David's not

the central

figure.

The central

figure is

the promised

son of

David,

the king

who will

reign forever

and ever,

king of

all kings,

our Lord

Jesus Christ.

Jesus says

in Luke 24,

the Psalms

must be

fulfilled that

were written

about me.

When we

read the

Psalms,

we need

to see

Jesus.

Now,

I haven't

gone and

counted them

up myself,

but roughly

only around

10-ish

percent of

the Psalms

are completely

celebration

from one

end of

the Psalm

to the

other.

Psalm 145

is one

of those

Psalms.

That tells

us something

about our

songs,

right?

Many of

the Psalms,

how it is,

is that they

work their

way to

praise through

the realities,

the difficulties,

the pains,

the blessings

of life.

I'm working

my way to

praise through

the real

life things.

but then

we have

some of

these

Psalms,

like Psalm

145,

that are

complete

praise all

the way

through.

David,

it's almost

like when he

gets to this

Psalm,

he's like,

I'm so

overwhelmed by

my God,

I'm going

to actually

do a search

on thesaurus.com

and find as

many words

as I can

to describe

the greatness

of God.

And so,

he says,

I will

exalt,

I will

praise,

I will

extol,

I will

commend,

I will

tell,

I will

speak,

I will

proclaim,

I will

meditate,

I will

celebrate,

I will

sing.

He's

wowed.

There's

just enough,

there's not

enough words,

but what words

I can come

up with,

I am going

to let

my mouth

speak them

about the

greatness

of God.

Many

things he

has to

say about

God in

this Psalm.

My God

is king,

he is

great,

he is

mighty,

he is

majestic,

he is

splendorous,

he does

great works

and marvelous

deeds,

he is

abundant

in goodness,

he is

righteous,

gracious,

compassionate,

forgiving,

slow to

anger,

abounding in

love,

he rules

as king,

he is

everlasting,

always faithful,

always trustworthy,

caring for the

lowly,

providing all that

I have,

providing for all

of his creation,

he's near,

he hears,

he satisfies,

he rescues,

he saves

sinners,

he protects

us,

and he

justly

destroys

the wicked.

And my

mouth

must speak

in praise

of the

Lord,

praise his

holy name

forever

and ever.

In a

sense,

you know

what a

cornucopia

is?

You know

those little

horns that

they put

produce in

and they

overflow

the horn,

the little

basket horns

that they put

on your

table?

And they

take little

pictures of

them?

Is this

idea of

an overflowing

abundance

that comes.

Often they're

used at

times when

we would

celebrate

a season

of harvest

Thanksgiving.

You'd find

a cornucopia.

This

psalm is

a cornucopia

of praise,

overflowing

with God's

majesty.

Now

there's a few

little features

about this

psalm that

we should

note.

First of

all,

as I've

mentioned,

it's the

last psalm

of book

five in

the psalms.

So there's

five books

in the psalms

and book

five is

really the

response of

restored sinners,

those who've

been brought

back from

exile and

have been

forgiven and

redeemed by

love.

And during

the exile

psalms,

which come

in book

four,

David's

voice goes

mostly silent.

But then

David's voice

starts to

come back

in,

in book

five,

in a

big way.

And finishes

off this

special psalm

with this

special

benediction.

So this

is the

final psalm

that David

is noted

as writing

in the

psalm book.

So that

becomes very

special psalm

to the

Hebrew people.

They often

would practice

quoting this

every day,

this one

song,

because it's

very special

to them.

Also,

just to note,

it was almost

certainly this

psalm was

written by

David towards

the end

of his

life.

It appears

that he

was an

aging or

aged man

as he

writes the

words of

this psalm.

Then,

very

interestingly,

which,

unfortunately,

English,

we miss

completely about

this psalm,

but if we

were Hebrews

who could

read the

Hebrew language,

we would

see something

going on

here.

The whole

psalm,

down to

verse 20,

before you

get this

final benediction,

is an

alphabetical

acrostic,

and it

goes right

through the

Hebrew

alphabet,

22 letters

of the

Hebrew

alphabet.

So it's

a bit like

when we

sometimes do,

have you

ever done

an acrostic

Mother's Day

card?

Any of you

mothers ever

got one of

those kind

of acrostic

cards where

you say,

mother,

M-O-T-H-E-R.

And so we

would write

something like,

M,

marvelously,

O,

overflowing

with love,

and T,

touching the

H,

heart of,

E,

everyone she

R,

reaches.

You ever

done one of

those cards?

Something like

that?

Received one

of those cards?

Maybe one of

your friends

made fun of

you with

those acrostic

cards?

That's sort

of what's

going on

here.

This is the

complete picture

of the greatness

of God from

A to Z,

the full

alphabet.

More

precisely,

from Aleph

to Tav.

Or,

as we'd say

in Greek,

from Alpha

to Omega.

By the way,

who's the Alpha

and Omega?

Our Lord Jesus

Christ.

He's the

completeness

of this

Psalm and

this

praise.

So what's

actually in

the Psalm?

Well,

when you look

through the

Psalm,

if you've

read through

the Psalms,

you'll see

actually in

Psalm 145,

as far as

I can see,

there's

absolutely no

new content.

It's all

things that

have been

said before

throughout the

Psalm book,

but kind of

bunched together.

What's new

about it is

it is

completely

start to

finish

praise

at the

end of

Book 5.

David,

it's almost

like he's

reflecting

towards the

end of his

life,

and he's

saying,

listen,

I've written

all these

Psalms before.

These

Psalms have

been about

through my

troubles,

this is

who my

God is.

Through my

pains and

losses,

this is

who my

God is.

Through my

doubts and

darkness,

this is

who my

God is.

Through the

betrayals,

through the

blessings and

comforts,

through the

history of

my people,

through my

sin and

his

forgiveness

of my

sin,

this is

who my

God is.

And now

he's come

to the

end and

said,

I'm just

overwhelmed.

I've got to

come out

with complete

A to Z

praise in

Psalm 145.

There are

many themes

of praise

in this

Psalm,

far too

many for

me to

really go

over,

but I'd

like to

just draw

out four

which I

think are

prominent

and what

we could

benefit from

today.

Four themes

of praise

I see

here.

First,

David is

saying,

I must

speak of

my God's

greatness

in the

early verses.

Then David

says,

I must

speak of

my God's

grace.

Then David

says,

I must

speak of

my God's

rule,

his kingdom.

And finally,

I must

speak of

my God's

righteousness.

righteousness.

Four themes

that are

quite prominent

in this.

First,

I must

speak of

God's

greatness.

If you

look with

me at

verses 3

to 6

here,

Psalm 145

Psalms 145:3

verse 3,

great is

the Lord

and most

worthy of

praise.

His

greatness

no one

can fathom.

One

generation

commends

your works

to another.

They tell

of your

mighty acts.

They speak

of the

glorious

splendor

of your

majesty.

And I

will

meditate

on your

wonderful

works.

They tell

of the

power of

your

awesome

works.

I

will

proclaim

your

great

deeds.

His

greatness

no one

can

fathom.

That's a

beautiful

picture.

You know

what a

fathom

is?

We

don't

use

too

often

anymore

the

idea

of a

sounding

line.

But

during

days

past,

when

ships

used

to

sail,

they

needed

to know

how much

water

was under

the

ship

so they

didn't

run

aground.

So they

had these

sounding

lines,

and they

would either

tie knots

every two

yards or

six feet,

and that

was a

fathom.

And they

put a

weight on

the end

of the

sounding

line,

they'd

throw it

in,

and they'd

measure it

up,

and they'd

call out

the

fathoms,

how much

water was

under the

ship so

that it

wouldn't

run

aground.

But the

realities are,

if you

try throwing

out a

fathom

line over

the

Mariana

Trench,

there's no

fathom line

that is

going to

measure the

depths of

the sea

there.

And David

is saying,

that's what the

greatness of

my God is

like.

It is

unmeasurable.

You cannot

measure how

great he is.

It is

unsearchable.

No one can

fathom his

greatness.

I must speak

of my God's

greatness.

David also

says,

I must

speak of

my God's

grace.

Look with

me,

please,

at verses

7 to

10.

He says,

they celebrate

your abundant

goodness and

joyfully sing

of your

righteousness.

The Lord

is gracious

and compassionate,

slow to

anger,

and rich in

love.

The Lord

is good to

all.

He has

compassion on

all he has

made.

All your

works praise

you,

Lord,

your faithful

people.

extol you.

I must

speak of

my God's

grace.

Grace

is what

is unearned.

Grace

is what

is undeserved.

Free.

A gift.

If you've

earned it,

it's not

grace.

If you

deserve it,

it's not

grace.

If you

worked for

it,

it's not

grace.

freely

given.

The Lord

is gracious.

He's

compassionate.

He's

merciful.

This is

how God

saves us.

God

gives us

everything we

could never

get for

ourselves.

He puts

us right

with him.

When we

have nothing

to give,

when we

only deserve

judgment,

he gives

grace.

This is

how he

saves us.

And so

mercy is

quite simply

not getting

what you

deserve.

And that's

a wonderful

thing to

get mercy,

isn't it?

But grace

is God

giving us

everything we

could never

have on our

own merits.

He gives

them to us

freely.

So for

instance,

if we were

to say

that,

what if

there was

a troubled

young man

in the

area?

What if

he was

an orphan

and he

happened to

be someone

who was

burning with

a lot of

hatred and

he was an

arsonist?

And he

found a

particular

wealthy man

who had

lots of

properties in

the area

and what

he did is

he set out

systematically

to find out

which properties

he owned

and burn

them.

And the

day comes

where the

young man

is caught

red-handed

in the

act and

he's brought

before the

wealthy man

and the

wealthy man

says,

I will

not press

charges.

Let him

go.

Let him

go free.

That would

be mercy,

wouldn't it?

And that

would be

incredible

mercy on

behalf of

that wealthy

man.

But can

you imagine

if the

wealthy man

were to

say,

but you

know what?

I will

do more

than show

mercy.

I will

offer to

take this

young orphan

as my

own son.

And I

will make

him heir

to all

that is

mine.

This would

be grace.

That young

man deserves

judgment.

But he's

receiving mercy

and then

grace.

God

is a

God

who is

gracious

and

compassionate

to us.

And David

is wowed

by how

God is

slow to

anger,

rich

in love.

This is

who my

God is.

My lips

will speak

of him,

of his

praise.

I must

speak of

my

God's

rule or

his

kingdom in

verses 11

to 13.

If you look

with me

there at

verse 11,

they tell

of the

glory of

your

kingdom

and speak

of your

might so

that all

people may

know your

mighty acts

and the

glorious

splendor

of your

kingdom.

Your

kingdom is

an everlasting

kingdom and

your dominion

endures

throughout all

generations.

Now,

think of

this,

who's

writing?

David.

Of all

the kings

of Judah,

all the kings

of Israel,

where does

David write?

The greatest.

David,

it would

seem to

us,

could easily

write about

the greatness

of his

kingdom.

He has

nothing to

say about

it here.

He speaks

of the

greatness of

God's

kingdom,

which is

ultimately

the greatness

of the

promised

son of

David,

Jesus

Christ,

king of

all kings.

And he

sees here,

he's holding

on to

these promises

of a

kingdom that

is forever

and ever.

It's

lasting.

I must

speak of

God's

rule.

But can

I ask

you,

in all

seriousness,

the psalm

starts with,

in verse

one,

I will

exalt

you,

my

God,

the

king.

God's

love.

I think

it would

be good

for each

of us

to give

an

assessment,

is

Jesus

really

my

God?

Genuinely,

is he

the king

in my

life?

Is this

Jesus?

Is he

your king?

Does he

have authority

over you

right now?

I must

speak of

my God's

rule.

I must

also speak

of my

God's

righteousness

in verses

14 to

20.

Just look

with me

particularly

verse 17

please.

The Lord

is righteous

in all

his ways

and faithful

in all

he does.

The Lord

is near

to all

who call

on him

in truth.

He fulfills

the desires

of those

who fear

him.

He hears

their cry

and saves

them.

The Lord

watches

over all

who love

him but

all the

wicked he

will destroy.

The term

righteous means

to put

things right.

To put

things

right.

Now when we

understand what

that means

that's a really

reassuring truth

about God

isn't it?

We see a

world where

things are not

put right

yet.

It's very

reassuring

that God

will put

things

right.

He's

righteous.

However,

once we

see that

that's

reassuring

we have

to realize

God being

righteous

is terrifying

because if

he's a

God who

puts all

things right,

if all

wrongs must

be put

right,

then my

wrongs

must be

put right

by a

righteous

God.

It says,

last statement,

the wicked

he will

destroy

and the

next thing

he does

is go

into

benediction.

My

mouth will

praise him.

Praise his

holy name

forever and

ever.

Here's what

happens,

is in

salvation,

God saves

people through

putting their

sins right.

God saves

me by

putting my

sin right.

He

reconciles

us through

the cross

where my

sin is

completely

and thoroughly

judged with

right judgment.

Jesus took

the judgment

I should

have got

righteousness.

Our

salvation,

if you're a

brother or

sister who's

trusting in

Jesus,

who knows

his salvation,

we need to

be clear on

this,

our salvation

only comes

to us

through

judgment.

Jesus

took that

judgment so

we could

receive mercy,

forgiveness,

and grace.

Salvation

through judgment,

God puts

all things

right.

And this

gracious

salvation only

comes to

those who

repent and

put their

trust in

God's

King,

the one who

laid down

his life for

them at

the cross.

And he

calls on

everyone in

the world,

turn to

me,

me,

and be

saved,

all you

ends of

the earth,

for I

am God,

there is

no other.

Have you

turned to

him?

If you

haven't,

will you

turn to

him and

be saved?

Because he

delights to

save.

This is what

he loves to

do.

This is what

Jesus came

into the

world.

He came

to be our

king,

but he

came to

be our

saving

king.

I will

open my

mouth and

speak of

your

righteousness.

Then we

have this

again,

final

benediction.

My mouth

will speak,

verse 21.

My mouth

will speak

in praise of

the Lord.

Let every

creature praise

his holy

name forever

and ever.

David is

wowed by

the greatness

of God.

David is

overwhelmed.

So he's

put it into

words.

He's put it

into song.

He must

speak.

He has to

sing.

But can

you imagine

if this is

how wowed

David was

3,000 years

ago, how

wowed David

would be to

know what we

now know?

that a

child would

be born?

That that

child would

be 100%

human and

100%

God?

That that

child would

live a

perfect life

as a

substitute in

the place of

those who

couldn't do

it?

That that

child would

take the

judgment of

God on

himself at

the cross

in love,

bearing the

sins of

others when

he deserved

no judgment?

so that

he could

put them

right with

God?

That that

child would

rise again?

That that

child would

be ascended

to heaven and

seated at the

right hand of

God in

glory?

That that

child will

come again

and he will

put all

things right?

He will

judge all

things and

he will put

things right

in a new

heaven and

a new

earth,

the home

of

righteousness

where he

rules.

What if

David could

have seen

that 3,000

years ago?

I wonder

what would

have been

in our

Sam.

David sees

it now.

He sees

it all.

Do we

see it?

David is

wowed.

Jesus,

the

completeness

of God's

glory,

the Alpha

and the

Omega,

the full

alphabet,

the story

of redemption.

He delights

to save.

Will you

turn to

him for

salvation

today?

But how

will we

respond?

Can I

just say,

I read

a Sam

like this

and I'm

like,

I really

need to

be wowed

more than

I am.

God,

shake the

dullness

in me

so that

my lips

have to

open and

I need

to speak

like David.

We need

to be

wowed.

But also,

can I say

this?

I think

a response

to this

is,

we should

open our

mouths

and speak

of the

praise of

this great