Praise The King

As has become tradition, we’re taking a bit of the Summer to teach in The Psalms. The Psalms are an expertly and intentionally crafted collection of poems, songs, and hymns written by God’s people to reflect on the Story of God. If you haven’t already, we highly suggest you take a moment to watch the video overview our friends at Bible Project did for Psalms — it’s AMAZING!

For Week 2, we jumped into Psalm 145 — a Psalm of Praise from David:

1 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.

7  They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness

and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

8  The LORD is gracious and merciful,

slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

9  The LORD is good to all,

and his mercy is over all that he has made.

10  All your works shall give thanks to you, O LORD,

and all your saints shall bless you!

11  They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom

and tell of your power,

12  to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds,

and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.

13  Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,

and your dominion endures throughout all generations.

[The LORD is faithful in all his words

and kind in all his works.]

14  The LORD upholds all who are falling

and raises up all who are bowed down.

15  The eyes of all look to you,

and you give them their food in due season.

16  You open your hand;

you satisfy the desire of every living thing.

17  The LORD is righteous in all his ways

and kind in all his works.

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

to all who call on him in truth.

19  He fulfills the desire of those who fear him;

he also hears their cry and saves them.

20  The LORD preserves all who love him,

but all the wicked he will destroy.

21  My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD,

and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.

The ESV Study Bible sums up Psalm 145 well: “This is the last of the psalms of David, and it introduces the hymns of praise that finish the Psalms. This hymn (or “song of praise,” see title) specifically praises the Lord for his goodness and generosity toward his creatures, especially to his people (both corporate and individual). One remarkable feature of this psalm is the way it uses so many different words for “praising”: “extol” (v. 1: to tell how great God is); “bless” (vv. 1, 2, 10, 21: to speak well of God for his generosity); “praise” (vv. 2, 3, 21: to glorify God for his magnificent qualities); “commend” (v. 4: to speak highly of God); cf. “declare” (synonyms in vv. 4, 6), “meditate” (v. 5), “speak” (v. 6), “pour forth” (v. 7), “sing aloud” (v. 7), and “give thanks” (v. 10). The author has exploited all the vocabulary he can muster to describe this great activity, praising God for his greatness and goodness. Further, there are repeated terms for the enduring nature of this praise: “forever and ever” (vv. 1, 2, 21); the “generations” (vv. 4, 13); and “everlasting” (v. 13).“

Give the sermon text a read and a listen as we close out the Book of Ruth and we hope to see you this week at a Family Meal and/or a DNA group to dive even deeper.