Sermon Psalm 145 Praising God

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

New Covenant Presbyterian Church

Sermon Psalm 145 Praising God

August 6, 2017

In our look at the Psalms of Summer, we have learned that we are to praise God jubilantly because of his love and faithfulness.   God loves everyone especially the poor.  We have learned that whenever we have problems we can turn to God in prayer and humbly ask God for what we need.   Last week we looked at one of the greatest gifts God gives us, instructions for living our lives.   Today we turn to our response for all of this.   And the only appropriate response is to praise our creator.  We will get to this, but first, let’s pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

We have many psalms of praise.  And we have many psalms of David.  But we have only one psalm of both praise and of David.  This is Psalm 145.  According to the Jewish Talmud, Rabbi Elazer said, ““who ever says the Psalm which we call 'ashrei' (psalm 145) three times a day is a person who can rest assured that he will inherit the next world.”  This is good news.  But why would someone inherit the Kingdom just by reciting Psalm 145 three times a day?

One reason for this, according the Talmud, is that each line in the psalm starts with a Hebrew letter in alphabetical order.  Like psalm 119, psalm 145 is an acrostic poem.   Another reason is that the psalm says “16 You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing. “   So if God opens his hands and satifies the desires of those reciting this psalm then certainly our desire for eternal life must be satisfied.    And since we too expect eternal life through our faith in Jesus Christ let us turn to this ancient psalm and use it to offer up our praise to God.

Psalm 145:1 I will exalt you, my God the King;
   I will praise your name for ever and ever.
2 Every day I will praise you
   and extol your name for ever and ever.

According to David we are to lift up and praise God every day.  Daily prayer and meditation on scripture is vitally important for spiritual growth.   You must set aside a certain time every day to pray for yourself, your family and friends, and your church.   Grace and I get together every morning at 7:30.  For one hour we read together, out loud and responsively, two chapters from the New Testament, two chapters from Old Testament, and three chapters from the Psalms.  Then we pray for New Covenant Church and our family.   I urge you to start your own daily practice of Bible reading and prayer.   There are many good Bible reading plans you can use or develop your own.   Copies of Our Daily Bread are available in the narthex.  You can use this for a daily meditation.   Or use today’s bulletin.   In it you will find prayers, scripture reading, and things to pray for.   Let’s return to the psalm as see why we should praise God.    

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.

We are to praise God ourselves and we are to teach our children to praise God so that God will be praised forever.  Why do we praise God?  One reason is that as we look around the world God created we see his marvelous works and his great majesty.   We praise God for the miracle of the abundance of growing corn in the fields around the church.  We praise God for the beauty and abundance of the Chesapeake Bay and the sacrifices of our ancestors digging the canal.  Everywhere we look we see God’s splendor and majesty.  And this leads us to praise our God every day.

So the work of God’s good creation leads us to praise him.  But some people can’t praise God every day.   Their lives are corrupted by sin.  And sin blocks us from praising God as we should.   Let’s go back to the psalm.

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.

Sin blocks our access to God.  With sin in our lives a close relationship with God becomes impossible.   But God still wants our praises.  And so he graciously wants to forgive us.  God is not angry at us.   He is good to us.  God loves us.   God wants the best for us and he blesses us abundantly.   All we have to do is turn toward him and accept his love.  We receive his forgiveness and compassion.   And with the Holy Spirit in our heart we no longer desire to sin.   Anyone who has experienced God’s grace in their lives can’t help but praise him.   And so we, forgiven sinners, join our voices with David’s and sing praises to God in gratitude for God’s love and forgiveness.  

We are not only ones who praise God.  There are others.   Let go back to the psalm.

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.
13a Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
   and your dominion endures through all generations.

According the psalmist all the works of God praise him.   We usually think that only people praise God.  But in fact everything in creation praises God.  One Easter Sunday at a sunrise service, I was preaching from a pavilion on the Pocomoke river.  When the service began a flock of geese was in the river and the geese were making a lot of noise.  But when I began to speak the geese came out of the river and lined up along one side of the pavilion.  It looked liked they were listening to me.   As I proclaimed the good news of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead the geese gathered, with us and all creation, to praise God.

When we experience God’s love and forgiveness we praise him with thankful hearts.  But that is not the only thing we do.   The other thing we gratefully do it to tell other our stories of what God has done for us.  We give testimonies about God’s abundant blessings in our lives.  This gives others hope when they realize that God loves them too.   When you bless others by telling them about God you are inviting them into the same relationship you have with God.   And this opens the door for them to experience God’s love for themselves.   There is nothing greater you can do in your life that to bring someone else to faith in Jesus Christ.  

Nancy Willis has a writer’s ministry in this church.  She is a professional author and will help you to develop your testimony of what Jesus has done in your life.   With the help of the writers ministry you develop your story about what God has done for you.   And by sharing your story with others you help them to find God for themselves.   A celebration of the writers ministry will be held here at the church on Sunday, August 27.    People from the writers ministry will share their stories with you.

So out of gratitude for God’s abundant blessings we praise him and share our stories with others.   Let’s go back to the psalm.

13b 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.

We live in a world stained by sin.   So many of us don’t experience the abundant lives that God has promised.   Maybe we are too far in debt.   Maybe we have to change careers.  Maybe our health is failing.  Maybe a loved one is addicted to alcohol.   We have all experienced trouble from time to time.

  Our experience, as Christians, is that we can turn to God and ask for help.    And we have experienced God’s love in our lives at times like these.  This experience of God when we need him is an important part of our faith.   And this is what we can offer when we talk to others.    The promise of God to everyone is that God gracious love is available to them.   No matter what trouble we experience God is right there to help us.   God blesses us richly with love and forgiveness.   And through this we are filled with hope.  Let’s praise God.

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

What, if we praised God three times a day with these words, what would happen?   

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

What if we believed this in our hearts when trouble comes?

19 He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;
   he hears their cry and saves them.

What if we experience this in our time of need?

20 The Lord watches over all who love him,

What if we said this three times a day?

21 My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord.   Let every creature praise his holy name for ever and ever.

What if we shared our stories with others until the whole world was praising God?

I think the answer to these questions is obvious.   The world we live in would be a much better place.   So I urge you to praise God in your daily devotions.   Consider the love and forgiveness you have received from God and give thanks.    And share your stories with others so that they can experience a gracious God for themselves.  Let’s pray.