Continued Look at Praising the Lord (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 has 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