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Know His Character Praising, Trusting, & Imitating the God of Justice & Mercy

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Know His Character Praising, Trusting, & Imitating the God of Justice & Mercy Know His Character Praising, Trusting, & Imitating the God of Justice & Mercy Psalm 146 This week I’ve been reading about Martin Luther King Jr. Though I don’t agree with everything that Dr. King believed, said, or did, he continues to inspire me. His particular belief in the imago dei (the name of our church and title of this series) drove much of the civil rights movement, as noted by Richard Willis’ book Martin Luther King Jr. and the Image of God. Dr. King believed that every person was created by God, and worthy of dignity, love, basic human rights, and fair and just treatment. He fought for equality and called out those who discriminated against races. He said of the imago dei: “You see the founding fathers were really influenced by the Bible. The whole concept of the imago dei … is the idea that all men have something within them that God injected. Not that they have substantial unity with God, but that every man has a capacity to have fellowship with God. And this gives him uniqueness…. There are no gradations in the image of God. Every man from a treble white to a bass black is significant on God’s keyboard, precisely because every man is made in the image of God. One day we will learn that. We will know one day that God made us to live together as brothers and to respect the dignity and worth of every man. This is why we must fight segregation with all of our non-violent might.” (sermon, 1965, Ebenezer Baptist Church) He called out the church for not living out this belief, and for not worshiping together. At the National Cathedral, during his last sermon before he was assassinated, he said, “We must face the sad fact that at 11 o’clock on Sunday morning when we stand to sing ‘In Christ there is no East or West,’ we stand in the most segregated hour of America.” He also reflected on the irony that a particular white Baptist church spent thousands of dollars to evangelize Africans, yet fired its pastor for allowing a black man to sing in its choir (Lischer, 19). Evil. I’m also moved by King's concern for the poor. He was moved to tears as he observed the intense poverty in Quitman, MS, specifically as he watched a school teacher feed her students their lunch, consisting of only a slice of an apple and some crackers. He grieved over the poor in Harlem, and defended poor sanitation workers in Memphis. Psalm 146 The ideas of God as creator, and God’s compassion for the poor appear in Psalm 146. The Psalmist points us to nature of the LORD in this psalm. It is so relevant because our view of God determines everything. Tozer said, “Were we able to extract from any man a complete answer to the question, ‘What comes into your mind when you think about God?’ we might predict with certainty the spiritual future of that man... The first step down for any church is taken when it surrenders its high opinion of God” Big Idea: When we have a high view (or biblical view) of God, we will praise him continually, trust him supremely, and imitate him faithfully. Verses 5-10 form the heart of the Psalm. Spurgeon delivered a sermon on verses 7-9 called “The Lord’s Famous Titles.” Indeed, he is glorious here. When you consider who God is, you will praise him. You will trust him. You will imitate him. If you aren’t praising him, trusting him, and imitating him – you don’t know him. At least, at the moment, you don’t believe he is who he says he is. #1: PRAISE THE LORD CONTINUALLY (1-2, 10b) Five joyous Psalms in a row (146-150) complete the Psalter. Each begins and ends with the word “Hallelujah” (‘Praise the Lord’ in English). See 147-50. The Psalm takes up phrases from Psalm 145, and the surrounding Psalms, as we will note. One hymn that reflects this Psalm is Isaac Watt’s hymn, “I’ll praise my Maker while I have breath.” A. Praise the Lord Corporately (1a) The opening call is plural; it’s an inclusive summons for everyone to praise God. Why praise? The rest of the Psalm gives you reasons. That’s what you need. You need reasons! Read verses 6-10. Here are reasons! Does these virtues move you? “He did not study God, he was dazzled by him” (Les Mis, the Novel). Let us be dazzled by him! B. Praise the Lord Personally (1b-2) Within the corporate call is a call to praise God individually. The phrases “my soul” and “I will praise as long as I live” demonstrate this. Notice the depth, “o my soul.” This is similar to Psalm 42, 103, and others, as the Psalmist is speaking to his soul. “Come on soul! Wake up and sing!” C. Praise the Lord Constantly (2) The Psalmist resolves to live a life of praise. His resolve goes beyond the mere moment. He longs for sustained praise. “I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth” (Ps. 34:1) Psalm 104:33 says the same thing: “I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.” 145:2: “Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever.” Do not simply praise God on a Sunday or at conference, but be a lifelong worshiper. I was thinking about the many changes over the past several years, including fashion. How hard is it to buy a pair of pants these days! You can even by Capri overhauls for men. They have jumped the shark with these. (If you wear them, I love you, and I get it if you are going fly fishing). While things changes, one thing must remain the same: we will praise our God – while we have our being. Application How can you sustain a life of praise? You must have a great vision of God. If your vision of God is just based on man’s tradition, or cultural opinion, instead of God’s revelation then you will not sustain a life of praise. But if your view of God is based on God’s revelation, and it your mind is renewed daily by God’s revelation, then praise results. Do you have a plan this year for meditating on the Scriptures? Look at Ps 145:1-9 – where does this truth come from? The Bible. Why is it important to live a life of praise? • You were made for this. “The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.” You are an image bearer of God. To be a human doesn’t mean autonomy, it means that you were made for communion with God. You are so made for it, you can see and hear expressions of praise everywhere, from: o Teenage girls screaming at Boy concerts, o Old man extolling the virtues of Home Depot products o Readers praising Tolkien for his brilliance o Car lovers, raving over 68 camaroes at Car Shows, o Duck Dynasty fans telling their friends to watch this incredible show about millionaire rednecks (a new category of heroes have ensued) o Armchair quarterbacks raving about their football team winning on Facebook o Southern belles, showing off the latest designs in Southern Living, o Techies exalting Apple Products, o Fans admiring those in People Magazine, You will praise something. Make it the Triune God. In his fantastic book A Dangerous Calling Paul Tripp, commenting on the previous Psalm 145, says “Every human being has been hardwired by God to live in daily awe of him…. Awe of God should be the reason I do what I do with my thoughts. It should be the reason I desire what I desire. Awe of God should be the reason I treat my wife the way I do and parent my children in the manner I do. It should be the reason I function the way I do at my job or handle my finances the way I do.” (117). We have been hardwired to stand in awe of God. • You live out of the overflow of your heart. Mission begins with the heart, not strategy. A lot of missions movements are not sustained because they aren’t deep enough. They must be rooted in the character of God and the worship of him. Mission follows worship. When a person reflects on the grace of God, and his grace gets driven inside the heart to the point of heartfelt worship, the result is generosity. The heart acts. When a person praises the God who cares for the fatherless, then a result of that praise is care for the fatherless. When a person praises the God of justice, then that person longs for justice. “Seeking justice doesn’t begin at the door of a brothel. Seeking justice beings with seeking the God of justice.” (Bethany Hoang, Deepening the Soul for Worship). At IJM, one hour a day is devoted to prayer the reading of a Psalm. God’s people were to “do justly and love mercy” and throughout the Psalms what you find is them praising God for these attributes: “I will sing of steadfast love [hesed] and justice; to you, O LORD, I will make music” (101:1) Gentry calls Psalm 117 a summary of Psalms “Praise the Lord, all nations!” Extol him all peoples! For great is his steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.” (117).
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