How Great Thou Art Psalm 145

Julia Sweeney is a popular comedienne and author. She’s perhaps best known for her four-year run on . Julia Sweeney is avowed atheist. In recent years, she has performed a solo comedy show titled, Letting Go of God. The show is based on a book she has written by the same title. In her book, Julia Sweeney raises a question that many atheists ask: Why does God want or even seem to need our praise? Here's what Julia Sweeney said about this:

“I'm living my life as a person who accepts the natural world. The whole idea that there's a God who cares whether people believe in him or not - like why would God care if people believed in him or not? That was one of the many things I found so shocking when I read the Bible. First of all, how insecure God is. I mean, God is so insecure he needs everyone to say, ‘You're number one. You're greater than all other god's.’? I have to ask, ‘Is God that insecure?’”

Have you ever wondered, “Why do the Scriptures command us to praise God?” Is God like the Evil Queen in Snow White who said, “Mirror, mirror on the wall – who’s the fairest of them all?” Does our praise provide God with something that He’s lacking? Why does God deserve our praise? This is something David talks about in Psalm 145. Let’s turn in our Bible’s to Psalm 145.

It’s not evident in the English text, but Psalm 145 was composed as a Hebrew acrostic. Each verse of Psalm 145 begins with a consecutive letter in the Hebrew alphabet. Interestingly, Psalm 145 is the only psalm in the Bible that is titled, “A Psalm of Praise.” There are no petitions recorded in Psalm 145. There is no confession of sin. It’s devoted entirely to praising God for who He is and what He has done. Psalm 145 was especially dear to ancient Israelites. Rabbi’s taught that people who were disciplined to recite this psalm three times a day would be blessed by God with a happy life.

The question that I’d like us to consider this morning is: What inspired David to write this psalm of praise to God? What does he tell us about the God we worship and adore? Psalm 145 2 highlights four attributes of God. Please follow along in your outline. In verses 1-6, the first attribute that we see in this psalm is that:

1. God is great. The psalm begins with these words. I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.

King Louis XIV of France often referred to himself as the Great One. Before he died, Louis XIV gave instructions about how his funeral was to be conducted. He gave the order that the cathedral, where he would lie in state, should be dimly lit – and at his funeral, there would be a single candle by his coffin. Most importantly, Louis XIV stressed that he should be remembered as the Great One at the funeral service. And so it was, at his funeral the cathedral was dimly lit – and there was a single candle by his coffin. Hundreds of people filled the cathedral for the funeral and waited in hushed silence. When Bishop Massilon rose to speak – he walked over to the candle and snuffed out the flame and the congregation was gasped. Bishop Massilon then said in a voice that thundered throughout the cathedral, “Only God is great!” David was saying in verse 3, “Only God is great!”

David writes in verses 5- 6: On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate. They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds, and I will declare your greatness. A question that many of us have asked at one time or another is: Can I depend on God to meet my needs? Is God mighty enough, loving enough, forgiving enough and close enough to help me?

We ask this because all of us are acutely aware of the limitations we have. All of us have a limited amount of time. We have a limited amount of patience. We have a limited amount of money. We have a limited amount of strength. We have a limited amount of understanding. But God has no limits. Our needs will never exhaust God’s resources. How can we get our heads around just how great God is? One way to do that is to look at God’s creation.

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Tim and Grace Greer recently visited Lake Tahoe and posted several pictures on Facebook. I’ve never been to Lake Tahoe. That’s on my bucket list. However, last week I learned some interesting facts about Lake Tahoe. I learned that Lake Tahoe is the eighth deepest lake in the world. On July 4, 1875, two men discovered the deepest point in the lake to be 1645 feet by lowering a weighted champagne bottle on fishing line from the side of their boat. Following the invention of sonar, soundings by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration confirmed that depth. Lake Tahoe is so large that if someone pumped out all of the water, the state of California would be covered in 14.5 inches of water. That would solve our drought problem! Lake Tahoe has enough water in it to provide every person living in the United States with 50 gallons of water per day for 5 years. And Lake Tahoe is actually a small lake compared to Lake Superior (which is 120 times as large) and the world's largest lake, the Caspian Sea (which is 576 times larger).

Look at Psalm 145 once again. In verse 3, David tells us that God is great in His Person. In verse 4, he tells us that God is great in His works. In verses 5-6, David tells us that God is great in His might and majesty. Here’s what David is driving at in these verses. If we truly believe that God is great – that should motivates us to praise Him! On the other hand, if you lack the desire to praise God – it could well be that you have a low view of Him. A theologian by the name of W.S. Plummer wrote these words about Psalm 145: “Nothing has a more pernicious effect on our character than having a low view of God. Unless we have a great view of God, our praises will be feeble and dull.” Plummer is saying this: We won’t give God the praise He deserves if we don’t think He’s great.

Every week here at Parkside – our worship is designed to extol the greatness of God. We’re not here to entertain people. Worship isn’t about us - it's about God. That’s why we sing songs of praise and worship. That’s why we confess our sins in prayer. Confession bears witness of the fact that we’re flawed and imperfect, but we worship a God who is rich in mercy. That’s why we gather at Communion table – to remember and to thank Him for dying on the cross for our sins. 4

That’s why we teach and preach God’s Word. It tells the story of God’s love and redemption. In all of these acts, we’re bearing witness to the fact that God is great in His love and mighty deeds. This is the first reason why we praise Him!

2. God is good. Look at verses 7-9: They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness and shall sing aloud of your righteousness. The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made. There is antiphonal saying that’s shared in many churches these days. A leader will say to the congregation, “God is good” and the congregational will say in response, “All the time.” The leader will then say, “All the time” and the congregation will respond, “God is good.”

The Bible describes God’s goodness in two ways. First, God’s goodness is seen in His character. Psalm 119:68 says of God: You are good and do good. In Psalm 100:4-5 we read: Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Give thanks to Him and praise His name! For the Lord is good and His love is eternal, and His faithfulness endures to all generations.

Second, God’s goodness is seen though His through His actions. God’s goodness is seen through what He does. In Psalm 145:8-9, David quotes Exodus 34:6. It's the passage when Moses says, “Lord, please reveal Yourself to me. I want to see You.” But God said to Moses, “No one is able to see Me and live. Instead, I’ll put you in the cleft of a rock and let you see my back as I pass by.” God said to Moses, “I am…merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. In quoting this passage, David is saying that we should praise God because He is merciful and gracious and loving and faithful. Think about it. Where would we be without the mercy, grace, love and faithfulness of God? David is saying in verses 7-9 that God’s goodness is seen in the way He deals with people.

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One of my favorite characters in the Bible is Jonah. In Jonah chapter 4, Jonah protests to God about being sent to Ninevah. Jonah didn’t want to preach in Ninevah for a host of reasons. Number one, he doesn’t like them. They’re the archenemies of Israel. Number two, how would he ever live down the fact before his countrymen that he went to Ninevah to call people to repent and to turn to God in faith? In chapter 4, Jonah said to the Lord: “The reason I didn't want to go there is because I know you are gracious and merciful and slow to anger and abounding in love.” Jonah was saying: “I don’t want to preach to them, Lord – because it would be just like you to forgive them!”

Do you remember how the story ends? If you look at Jonah 4:9 the Lord comes back to Jonah and he says something very interesting that echoes what’s being said here in Psalm 145. The Lord said, “Jonah, you had compassion on that plant that I caused to grow up overnight. When it died, your heart was sad. But there are thousands of people in this city that don't know their left hand from their right and along with that many cattle, and I had compassion on them.” David said that God is good to all and has compassion on all He has made.

3. God is glorious. Look at verses 10-13: All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord, and all your saints shall bless you! They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom and tell of your power, to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations. David’s earthly kingdom would one day come to an end – but God’s kingdom is everlasting!

Some folks believe that God is not reigning over this world today - that Satan is somehow in charge of what happens in the world and that God won't rule until Jesus returns. I’ve heard sincere believers say, “In the past, Jesus was the Prophet. Today in heaven, He is the Priest. And when He returns, He will be the King.” That’s not what the Bible teaches, my friends. Jesus Christ is on the throne today and we should be glad that He is! Paul said in Ephesians chapter 1 that Jesus is seated at the right hand of God. Paul says that Jesus has a 6 place far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. His kingdom will never come to an end!

Where are the mighty empires of old: the Egyptian Empire, the Babylonian Empire, the Persian Empire, the Greek Empire, the Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire? Where are the European empires of the last 500 years? What happened to Hitler and the Third Reich? Where will Russia be in the next 100 years? And you have to wonder, where will America one day be? Earthly kingdoms come and go – but God’s kingdom is everlasting. Jesus taught us to pray, “Thy kingdom come!”

In the waning days of WWII, allied bombs rained down on the city of Stuttgart, Germany. During those days, a Lutheran pastor by the name of Helmut Thielicke preached a series of sermons based on the Lord’s Prayer. One of his most powerful messages—his sermon on the petition “Thy Kingdom come” was interrupted by an air raid. Most of the members of the congregation scattered to a nearby air raid shelter. But there were some that didn’t make it. Thielicke’s church – the Stuttgart Cathedral was destroyed by allied bombs. Thielicke returned to the church later and was dismayed by what he saw. To him, it seemed like all the work he had done for God had been blown to bits. Sadly, 50 people in his congregation died in the crypt of the church when it was hit by allied bombs. As Thielicke stood – staring into the bomb crater - a woman approached him and said, “My husband died down there.” His body was never recovered. All that the recovery workers found was the cap he was wearing. The woman was heartbroken, but she said to Thielicke, “I want to thank you for preparing my husband for eternity.” Later, Helmut Thielicke said to his congregation, “In this world of death - in this empire of ruins - we pray more than ever, ‘Thy Kingdom come!’”

Why can we expect Jesus to show us His greatness, goodness and glory? It’s because He reigns! David said, Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations. 7

4. God is gracious. To know that God is great and good and glorious is one thing, but to know that God is gracious to us should take our praise to an even higher level. Look again at verse 8: The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. Skip ahead to verse 14: The Lord upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down. In verses 15-17, David says that God is gracious to those who hunger. In verses 18-19, God is gracious to those who pray. In verses 20-21, God is gracious to those who love Him. God is gracious!

In the early 50’s, a conference on comparative religions was held in Great Britain. Scholars debated whether or not there were any religious doctrines that were unique to Christianity. Scholars began eliminating possibilities. The Incarnation? Other religions had different versions of gods appearing in human form. The resurrection? Again, other religions had accounts of people returning from the dead. The debate went on for some time until C. S. Lewis entered the room. He could see there was an impassioned debate that was going on and asked, “What are you talking about?” A colleague of C.S. Lewis said, “We’re debating whether or not Christianity has a unique contribution to religious teaching. To which Lewis quickly said “Oh, that’s easy. What sets Christianity apart from all other religions is grace.” He was exactly right!

In his book, A Forgiving God in an Unforgiving World, Ron Lee Davis tells the story of a priest in the Philippines. The priest was loved by the people in his parish, but he secretly carried the burden of a sin he had committed many years before. He had repented, but still he had no peace in his heart – he had no sense of God's forgiveness. In his parish, there was a woman who loved God and claimed to have visions in which she spoke with Jesus and He with her. The priest was skeptical. To test her he said, “The next time you speak with Jesus, I want you to ask Him what sin your priest committed when he was in seminary.” The woman agreed to ask the Lord about this. A few days later the priest asked, “Did Jesus visit you in your dreams?” She said, “Yes, He did.” The priest asked, “Did you ask Him what sin I committed when I was in seminary?” She said, “Yes, I did.” The priest 8 said, “Well, what was His answer?” The woman said, “Jesus said, ‘I don’t remember.’” Beloved in Christ, what God forgives, He forgets! Look at what God says in Isaiah 43:25: I, even I am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.

There is someone here this morning - and there is a failure in your life that has been relentlessly stalking you for years. You’ve confessed that sin a hundred times or more - and yet, you feel so condemned and unworthy. You fear that God is going to settle the score with you one day. I have good news. The score was settled 2,000 years ago at the cross! David wrote in an earlier psalm, ….as high as the heavens are above the earth……as far as the east is from the west….so far does God remove our transgressions from us.

As we reflect on these dimensions of God’s nature – His greatness, His goodness, His glory and His grace – think about it - all of these attributes were/are perfectly embodied in the Person and work of Jesus Christ.

David said at the conclusion of Psalm 145: My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD. But the most important way for us to give praise to God is to bow our knee to Jesus Christ. Can you say this morning that you’ve done that? If you never have – I’d like to give you an opportunity to do that right now. Let’s pray.