Friday, November 11, 2011

Psalm 145

1 I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever.
2 Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever.
3 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.
4 One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.
5 I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works.
6 And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts: and I will declare thy greatness.
7 They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness.
8 The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.
9 The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.
10 All thy works shall praise thee, O LORD; and thy saints shall bless thee.
11 They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power;
12 To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom.
13 Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.
14 The LORD upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down.
15 The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season.
16 Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.
17 The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.
18 The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.
19 He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them.
20 The LORD preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy.
21 My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD: and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.

Key Verse:
17 The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.

Key Observation:
McGee: “This psalm is an acrostic, which means that each verse begins with one of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet.”

McGee, J. Vernon (1990-01-30). Thru the Bible 1-5 (5 Volume Set) (Kindle Location 52024). Grupo Nelson. Kindle Edition.

Memory Verse:
This psalm cries out to be memorized in its entirety. Howbeit if I must choose one:
8 The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.

Devotion:

Matthew Henry: “The five foregoing psalms were all of a piece, all full of prayers; this, and the five that follow it to the end of the book, are all of a piece too, all full of praises; and though only this is entitled David’s psalm yet we have no reason to think but that they were all his as well as all the foregoing prayers.”

I read this psalm and most of the verses are so great that they make my skin tingle with delight. I commented under the memory section above that this whole psalm seems to cry out to be memorized. I was delighted to read Matthew Henry’s comment: “The Jewish writers justly extol this psalm as a star of the first magnitude in this bright constellation; and some of them have an extravagant saying concerning it, not much unlike some of the popish superstitions, That whosoever will sing this psalm constantly three times a day shall certainly be happy in the world to come.”

I think that the memory of this psalm will perhaps reach a crescendo in the millennium. Notice the praises that are listed:
1) I will bless your name forever and ever
2) Great is the Lord, unsearchably so
3) His praise is generational—that is it is passed on from one generation to the next
4) His majesty is shown in His wondrous works
5) Men will honor His greatness by retelling His deeds
6) The Lord is gracious
7) The Lord is full of compassion
8) The Lord is slow to anger
9) The Lord is of great mercy

13 Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.

There is a new list I can compile after this. These are things which the Lord does:
1) He upholds those that fall
2) He raises those who are bowed down (with troubles)
3) He gives them meat in their due season
4) He opens His hand and satisfies every living thing
5) He is near to those who call upon Him in truth
6) He will fulfill their desires
7) He preserves those who fear Him

What a wondrous psalm! It depicts all of the wonderful things which God does for man. Yet there is one verse from the last psalm (144:3) that says What is man that you are mindful of Him, or the Son of Man that you care for Him? How is it that we, so little in the vast universe, should be considered by God? He cares for you. He cares for me. In the big things and in the little things, He cares. Truly this psalm begs for my meditation and consideration.

Amazing Grace

1. Amazing grace! how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

2. 'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed.

3. Thru many dangers, toils, and snares,
I have already come;
'Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.

4. The Lord has promised good to me,
His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.

5. When we've been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We've no less days to sing God's praise
Than when we'd first begun.

Lyrics: John Newton

No comments: