Worthy of Praise
|
Key Verse: “The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.” Selected Scripture: |
THE PSALMIST DAVID HAD learned from the days of his youth the greatness of Almighty God. As a shepherd, he became acquainted with God’s protection over him when animals, such as bears and lions, would attack the sheep. At night, he would gaze up into the sky, marveling at the heavens spread over him. He wrote of these heavens, saying, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” (Ps. 19:1, New International Version) The billions of galaxies were formed by the fingers of God. In his life, David had witnessed God’s mercy, love, and power. “Greatly to be praised” is our God, writes David.—Ps. 145:3
The psalmist writes, “One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.” (vs. 4) This Hebrew word ‘generation’ has the thought that from age to age mankind will praise God for his mighty works of old, and for his great compassion and love.
David wanted us to know that he would speak to all who would hear of God’s honor and majesty, and all his wondrous works. This should be our theme as well, to tell to all we come in contact with about our loving, all-wise God.
In verse 8, the psalmist says, ‘The Lord is gracious.’ What does this mean? This word gracious literally means to stoop down to one who is inferior. Imagine the great Creator of the universe stooping down to his creation, to shower them with his love and compassion. Going on in verse 8, he says, God is ‘full of compassion.’ Here this word means to be merciful. We read, “As the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear [reverence] him.”—Ps. 103:11
The saints will praise God, and will bless him, and speak of the “glory” of his kingdom. (Ps. 145:10-12) Here the majesty of God’s coming kingdom is spoken of. This kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion will endure throughout all generations. The saints—those faithful followers of Christ—will praise and bless God in that kingdom by assisting in the restoration of the remainder of mankind back to the perfection lost in Adam, but which was purchased back by the ransom price provided by Jesus, and which will be made available to the world in that future day of promised blessings.
In verse 14, the psalmist says, “The Lord upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down.” It is the humble, the teachable, that Almighty God will deal with during his coming kingdom on earth.
Who is it that we are dealing with? It is the Creator of heaven and earth “who satisfiest the desire of every living thing.” (vs. 16) We find that God “is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.”—vs. 17
Our God is ever nigh to those who “call upon him,” yea, those who call upon him “in truth.” (vs. 18) This word ‘truth’ has the thought of one who is trustworthy. All coming to God must be trustworthy. The question for all coming to God is, How trustworthy are we? If we reverence him, God will always hear our petitions. In verse 20, we are told that God “preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy.”
In closing, the psalmist again says his mouth will praise the Lord, “let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.”—vs. 21