Sermon for July 23rd, 2023

Psalm 145:1-21

Praise. Of David.
1 I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever.
2 Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever.
3 Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised; his greatness is unsearchable.
4 One generation shall extol your works to another and shall declare your mighty acts.
5 They will recount the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works I will meditate.
6 They will proclaim the might of your awesome deeds, and I will declare your greatness.
7 They shall celebrate the fame of your abundant goodness and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.
8 The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 The Lord is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made.
10 All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord, and all your faithful shall bless you.
11 They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom and tell of your power,
12 to make known to all people your mighty deeds and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations.
The Lord is faithful in all his words and gracious in all his deeds.
14 The Lord upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season.
16 You open your hand, satisfying the desire of every living thing.
17 The Lord is just in all his ways and kind in all his doings.
18 The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.
19 He fulfills the desire of all who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them.
20 The Lord watches over 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.

Psalm 145: An Alphabet of Praise

• Poetry, Prayer, Personal, Public
• In this psalm’s universe, the role of humans is to speak. Worshipers describe themselves as extolling, blessing, praising, lauding, telling, meditating, proclaiming, declaring, celebrating, singing, giving thanks, speaking, and making known. The role of God is to act.
• Faith isn’t faith if it’s just inside your head/heart—true faith must be spoken, shared, proclaimed.
• Acrostic implies comprehensiveness—the A to Z of praising God. Also implies educational use of the psalm—the ABC’s of praising God.
• Rabbi Yehiel Poupko is Judaic Scholar for the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago. Rabbi Poupko describes Psalm 145 as the “prayer of all prayers” and the “entry way to the Psalms,” to be prayed three times each day by the devout. According to the Talmud, “‘Everyone who repeats the Tehillah of David thrice a day may be sure that he is a child of the world to come’ (Berakot, 4b).”2 Its purpose is the praise of God (vv. 1–7). Prayer should be offered to God, who is compassionate, majestic, and sovereign (vv. 8–13). The final section (vv. 14–20) answers the question of the very purpose of prayer.
• Augustine selected Psalm 145:3 as the opening words of his Confessions: “You are great, Lord, and highly to be praised.” In the opening paragraph to his spiritual autobiography, commenting on this and other psalms, Augustine addresses one of his greatest insights about God: “You stir [us] to take pleasure in praising you, because you have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you”
• This insight from Augustine inspired one of Calvin’s own great insights: knowledge of God and knowledge of ourselves are woven together into one true quest. If we would come to know the truth about ourselves, we must come to a true knowledge of God our Creator and Redeemer.
• Psalm 145, located at the end of the fifth section of Psalms (Pss. 107–145), provides the climax for this section, focusing on the crisis of the Babylonian exile and the circumstances following it. Despite the disappearance of the monarchy, whose establishment and continuance have depended upon God’s covenant with the Israelites (see Ps. 89:19–37), the psalmist affirms and praises God’s sovereignty.