5/27/07

The Essence of Christ in the Psalms: His Faithfulness

Psalm 145:1-21 

I will extol You, my God, O King; and I will bless Your name forever and ever.  [2] Every day I will bless You and I will praise Your name forever and ever.  [3] Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised; and His greatness is unsearchable.  [4] One generation shall praise Your works to another, and shall declare Your mighty acts.  [5] On the glorious splendor of Your majesty, and on Your wonderful works, I will meditate.  [6] Men shall speak of the power of Your awesome acts; and I will tell of Your greatness.  [7] They shall eagerly utter the memory of Your abundant goodness, and shall shout joyfully of Your righteousness.   [8] The Lord is gracious and compassionate; slow to anger and great in loving-kindness.  [9] The Lord is good to all, and His mercies are over all His works.  [10] All Your works shall give thanks to You, O Lord, and Your godly ones shall bless You.  [11] They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom, and talk of Your power;  [12] to make known to the sons of men Your mighty acts, and  the glory of the majesty of Your kingdom.  [13] Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and Your dominion endures throughout all generations.   [14] The Lord sustains all who fall, and raises up all who are bowed down.  [15] The eyes of all look to You, and You give them their food in due time.  [16] You open Your hand, and satisfy the desire of every living thing.   [17] The Lord is righteous in all His ways, and kind in all His deeds.  [18] The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth.  [19] He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He will also hear their cry and will save them.  [20] The Lord keeps 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.       

The great 19^th century English pastor-writer, Charles Haden Spurgeon, declared, (by way of his own heart-inclinations, I suppose), that this must have been David’s most sacred and beloved Psalm.  Though there is not written evidence of this, Spurgeon’s impression probably was on the ground that this song, perhaps more than any other David wrote, more succinctly and purposefully addresses David’s understanding of who His God is.  David praises God for his fame and glory (1—7), for his goodness (8—10), for his kingdom (11—13), for his providence (14—16), and His saving mercy (17—21).  David, basically, covers the primary essences of the faithfulness of God.  Since God is Eternal and since He is Sovereign over all, He, then by the very nature of who He is, must be faithful.  It is upon His faithfulness that we are able to have faith. 

"Know therefore that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His loving-kindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments; Deuteronomy 7:9

Vs. 1, 2.    David begins this Psalm, in the way that we should each and every day of our lives, by “extolling” God.  The word “extol” in the Hebrew means to “be high or exalted.”  David realized the need to establish God in his heart in the high and exalted place that He deserves.  David, the King, had those, who under his rule, were subject to his exalted position.  Therefore, it was quite an easy thing for David to see his position before His King.  Because His King is an Eternal King, David understood that his response to Him was not a temporal, temporary, if I feel like it, or if it is convenient for me, kid of situation.  That is why David said I will “bless Your name forever and ever.”  The word “bless” has its root in the meaning of “to kneel.”  At one point in David’s reign, all of Israel and Judah bowed before him as king.  As such, they were exalting and kneeling before him in submission.  David indicated that this he would do forever.  And for emphasis, he added the “ever”.  I mean, how much longer can forever be. 

If that weren’t enough, David repeats his heart.  To say, “I will do something forever” can be a glossy statement without a real sincerity.  However, if a person says, “I will do this today, and tomorrow and every day until I die”, there is more emphasis and priority given.  It gives the declaration a richer, definitive relevance.  It is not just a general attitude of one’s heart, but is specific in terms of the declaration being carried out: “this is how I intend to carry out the forever…day-by-day.”

V. 3.  David declares why!  Because the Lord is Great, and, therefore, highly to be praised…more than any king who ever has or ever will inhabit a palace or sit on a throne…He alone is worthy to be praise because He is the One who establishes all the rulers, dominions, nations and peoples.  David, as one of those kings to whom God has delegated His authority, says that ONLY Jehovah God is worthy to be praised.  Kings and rulers amass wealth, weapons, and warriors…but who can fathom in the least the greatness of our God? 

O Lord God of hosts, Who is mighty like You, O Lord? Your faithfulness also surrounds You.  Psalm 89:8

Who is like the Lord our God, Who dwells on high?  Psalm 113:5

Who does great things, and unsearchable, marvelous things without number.   Job 5:9

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary.  His understanding is unsearchable.   Isaiah 40:28 

Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!  Romans 11:33 

I tried and finally gave up looking for the Hebrew structural term for this Psalm.  There is a term for this particular poetry pattern.  Verses one and two are a declaration of David’s heart of worship.  Then verse three reveals a quality of the essence of God.  Verses four through seven is how His creation responds to the truth.  Verses eight and nine reveal another facet of God.  Verses ten through thirteen respond.  Verse fourteen reveals another facet of God.  Verses fifteen and sixteen respond.  Verses seventeen through twenty finish out the revelation of God.  And closing out the Psalm, David returns to the thought of worship in verses one and two.  This is a very purposeful and worshipful song.  The whole essence of it is the faithfulness of God.  The fact that David imposes upon himself the requirement of worshipping the Lord “forever and ever” strongly ignites the reality that “forever and ever” worship indicates that HE IS “forever and ever” FAITHFUL!

Vs. 4-7  This is not just a statement of fact or hope, e.g., “it looks like if things stay the same that people on down the road will praise you.”  The question is asked, “Will things stay the same?”  Not in the natural realm they won’t.  In the supernatural realm they most certainly will stay the same.  There is a certainty about God that is unquestioned.  In fact, we could say that, at this point, David is functioning as a prophet in that He is declaring a truth with future aspects to it.  The nature and quality of God is immutable (unchanging). 

Meditation is an important facet of worship.  Who is He?  What has He done in my world?  What was His response to me?  How did I respond to Him?  Why?  What is He about?  What does He call me to do?  What does His word really mean or say to me, personally?  How is He working change in my life?  What are the implications of how His changing me imposes me to change in my response to others?  My meditation can’t simply be how He has done what I want.  Our meditation must be centered on His “majesty” and His “works.”  I must move away from my self-centered view of life.  It must be, on a continual and on-going basis, more about Him and less of me.

Doesn’t David speak of the testimony of who God is and what He does?  What could be a more “awesome act” for us than to describe how God by the work of His Spirit quickened a dark, imprisoned, unresponsive heart into a heart that yearns for the Living Water, the Truth and the Life?  Who in this room can’t speak out of your memory of the “abundant goodness” of God toward you and/or your family that results in shouts of joy and spiritual celebration?

V. 8, 9  What greater qualities of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ could be delineated than those that David highlights here: His graciousness, His compassion, His long-suffering, His loving-kindness, His goodness and His mercies over all things?

V. 10-13.  These verses respond to the above qualities.  Of course, His works…that is us folks…give thanks to Him.  We must!  When we consider all that He is and all that He has done, how can we, with David, not fall down and “extol and bless His name forever?”  This is one reason that we are here today…men and women from earliest time spoke of His splendor and majesty…prophets.  Then the Glorious One, Himself, came and declared Who God was, what He was like, and what He desired for us…prophet.  The writers of the New Testament declared

What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life —  ² and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us —  ³ what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. ⁴ These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete. 1 John 1:1-4

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. ¹⁶ For by Him all things were created,both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities —  all things have been created through Him and for Him. ¹⁷ He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. ¹⁸ He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. ¹⁹ For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, ²⁰ and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say,  whether things on earth or things in heaven. Colossians 1:15-20

V. 14.  The faithfulness of God’s sustaining power is evident throughout the entire OT and NT.  The Lord Jesus Christ’s Spirit is our strength; He is our Life; He is our Light.  As our Shepherd, He faithfully watches us as the weak lambs that we are.  Remember, in Luke 13:34, Jesus looks over Jerusalem and said, “How often I wanted to gather your children together, just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings?”  Then again in Matt 11:28, Jesus shows Himself as the “Gatherer” of those who are “bowed down.”  “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.”

V. 15, 16.  What should our response to Him?  Our eyes must be on Him.  He alone is the satisfier of our souls.  He alone is able to rescue those who are perishing.  He alone has promised to provide all that we need.  Whatever is necessary for life itself, He, and He alone, is the Giver.  He, and He alone, is worthy of our worship.

"Know therefore today, and take it to your heart, that the Lord, He is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other. Deuteronomy 4:39

"Declare and set forth your case; indeed, let them consult together. Who has announced this from of old? Who has long since declared it? Is it not I, the Lord? And there is no other God besides Me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none except Me. [22] "Turn to Me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. Isaiah 45:21-22 

V.17-20.  David declares six powerful aspects about the faithfulness of God.

• The Lord is righteous in all His ways
• The Lord is kind in all His deeds
• The Lord is near to all who call upon Him (to those who call upon Him as Sovereign Lord in humility, not as some heavenly maitre de who exists only to get us out of jams, give us what we want, etc.)
• The Lord fulfills the desire of those who fear Him
• The Lord hears their cries for help and He saves them
• The Lord keeps all who love Him.

The Lord IS FAITHFUL.  He must be.  What He IS, HE IS.  That should not be difficult for us to understand.  H₂0 is always H₂0.  Water is always made up of the same elements.  It is faithful to its makeup.  Plant life always emits C0₂.  Water freezes at 32 degrees F, and boils at 212 degrees.  These are constants.  The heart of man is always the same, unless changed by the power of the blood of Christ.  Man is born into sin with a self-willed ruled heart. Jesus made this clear when He said, 

"For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, [22] deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. [23] "All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man." Mark 7:21-23

If all of these things are in a faithful, constant state, is it not even more evident, since Jesus is the One that holds all things together, that He would have to be faithful?  David recognized it…so should we…with great joy and in agreement with David…”my mouth will speak the praise of the Lord…and bless His holy name forever and ever!”  David begins his song with this declaration and ends it in the same way.  The beginning of our lives in Christ should begin with praise and they should end in the same way.