The Blessing of Blessing God

The Blessing of Blessing God
Psalm 145:1-21
July 20-21, 2024

     This will be the final psalm we study in this series in the Psalms. It is also the final psalm attributed to David. In many ways, it is one of the most important of the Psalms.

     This Psalm makes up the greater part of one of the most important prayers prayed by Jews all over the world – the Ashrei. Rabbis have long taught that if a person recites this prayer three times daily -as in, three times every day, he is guaranteed a place in the afterlife, the world to come. That’s how important it is to Jews all over the world.

     From the Christian perspective, however, reciting a prayer three times a day for the rest of your life would not guarantee you a place in the world to come. That sounds far too much like believing a person can be saved by their own righteous deeds. What if you missed one of these ‘three times a day’ prayers? You would have to make up for it at the next appointed time for prayer; but then saying a prayer twice only counts if you missed it unintentionally.

     No, you’re not saved by your own righteous deeds. You are saved when you believe that you are a sinner who cannot redeem himself from his own sin and that you believe that God forgives your sin through His Son, Jesus Christ.

     A person might perhaps be able to compensate for a missed prayer, but how does one compensate for telling a lie? By telling the truth twice? No, the stain of that lie is always there. How does one compensate for losing his temper and saying hurtful words? By saying nice words twice? No, the stain of those ugly words is still there.

     The stain of sin is washed white as snow only by the blood of Jesus Christ applied to your sins. There is no other remedy for sin — for there is no other name given under heaven by which men must be saved.

     And then, not only are your sins forgiven in their entirety, but you are also given the righteousness of Jesus Christ as a gift. Can you imagine receiving the righteousness of Jesus Christ into your account? The righteousness of Jesus is credited to you in its entirety. When you stand before the throne of the great Almighty, you will be wearing a robe of righteousness. But not a robe made of your own righteousness, a robe made of the righteousness of Jesus Christ. How beautiful is that?

Psalm 130:3-4, “If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with You there is forgiveness, that You may be honored and revered.”

 Isaiah 61:10, “I will rejoice greatly in the Lord, my soul will exult in my God; for He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness.”

     You pray then, even if three times a day, out of a heart that desires to honor God for all that He has done for you.

     Is it good to pray this prayer every day? Yes, certainly. It’s one of the greatest prayers in the Bible because it gives God so much glory and honor. It’s also good to pray this prayer and many other prayers like it, because it’s good for the soul to bless God. There is a great blessing that comes back to those who bless God.

I. It’s Good for the Soul to Bless God

• Verses 1-2 – I will extol You, my God, O King, I will bless Your name forever and ever… Every day I will bless You.
• In other words, I have set my course. I have decided that my life will bless and honor the name of my God forever and ever. You must come to the place where this matter is settled.
• Those who are unsure stay close to the fence. Those who have decided and settled their hearts, go farther in and higher up.
• There is no greater joy for the soul than to delight itself in God. There is no higher place.
• So many people are searching and longing to fill that which is missing in their lives. They are empty, and longing to be filled with meaning and purpose and significance. They want their lives to matter.
• What are we here for? What is our purpose?

A. To praise His works to another generation

• Verse 4 – One generation shall praise Your works to another and shall declare Your mighty acts.
• First, it is our nature to share good news.

Illus – I remember the first time I tasted cotton candy grapes. I couldn’t believe how good they were, they really tasted like cotton candy. I started calling everyone in my family. I brought some to the next family gathering and had them all have a taste. They are amazing! In other words, I wanted them to taste cotton candy grapes for themselves.

Psalm 34:8, O taste and see that the Lord is good. How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.

• Relationship with God is far more than a theological understanding, it’s a manner of life. It’s a spiritual bearing of faith.
• When you taste and see that the Lord is good, you’re partaking in the life of God for yourself, it becomes life within you.
• When you partake of the Lord, it is good for the soul; it settles well because it brings forth that which is beautiful in your life and into your heart. When you partake of the Lord, when you taste, you are changed, you are transformed from within.

Psalm 34:9, O revere the Lord, you His saints; for those who honor Him, there is no want.

• “There is no want.” David understood this very well.

Psalm 23:1, The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.

• I shall not want for rest, for he makes me lie down in green pastures. I shall not want for refreshment, for he leads me beside still waters. I shall not want for forgiveness; for he restores my soul. I shall not want for guidance; for he leads me in paths of righteousness for his namesake. I shall not want for companionship; for though I walk through the valley the shadow of death I will fear no evil, for you are with me. I shall not want for comfort; for your rod and your staff they comfort me. I shall not want for sustenance or provision; for you prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. I shall not want for joy, for you anoint my head with oil and my cup runneth over. I shall not want for anything in this life for goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. I shall not want for anything in the life to come; for I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
• This is what one generation declares to another; that they have found their soul’s desire in God; and they want the next generation to know it for themselves. To taste and see that the Lord is good!
• I have discovered the beauty of the Lord and that that which God desires to do in your soul is beautiful. I want you to taste and see that the Lord is good. I want the next generation to taste and see that the Lord is good.
• Verse 3 – Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; His greatness is unsearchable.

B. Meditate on the majesty of His splendor

• Verse 5 – On the glorious majesty of your splendor, and on Your wonderful works, I will meditate.
• I mentioned before that the Christian understanding of meditation is far different than that of the Eastern religions. In Eastern philosophies, they meditate by emptying their minds of all thought.
• The biblical understanding of meditation is far different; it is not the emptying one’s mind, it is the filling of one’s mind and heart with that which is glorious – the majesty of His splendor.
• So many people fill their minds with fears and anxious thoughts. That’s what they meditate on, their anxious thoughts.
• David is giving us a spiritual secret; something glorious happens in the soul when you fill your mind and your heart with the majesty of His splendor.

Psalm 94:1-4, It is good to give thanks to the Lord, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; to declare Your lovingkindness in the morning, and Your faithfulness by night… For You, O Lord, have made me glad by what You have done, I will sing for joy at the works of Your hands. How great are Your works, O Lord!

II. The Lord Keeps All Who Love Him

• Verse 20 – This becomes the theme of the last section of this beautiful Psalm; that God keeps watch over those who love Him. You were made in His image, and He loves you.
• What He desires most is that you would love Him out of the glory and splendor of what He is doing in your life.

Illus – In all my life I was never into babies … that is, until I had one! Then I was all in! That little child was made in my image! I went to all the doctors’ appointments. I was so into this baby that I asked the doctor if I could deliver her myself. And he said yes! Nicole and I were close all the days of her life. There was always something special between us. We talked for hours the evening before she died.

• God keeps watch over those who love Him. He surrounds them with songs of deliverance…

Deuteronomy 32:10, He encircled Israel, He cared for him, and He guarded him as the apple of His eye.

Zechariah 2:8, For thus says the Lord of hosts… “He who touches you, touches the apple of My eye.”

A. He is near to those who call

• Verse 18-19 – The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth… He will hear their cry and will save them.
• There are two parts to that great truth. The Lord is near to all who call upon him… To all who call upon Him in truth.

1 John 5:14, This is the confidence we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.

• David understood this very well. How many times did David cry out to the Lord, and then God saved him? Over and over and over.
• To call upon Him in truth, the word ‘truth’ in Hebrew means ‘with a true heart,’ or, you might say, with a confidence of faith, believing that God is near to those who call upon Him.
• You are near to God and God is near to you.

B. He will satisfy those who honor Him

• Verses 19 – He will fulfill the desire of those who revere and honor Him…
• This is one of David’s greatest themes. You can imagine why David would include it in one of his greatest prayers.

Psalm 37:4, Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart.

• One of the reasons Psalm 145 is so beautiful is because it expresses a relationship to the Lord as blessings that flow both ways. It highlights all the majesty of His splendor, the wonderful works of God and the ways He blesses His people.
• But it also expresses the beauty of blessing the Lord Himself. “I will bless Your name forever and ever; every day I will bless You…”
• Psalm 37 is the same – Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart.

Psalm 36:8-9, They drink their fill of the abundance of Your house; and You give them to drink of the river of Your delights. For with You is the fountain of life; and in Your light we see light.

• What you partake of in life will have a direct impact on the soul.
• When you have tasted and seen how good God has been in your life, you want to bless Him.
• “Every day I will bless you…”