Sweet Sisters,
This week I want to look at Psalm 145. I’ve chosen to use the New Century Version of the Bible because I really like the way they translated it.
145
I praise your greatness, my God the King;
I will praise you forever and ever.2
I will praise you every day;
I will praise you forever and ever.3
The Lord is great and worthy of our praise;
no one can understand how great he is.4
Parents will tell their children what you have done.
They will retell your mighty acts,5
wonderful majesty, and glory.
And I will think about your miracles.6
They will tell about the amazing things you do,
and I will tell how great you are.7
They will remember your great goodness
and will sing about your fairness.8
The Lord is kind and shows mercy.
He does not become angry quickly but is full of love.9
The Lord is good to everyone;
he is merciful to all he has made.10
Lord, everything you have made will praise you;
those who belong to you will bless you.11
They will tell about the glory of your kingdom
and will speak about your power.12
Then everyone will know the mighty things you do
and the glory and majesty of your kingdom.13
Your kingdom will go on and on,
and you will rule forever.The Lord will keep all his promises;
he is loyal to all he has made.14
The Lord helps those who have been defeated
and takes care of those who are in trouble.15
All living things look to you for food,
and you give it to them at the right time.16
You open your hand,
and you satisfy all living things.
Everything the Lord does is right.
He is loyal to all he has made.18
The Lord is close to everyone who prays to him,
to all who truly pray to him.19
He gives those who respect him what they want.
He listens when they cry, and he saves them.20
The Lord protects everyone who loves him,
but he will destroy the wicked.21
I will praise the Lord.
Let everyone praise his holy name forever.
Old Testament scholars believe that of the 150 Psalms David may have written 73 of them. They believe that Psalm 145 was the last one he wrote.
Verses 1 – 3 are totally devoted to praising God. David acknowledges God as King and Lord. One of the reasons I chose the New Century version is because of how verses 4 – 7 read. I love how verse 4 says “Parents will tell what God has done.” I think we could also add Grandparents will tell what God has done.
I think it is incredibly important that we pass down to our children and grandchildren what God has done in our lives. They need to hear our stories of situations where God showed up and worked out things, we could never have worked out ourselves. They need to hear about times we prayed and God heard and answered our prayers. Our stories will give them confidence that if God worked in our lives, He will work in theirs.
I also think it’s important for our children and grandchildren to see us worshipping and honoring God. They need to actually hear us pray. They need to know that no matter what life brings that “Mom’ or “Grandma” trusts God and relies on Him.
Verses 8 & 9 tells us who God is and what He does. I love that verse 9 tells us that God is good and shows mercy to all He has made. This reminds me of Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:44 – 45:
44 But I say to you, love your enemies. Pray for those who hurt you. 45 If you do this, you will be true children of your Father in heaven. He causes the sun to rise on good people and on evil people, and he sends rain to those who do right and to those who do wrong.
We are most like God when we love like God.
Verses 10 – 12 show us how we should respond to what God has done. We are to be God’s messengers of His greatness and power. I found this quote from Charles Spurgen. He was a preacher in England in the late 1800’s.
I consider that one of the great lacks of the church nowadays is not so much Christians preaching as Christians talking, not so much Christian prayer in the prayer meeting, as Christian conversation in the parlor. How little do we hear concerning Christ.
What Spurgeon was saying is once people walk out the doors of their church buildings very little is said about Jesus.
Sweet sisters, Jesus should be the number one subject of our conversations. We love to talk about our children and our grandchildren and the things they have done. We should love to talk about our Jesus and the wonderful things He has done.
Verse 13 reminds us that God’s Kingdom goes on forever and ever. Psalm 119:89 – 91 also talks about this.
89
Your word, Lord, is eternal;
it stands firm in the heavens.90
Your faithfulness continues through all generations;
you established the earth, and it endures.91
Your laws endure to this day,
for all things serve you.
One of my favorite verses on this subject is Isaiah 46:9-10:
9
Remember the former things, those of long ago;
I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me.10
I make known the end from the beginning,
from ancient times, what is still to come.
I say, ‘My purpose will stand,
and I will do all that I please.’
It gives me so much peace to know that from the beginning of time, God had a plan and knew what was coming. There is nothing that happens in our lives that surprises God. God was not surprised by Covid. He is not surprised by current world events. God has been in control of all things from the beginning. The smartest thing, we can do is to make sure we have made Him Lord and King of our lives, and all our allegiance is to Him.
In verses 14 – 20, David returns to praising God for what He does in our lives. David tells us that God keeps His promises and that He is loyal to all He has made. I want to show you verses 18 – 20 in the Easy to Read version.
18
The Lord is near to everyone
who sincerely calls to him for help.19
He listens to his followers and does what they want.
He answers their prayers and saves them.20
The Lord protects everyone who loves him,
but he destroys all who do evil.
God has our back! He will provide everything we need.
Psalm 34:4 & 18
4
I went to the Lord for help, and he listened.
He saved me from all that I fear.18
The Lord is close to those who have suffered disappointment.
He saves those who are discouraged.
Isaiah 40:28 – 31
28
Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.29
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.30
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;31
but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
Matthew 6:25 – 30, 33
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
David ends Psalm 145 with what our response should be to all that God has done and will continue to do for us. He says “for everyone to praise His name forever”.
I have a plaque in my living room that was a gift from one of my nieces. It says “Come let us adore Him”. When I think of all my God has done for me I can not but adore Him.
Let me see if I can give you a picture of what this can look like. Today it has been very cold in Banning. It is 37 degrees, cold with snow flurries. I brought my chocolate Lab, Champ, back to my bedroom to hang out for awhile. Champ absolutely adores me. As I write these words he is lying at my feet as close as he can possibly get to me. Every few minutes he gets up and shoves his face into my lap or against my hand because he wants me to pet him. His big brown eyes are full of love. He is so happy to be in my presence. Champ makes it very clear that in spite of all my imperfections, I am his world.
The way Champ responds to me is the way God longs for us to respond to Him. He wants to be our world. He wants us to draw as near to Him as possible. He wants us to come into His presence with hearts full of love and adoration.
When we do this, He promises to give us the desires of our heart.
Psalm 37:4
4
Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Debbie
FEBRUARY 26, 2022
