Sunday, July 12, 2009

[Matt's Messages] "Greater Than We Can Imagine"

“Greater Than We Can Imagine”
July 12, 2009
Psalm 145

Well, it’s been a great Family Bible Week!

Praise the Lord!

Praising the Lord is the subject of our message this morning. We’re going to be studying Psalm 145 together.

We just sang about it in the FBW theme song for this last week. Every night and this morning we sang the song, “Greater Than We Can Imagine” which comes directly from Psalm 145!

Each night of Family Bible Week, the adult class has been learning how to understand and apply the Psalms to our own personal lives.

So, it only seemed fitting that this psalm would be the subject of our message this morning. Psalm 145.

Psalm 145 is the last psalm in the Psalter than is ascribed to King David. It is the last Davidic Psalm. It is also the last of the acrostic psalms. The psalms that are designed to follow the alphabet. Each line of the psalm begins with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet from Aleph to Tav. David used extreme carefulness and skill as he composed this psalm of praise under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Derek Kidner in his excellent commentary on the Psalms calls it a “great outpouring of praise.” That’s exactly right!

Let’s read it and see what we have to praise God about.
Psalm 145:1 A psalm of praise.

Of David.

I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever.

2 Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever.

3 Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.

4 One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts.

5 They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty, and I will meditate on your wonderful works.

6 They will tell of the power of your awesome works, and I will proclaim your great deeds.

7 They will celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness.

8 The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.

9 The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.

10 All you have made will praise you, O LORD; your saints will extol you.

11 They will tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might,

12 so that all men may know of your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.

13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The LORD is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made.

14 The LORD upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down.

15 The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time.

16 You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.

17 The LORD is righteous in all his ways and loving toward all he has made.

18 The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.

19 He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he 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 in praise of the LORD. Let every creature praise his holy name for ever and ever.
The adult Bible Class at Family Bible Week learned all about psalms this week. And one of the things they learned was how discern different kinds or (sub-genres) of psalms from one another. There are at least 7 different kinds of psalms: psalms of confidence, thanksgiving, remembrance, wisdom, kingship, and so on.

Class, which kind of psalm is Psalm 145?

It’s a hymn.

The superscription of psalm 145 calls it “A psalm of praise.”

The hymn psalms normally begin (and sometimes end) with a call to worship where the psalmist begins to praise God and call others to praise God. That’s what’s going on in verses 1 and 2.

“I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever. Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever.”

David is full of praise!

I love it!

He’s talking directly to God, isn’t He?! Really, he’s singing his prayer directly to God.

“I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever. Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever.”

Notice how David repeats himself. That’s not because he’s forgotten what he said. It’s because it’s so important and full in his heart.

David going to praise God!

What is praise?

We can learn something from the Hebrew parallelism here. Our class learned about parallelism on Wednesday night of this week. Parallelism is increased meaning that we get from putting together two corresponding lines in a Hebrew poem. Verse 1 for example:

“I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever.”

There are two thoughts there.

A. I will exalt you, my God the King;
B. I will praise your name for ever and ever.

We learned this week that the B-line enhances the meaning of the A-line. It is A, and much more B.

So, want to know what exalt means? It means praise!

Want to know what praise means?

It means exalt. And v.2

“Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever.”

Exalt, praise, extol.

These are all words refer to the expression of the David’s appreciation for and delight in God.

Praise is the expression of our appreciation for and delight in God.

Praise is verbal love.

It’s saying or singing how great something is. And the something here is God.

How great God is!

And verse 3 tells us how great He is. V.3 David sings:

“Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.”

The song says He is: “Greater Than We Can Imagine!”

Our God is great.

How great?

Most worthy of praise.

How worthy?

“His greatness no one can fathom.”

The King James says, “His greatness is unsearchable.”

Work as hard as you can, try with all your might and you will never find the end of His greatness. Search till you are out of strength and you will never find the end of His glory.

“His greatness no one can fathom.” You can’t reach the bottom of how great He really is!

That’s why David says that he’ll praise God forever and ever. He’ll praise Him (v.2 said) “every day.”

Do we praise God every day? Every day?

Every day from now through eternity God is worthy of praise!

Now, isn’t this going a little overboard?

I mean, I like God and all that, but this seems a little over the top, no?

No. This is the correct response to knowing our God for Who He really is!

“Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.”

GOD IS GREATER THAN WE CAN IMAGINE.

Now, I can imagine a LOT of things. I’ve got a good imagination. Sometimes it gets a little out of hand–I dream of big things that are impossible.

But Psalm 145 says that I can’t imagine anything as great as our God!

I’ve been reading “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” to the kids.

And my favorite character is the Scarecrow. What does he wish that he had?

If he only had a brain!

I used to know all of the words to that song from the movie. I won’t try to sing them for you today. I’ll spare you that experience.

But in that song the Scarecrow rhapsodizes about all of the thoughts that he could think if he only had a brain.

His mind would be like a super-computer that can think of all of these grand thoughts if he only had a brain.

But what Psalm 145 is saying is that even though we do have brains that are more amazing than any super-computer, we (collectively) cannot comprehend how great our God really is!

“Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.”

He is greater than we can imagine!

David is saying that God is mind-blowing. And that because of this, He deserves praise. He is most worthy of praise. Every day.

Now, Class, what is the next thing to expect in a Hymn Psalm?

First, is the call to worship. Then what?

The next thing is a list of reasons to praise God.

And David has them, in spades!

#1. GOD’S DEEDS ARE GREATER THAN WE CAN IMAGINE.

In verses 4 through 7, David says that every generation of God’s people will praise God’s deeds. V.4

“One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts. They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty, and I will meditate on your wonderful works. They will tell of the power of your awesome works, and I will proclaim your great deeds. They will celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness.”

David so full of praise, isn’t he?!

Look at all of the words he uses to describe God’s deeds:

Mighty Acts
Wonderful Works
Awesome Works
Great Deeds

David’s God is a God Who does things!

He is God Who gets things done.

David’s God is Active, not passive.

And History is the story of His mighty acts, wonderful and awesome works, and great deeds.

He has done great things!

And because of that, He’s worth of praise. Every day.

Praise for Creation. Praise for choosing Abraham and giving him faith.

Praise for the People of Israel.

Praise for the Red Sea Rescue from Egypt.

Praise for the provision of manna in the wilderness.

Praise for the conquering of the Promised Land.

Praise deliverance under the Judges.

Praise for the monarchy–for King David himself.

That’s the story as David knew it. But the story of God’s deeds doesn’t end there, does it?

Praise for preservation of God’s people in exile.

Praise for the sending of the Messiah!

Praise for the Messiah’s death and resurrection.

Praise for the giving of the Spirit!

Praise for the birth of the church!

Praise for our new birth in the Spirit into the church!

Praise for all of the amazing things that God has done in each and every one of our lives.

Amen?

He has done great things. And this is a memorial to His great deeds!

What has God done for you? Praise for it!

And tell the next generation.

David said in verse 4, “One generation will commend your works to another.”

That’s why we have Family Bible Week, right?

The older generation teaches the younger generation how great God is.

How many generations have sung this Psalm? Class, how old is this Psalm?

David lived about, when? 1000 B.C.

So that’s about 3000 years ago! Let’s conservatively estimate a generation as 20 years?

150 generations, so far!

Tell the next generation that God is greater than we can imagine.

#2. GOD’S COMPASSION IS GREATER THAN WE CAN IMAGINE. Verses 8&9.

“The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.”

This God not only does things but feels things.

And He feels the right things all of the time.

He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. That’s God’s own description of Himself from Exodus 34, right? Back when Moses said, “Show me your glory!” And God said, “You couldn’t handle it, but I’ll show you glimpse of the afterglow of my glory...” and then He passed by Moses and said (v.8), “The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.”

Isn’t it great that God understands us?

That God cares about us? That God loves us?

This says that He has a love for (v.9) all he has made. He is good to all. He has compassion for all.

He wants everyone to know that He cares.

He is more compassionate than we can imagine.

But, those of us who are Christ-followers know His love in deeper way than all of the rest of the creatures on Earth.

Because we know what His compassion led Him to do.

His grace and His compassion led to the unthinkable!

He gave His One and Only Son for us!

Paul says that His love for us is a “love that surpasses knowledge” (Ephesians 3:19)!

His compassion is greater than we can imagine!

“I scarce can take it in.”

But that makes it all the more worthy of our singing it! Every day. Forever and ever.

#3. GOD’S KINGDOM IS GREATER THAN WE CAN IMAGINE. Vv.10-13a

“All you have made will praise you, O LORD; your saints will extol you. They will tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might, so that all men may know of your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations.”

Do you see all of the words for kingdom in those 3 verses?

David knew about kingdoms!

And He knew that God’s kingdom was the greatest.

Glory of your kingdom.
Mighty Kingdom
Splendorous Kingdom.
Everlasting Kingdom.
Dominion Enduring Through All Generations!

That’s a Kingdom.

That’s a God Who Is in Charge.

God is sovereign.

Are you thankful today that God is sovereign?

Now, think before you answer that question.

God’s sovereignty, God’s kingdom means that that hard thing in your life right now is controlled by God. That think that you don’t like very much? God’s in control of that.

That means that He’s allowed into your life right now for a good purpose.

Be glad. Because that thing is not allowed in your life for no reason.

It may seem purposeless, but it isn’t.

God (the God who does things and the God who is compassionate–more compassionate than we can imagine) is also in control.

He is the King!

And His Kingdom is here now in part (though it is contested and He has to work through and use evil tools right now in accomplishing His plan)–but it is also a Kingdom that is coming! A Kingdom that is unlike any kingdom that we have ever seen.

And it is eternal. It is a forever Kingdom!

His dominion endures through all generations. For ever and ever and ever and ever and ever. Amen!

God’s Kingdom is Greater Than We Can Imagine!

#4. GOD’S FAITHFUL LOVE IS GREATER THAN WE CAN IMAGINE.

He’s not just compassionate for a time, but He is faithful in His love.

He is steadfast. He is loyal. V.13b.

“The LORD is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made. The LORD upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing. The LORD is righteous in all his ways and loving toward all he has made.”

What a great God!

We can’t fathom how God interacts with all of His creation every day all day long.

He never sleeps. He is constantly caring for things and for people.

If anyone has a meal today, God was involved!

6 billion people on the planet.

And how many creatures?

And God is involved in feeding them in what He determines is the proper time!

How faithful He is to bring the seasons: Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall.

Springtime and Harvest.

“The LORD is righteous in all his ways and loving toward all he has made.”

And even more so to His own children.

He keeps every one of His promises! V.13 again.

“The LORD is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made. The LORD upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down.”

Are you bowed down today?

I think that means those who are suffering and those who are humble enough to ask God for help.

Are you bowed down today?

That’s the kind of person the LORD loves to help!

The Hebrew word for faithful love is “Hesed.”

It means covenant love or loyal love or steadfast love.

God doesn’t just love us sometimes. He is completely faithful in His love.

We know that because of Jesus. The Bible says that all of God’s promises are YES in Jesus.

Do you know His faithful love? Praise Him!

His faithful love is greater than we can imagine.

Here’s how we experience it:

#5. GOD’S NEARNESS TO HIS PEOPLE IS GREATER THAN WE CAN IMAGINE. V.18

“The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them. The LORD watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.”

This calls for us to respond.

Whom is He near to?

Those who call on Him.

If you are a Christ-follower, are you calling on Him?

Are you a praying person?

Are you loving Him?

He watches over all who love Him.

He is near. He is near.

Do you need to hear that this morning? He is near.

But He’s also near to those who are calling on Him for the first time.

If you call on Him in truth. If you cry out to Him to be your Savior and your Lord. He hears your cry (v.20) and saves you!

But if you ignore Him. Or you take Him for granted.

If you spurn Him. “The wicked he will destroy.”

We learned this week in our Psalms class that there are only two real paths in life: the path of the wicked and the path of the righteous.

The wicked are those who go their own way.

The righteous are those who heed God’s word and cry out to God for salvation and help.

He is near.

He is near.

Don’t turn away from Him. Turn to Him.

He is near.

God’s nearness is Greater Than We Can Imagine!

God is greater than we can imagine!

So, what should we do about it?

Class, how Hymn Psalms normally end?

With another call to praise! V.21

“My mouth will speak in praise of the LORD. Let every creature praise his holy name for ever and ever.”

And all God’s people said? Amen!

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