Specific Blessings:
We should worship God every day because of who He is
and what He has done for us.
Here now is Dr. Gene Getz:
Now we know that David wrote
this particular psalm. But we're not
sure exactly why it is placed here in this
sequence but it fits beautifully. And the focus
of praise, here, is every day. Now,
you know that David would praise God eternally or focus
on eternal praise. Forever, forever. But here
he said, "I praise You every day." And you see this in Psalm 145, verses 1 to 2.
I've simply called this a daily experience:
"I exalt You, my God the King,
and praise Your name forever and ever."
There's the emphasis on the forever and ever.
But notice next he says:
"I will praise You every day; I will honor Your name
forever and ever." In other words, this eternal
perspective is day by day as we live out our lives
here in this world. In the here
and the now. And it's interesting that he goes on
to outline a number
of items for praise. Why we should praise God
every day. And this is, in essence,
what he says: We should praise God for His glorious majesty.
His wonderful works.
His greatness there in verse 6.
His goodness in verse 7. His graciousness
in verse 8. His compassion
also in verse 8. His faithful love.
His provisions.
His righteousness.
His availability and His protection.
See, David goes ahead and he lists
all of these reasons we ought to praise God daily.
Now the fact is, his focus here
is really again earthly. He's thinking in terms of the way
that, daily, God has taken care
of Israel. And particularly
when they obeyed Him, these were the blessings experienced.
And he's thankful for this because all of these items
really summarize the life of Israel as a nation.
From Egypt:-delivering them.
From slavery: leading them out of Egypt.
Leading them across the desert, the wilderness.
Leading them across the Jordan. Leading them into Canaan.
Taking care of them. Helping them in their victories over evil
in that particular land. And then of course,
through the judges where they failed God
as a nation. And they cried out and God answered.
And then a failed and God answered. And then they failed and God answered. And finally,
ultimately, they were taken into Babylonian captivity.
Northern kingdoms into the Assyrian captivity. And then, of course,
they were released from the Babylonian captivity
and came back in to the promised land.
And so all of that, I'm sure, is going through
David's mind as he's reflecting on
why we should praise God daily. But think about
those of us who live under the new covenant. Think about
why we should be praising God daily.
Here's Ephesians 1:3,
which Paul underscores the need to praise God. He says,
"Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us in Christ
with every spiritual blessing in the heavens."
And then he goes on to list specifically
why we should praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Right there in Ephesians chapter 1. I keep going back to this
again and again because it is so powerful. We've been chosen in Christ. Wow.
We are redeemed by the blood of Christ.
We are adopted into the family of God.
We are sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.
I mean, that's the essence of redemption and salvation.
The plan that was unveiled with the coming of Jesus Christ.
David of course wrote, not really understanding fully, but prophesying
many times about this. As well as the other Old Testament prophets. But we live
in the full light, as it were, of His
revelation and so here's a reflection and response question:
How should the specific blessings in Christ
impact the way all believers should live their lives?
Well as you think about the answer to that question and you go back to the letters that were
written to the churches.
The theme throughout those letters
is that we are to live
in the light of God's grace. And
as Paul put it so succinctly in Ephesians 4:1 to 3.
He said, "Therefore I, the prisoner for the Lord, urge
you to walk worthy of the calling you have received," ...
And how should we walk?
... "with [all] humility [and] gentleness, [with] patience,
accepting one another in love,
diligently keeping the unity of the Spirit
with the peace that binds us."
And actually, in doing that, we are
worshiping God. That's the essence of Romans 12:1 and 2.
See, throughout these epistles, you again and again see
that we are to live for Christ,
walk in His will, because of His grace
and because of what He's done for us. And that's a beautiful thing.
A beautiful challenge. That should be our motivation
to worship. And that worship consists,
really of presenting our bodies a living sacrifice which
is our acceptable worship. Our worship. That is indeed
our worship for the King of kings and Lord of lords.
And again, to be honest with you, as I was reflecting on this and you have to forgive
me and my age. But basically
songs popped into my head that were written
years ago. Some of them way back,
centuries ago.
Here's one that was written in the last century.
And it just came to my mind. And I thought wow,
this summarizes what David was thinking. But summarizes it from a
total biblical perspective. Some of you will recognize these words:
"Day by day." You get that?
"Day by day and with each passing moment,
Strength I find to meet my trials here;" ... Remember that song?
... "Trusting in my Father's wise bestowment,
I've no cause for worry or for fear.
He, whose heart is kind beyond all measure,
Gives unto" ... Each day.
... "each day what He deems best,
Lovingly it's part of pain and pleasure,
Mingling toil with peace and rest." I think that captures
a lot of David in his Old Testament setting.
Even apart from understanding what we understand about Christ.
And then the second stanza:
"Every day" ... You see why this popped into my head?
Day by day. "Every day the Lord Himself is near me,
With a special mercy for each hour;
All my cares He fain would bear and cheer me,
He whose name is Counselor and Power.
The protection of His child and treasure Is a charge that on Himself he laid;" ...
And then here's a quote within the lyrics. Quote:
"As thy days" ... Get that?
"As thy days, thy strength shall be in measure." ... End quote.
... "This the pledge to me He made."
Last stanza: "Help me then, in every tribulation,
So to trust Thy promises, O Lord," ... Day by day.
... "That I lose not faith's sweet consolation, Offered me within Thy holy Word.
"Help me, Lord, when toil and trouble meeting,
Ever to take, as from a father's hand,
One by one, the days, the moments fleeting,
Till I reach the promised land." So let's not forget this principle
that grows out of this psalm:
We should worship God every day because of who He is
and what He has done for us.