The Meditation of the Majesty of Our King (Psalm 145:5)

"On the glorious splendor of your majesty and on your wondrous works, I will meditate"
-  Psalm 145:5

This is probably one of the most simple and straightforward verses in the psalm.

In the same way that David commits his soul to extoling God and blessing His name, he is now committing to the internal discipline of remembering and meditation on the Lord.

Here we see two things David wants to bring, keep, and stir in his heart. The first thing that David wants to commit himself to is the meditation of the wonder, awe, and splendor of God's majesty. As a king himself he is aware of the idea of a kingdom. He knows what it is like to rule over a people, to be in the highest position of authority over a region. David knows The trials and hardships of ruling justly - he understands the differences of people, the difficulty of maintaining peace, and the incredibly high honour that he has as the king of Israel.

In the same way, he looks to the heavens and thinks of the majesty of the King of kings and there he pauses. He stops at the thought of the majesty of his King and the perfection of his rule. There is no king who rules as perfectly as the Lord, there is no king with the power and authority of the Lord, there is no other as splendid as the Lord.

Secondly, David commits himself to the meditation and amazement of God's wondrous works. Every circumstance and event is approved and governed by the hand of God. Time itself does not bypass His authority and power and time itself is under his command. The events in our lives, the moments of joy, the seasons of pain, the days of doubt and the times of blessing are orchestrated and given to us by the Lord.

David has seen the hand of the Lord move. He knows that God is always working in and handling this plant and this universe of ours. What place does the meditation of this all-powerful God have in your life? Should we not commit ourselves to the daily meditation of the majesty and works of the Lord too? Would we not be strengthened by pausing and stirring up our affections for the Lord by meditating on the one splendor of the one by whom, through whom, and to whom all things were created? The discipline and delight of communing with God involves far more than simply reading a Bible. It requires the meditation of these two great realities.

Declaring the Mighty Acts of God as Praise (Psalm 145:4)

"One generation will commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts" -  Psalm 145:4

The greatness of God is not something for us to keep to ourselves. It is far too vast to contain within our own experience and memory alone - it must be proclaimed.

The capacity to perceive and enjoy the greatness of God is a grace of God Himself, but it is ultimately for the growing of His fame and for the furthering of the vision of the glory of God. The picture that David gives us in this verse is that of parents showcasing the greatness of God to their children. It is that of grandparents speaking of the goodness of God to their grandchildren. It is the intergenerational dialogue of joy and awe in families, in churches, at work, with other Christians and with non-Christians.

The means resulting in the communication of God's glory and greatness is the proclamation of His mighty works. The commendation of the works and acts of God is an incredibly helpful and repeatedly commanded way of honouring and displaying the nature of God to others and to ourselves. To intentionally remember and keep track of the proofs and evidences of the greatness of His generosity, perfect timing, perfect knowledge, or perfect patience helps us maintain and store up nuggets of sustenance for our own joy and awe in the Lord.

Part of the way we will notice maturity in your own heart is by growing to perceive the hand of the Lord in all things. This will clear and expand our vision of the greatness of God in all His majesty for all to see and enjoy. Let's not shy away from declaring or commending what we know are the works and mighty acts of God to the people that the Lord brings to us every day - so that we might, "Every day... bless... and praise your name forever and ever" (Psalm 145:2)

The All-Surpassing Greatness of God (Psalm 145:3)

"Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable" -  Psalm 145:3
 

At this point, after stating his desire and his longing to extol and praise the Lord, David begins to articulate and explain what pulls his heart to such strong affection and worship of God.

 

The first characteristic of God that David mentions, is His greatness. The greatness of God which encompasses all of his attributes is the very reason why God is worthy of praise. His greatness is the characteristic that defines all of His other attributes and what separates His love from our love, His justice from our justice, His willingness from our willingness, His generosity from our generosity. His greatness is His perfection. It is the greatness of God in all of who He is that makes Him worthy and deserving of our devotion and adoration.

 

Everything about God should be seen and understood as superlative and infinitely more perfect and encompassing - especially as it relates to our own traces of such characteristics. The Lord is to be praised in accordance with His nature. The greatness and ultimate perfection and greatness deserves and requires nothing less than the greatest honour and devotion.

 

Ultimately, the outer fringes of God's never-ending and infinite holiness are too vast and effectively too great for us to completely see and understand. On one hand, they can be so clearly perceived and we can be so genuinely amazed by God's holiness and perfection in every way, but at the same time we must keep in mind that the glimpse of God that we can see is at best partial, blurry, and imperfectly informed. It is a glimpse of the truth nonetheless.

 

Do you see that the greatness with which you see God, and the way you stand in awe of Him will directly impact the way you worship and praise Him? David's desire to bless and praise the name of the Lord forever is attached to his desire to maintain a healthy and appropriate view of God's awesome greatness. We must understand that part of the maturing process of a Christian involves maturing in our eyes to see Him clearer each day, accompanied by growing awe. We must never be satisfied with the boundary that we think we see of God's greatness, that boundary does not exist, it is never really there. Without a growing understanding of God's greatness, our worship will plateau and plummet. 

The Daily Devotion of Joyful Worship (Psalm 145:2)

"Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever" - Psalm 145:2
 

After summarizing his heart and summarizing the Psalm, David decides to reword his first verse and repeat it. "I will extol you my God and King, and bless your name forever. Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever" (Psalm 145:1-2). This second verse seems to focus on and emphasize the frequency and the permanence of the adoration. David has such a strong desire and derives so much pleasure from it that it is his desire to continue in it every day for the rest of his life.

There are very few things that we resolve or that we desire to do every day. Some of the things we do daily such as brushing our teeth, having lunch and checking e-mails, we do every day but there was never a resolve to do so. They are simply things that either out of necessity or simple habit have become part of our days. The worship of the Lord is not such. The extoling of God cannot become routine like brushing our teeth, it is not something that is simply done and produces a checked box. It is a sacrifice that is experienced at first very dimly and faintly. The next time it might be just as dim and nearly empty, but it grows. The praising of God in the heart is an act that grows in brightness, in vividness, in clarity, in authenticity, and in intensity.

It is this growing pleasure and understanding of the appropriateness and necessity of daily, devotional adoration to God that produces its daily resolve. It is the growing sweetness and enjoyment of the presence of God that produces the desire to day "tomorrow again!". It is tomorrow's time in prayer that allows you to taste the sweetness again and gives you a little bit more understanding as to what the prayer is all about. It is devotion that produces more devotion and the dim light that produces a little more brightness the next time.

David's resolve and desire to bless the name of the Lord went beyond any circumstances that he might face in the future. He understands that worship is not dependent on anything other than the unchanging recipient of the adoration and praise, God Himself.

What is it about God that draws men to such devotion? What is it about God that calls man to enjoy prayer and adoration regardless of pain, joy, suffering, exhaustion and gladness? Surely it must be something great and not found in anyone or anything else. What else can require and receive such affection and fidelity? David will answer these questions for us in the verses to come.   

The Ultimate Joy and Purpose of Man (Psalm 145:1)

"I will extol you my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever" - Psalm 145:1

A few weeks ago I began a study of Psalm 145 out of a desire to maintain and grow in awe of God. It was Dr. Paul David Tripp who led me to this Psalm as rich text and source of admiration and wonder. Over the past couple of weeks I have been meditating on this Psalm, verse by verse, word by word, and allowing my mind and heart to soak in this song of joy and awe of God.

 

This Psalm is one of the acrostic Psalms - each line begins with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This is characteristic of Hebrew poetry, but it also serves to memorize the text. This poetic psalm was likely one that was memorized by most Jews and they used the acrostic to help their memory. This is not an uncontrolled and thoughtless pouring out of thoughts and feelings in a matter of seconds resulting in the Psalm written. Rather, it is likely that it was carefully worded, ordered, and thought through to maintain the integrity of the acrostic while keeping a logical flow. 

 

This first line of the Psalm both introduces and summarizes the heart of David. He writes this line as the thesis and intent of his song. To extol the Lord, and to bless His name forever and ever - that is his desire, and it is out of that longing and with that pursuit that he pens the text. There is a resolve in his heart, a strong desire that he would continue to delight in the Lord in adoration for the rest of his days. 

David refers to God as a king, as his king. David was probably writing this line during his reign as king in Israel. Nevertheless, he is quick to see his own kingship and dominion over the nation as nothing more than his service and devotion to the real King and Ruler of Israel and the entire universe.

 

To extol God is to praise His name highly. It is to see the majesty of God and to rightly respond in worship and adoration. This cannot be done unless one sees God first, and so, worship begins with the setting of our eyes on God, looking to Him, and beginning to understand who this being is. Meditation and quiet reflection then becomes necessary to rightly respond to God. Responding to an idea, or thought, or memory of who God might be will not result in any praise or adoration of the real King.

 

In the last part of the verse, David shows the devotion with which he wishes to continue to praise God - "forever and ever". This is something so great for David that he wants to follow this pattern on a daily basis. In the next verses, he will begin to unfold why anyone would desire such a devotion and why any being would be worthy of such adoration.