SLIDES

A Call to Praise

Psalm 105:1-11

Introduction

Do you put much emphasis on praising the LORD during your quiet time or even at church? Do you dedicate a certain amount of time to praising the LORD during the day.  Do you think that maybe you do not praise the LORD enough and need to praise Him more?

These are some of the questions we should ask ourselves concerning our commitment to give the LORD the praise He deserves. Today we are going to explore some of the reasons we should praise the LORD and some the ways we can praise Him.

I.  A Call to Praise (1-6)

1  Oh give thanks to the LORD, call upon His name;

Make known His deeds among the peoples.

2  Sing to Him, sing praises to Him;

Speak of all His wonders.

3  Glory in His holy name;

Let the heart of those who seek the LORD be glad.

4  Seek the LORD and His strength;

Seek His face continually.

5  Remember His wonders which He has done,

His marvels and the judgments uttered by His mouth,

6  O seed of Abraham, His servant,

O sons of Jacob, His chosen ones!

In verses 1-5 the Psalmist used varies words to describe the different aspects of praise that he is calling Israel to perform as they worship the LORD. Most of the words are imperatives that the Psalmist is saying are essential to praise and worship. Let us explore some of these.

A. Give thanks to the LORD (1)

From the time that called Israel out of Egypt, He took care of them in every aspect of their lives. He took care of them in the desert for forty years and then when they entered the land. In verses 12- 45 the psalmist describes how the LORD had taken care of them.

In Psalm 100:4, the Psalmist reminded the people of Isarel to enter the gates of the Temple in Jerusalem with thanksgiving. Imagine entering a grand palace and being greeted by a king. What if, instead of asking for favors, we simply expressed gratitude for all he has done? Our heavenly Father is indeed a king, deserving of our thanks. So, if we begin our prayers with praise and thank-you before making our requests, let us begin doing so. We all know that gratitude opens doors!

B. Call Upon His Name (1)

Seek the LORD and His strength (4)

Seek His face continually (4)

Calling on the LORD in time of need shows dependence on Him. It is certainly a form of praise because one shows their dependence on Him and His strength instead of oneself. We know that there were dedicated Israelites throughout biblical history who continually called on the name of the LORD.

Psalm 99:6

Moses and Aaron were among His priests,

And Samuel was among those who called on His name;

They called upon the LORD and He answered them.

The next time you are in need, instead of depending on your human wisdom and strength, call on Him. Remember Hebrews 4:16.

Therefore, let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

C. Make known His deeds among the peoples (1)

Speak of all His wonders (2)

The word “deeds “is a general word that speaks of God’s many The word peoples refers to the nations surrounding Israel. The term “wonders” in verse 2 means that Israel was to continually speak of the extraordinary things that God did for them which would include miracles. The Psalmist certainly did in verses 11-45 of this Psalm.

How often do you tell others about the ordinary things, as well as the extraordinary things God has done and continues to do for you? One way to praise God is to tell others and those whom you meet on a daily basis what God has done for you and your family for years, years, and years and what He continually does for you in good times and bad. If we can praise sports teams and be enthusiastic about them, certainly we should be able to praise God to others because he saved us and provides for daily, and sing with meaning during our worship service. 

D. Sing to Him, sing praises to Him (2)

Here Israel is commanded to praise the LORD by singing. When they went to the Temple three times a year, they heard the Temple choir praising the LORD. There are 83 verses in the Bible about individuals or groups that sing unto the LORD or were urged to sing unto the LORD as in verse 2.

Most weeks we praise the LORD in our class by singing whether it is as a group or individually to ourselves when Trudy plays for us. We praise the LORD when we worship the LORD together in our preaching worship services. One thing we must try to avoid what is called “singing without meaning.”  "Singing in church without meaning" refers to the act of participating in congregational singing during a church service without actively engaging with the lyrics or the spiritual message behind the song. Essentially, it’s just going through the motions without feeling a genuine connection to the worship experience. Another way of praising the LORD is singing to ourselves during the day, and “sing with meaning” during our worship service.

E. Glory in His Holy Name (3)

The word “glory” means “to boast.” The word boast means to talk with excessive pride. Israel was to boast about the LORD to other Israelites as well as those from other nations. It’s easy for us today to boast about the LORD in church or to other believers, but do we boast about the LORD to others who are not believers? Are we embarrassed to share the LORD with non-believers? If so, we should ask the Holy Spirit on a daily basis to give us boldness to lift up the LORD and share Christ to others.

F. Remember the extraordinary things God has done. (5)

Remember His wonders which He has done, (5)

  His marvels and the judgments uttered by His mouth… (5)

The word remember means more than just recollect. It means to recollect and to recount. The word recount means 1. to narrate in order and 2. To relate or narrate, tell in detail, give the facts, or particulars of. Moses did this throughout the Torah and other writers of the Old Testament did this as well. Stephen did that in Acts 7. In Psalm 105 in verses 12-45 the psalmist remembers and recounts how God took care of Isarel.

The words wonders and marvels are words that reflect a special display of Gods’ extraordinary powers which would include miracles. Judgments, as seen in verses 5b and 7b, are decisions God makes regarding Israel against the nations of the world like in the Exodus from Egypt.

Today we should take a lesson from Israel’s playbook and not only remember what God has done for us but to recount them as well. How do we do that? Begin as far back as you can remember and begui to list how God has taken care of you and has provided for your needs from the time you were born until today. When the opportunity presents itself, recount to others how God has provided and taken care of you and your family in good times and bad. This would be a great way to praise the LORD. 

II. The Reasons to Praise the LORD (6-11)

A. Yahweh is Israel’s LORD (7)

Verse 6 seems to be a transition between verses 5&7. In verses 1-6 it is Israel whom the psalmist urges to praise the LORD. We know that this Psalm concerns Israel praising the LORD. After all, the psalmist makes it clear that Yahweh is Israel's God. Yahweh is God’s personal name. Yahweh is also the covenant making God. In verse eight the Abrahamic Covenant is stressed. The pronoun “His” represents Yahweh - the covenant keeping God.

Jesus is Yahweh of the Old Testament. Many uses of term LORD, when speaking of Jesus in the New Testament, refers to Jesus as being Yahweh of the Old Testament. It is stressing that Jesus is God. Look at it this way, Jesus as Yahweh in the Old Testament is the One who made the covenant with Abraham. In the New Testament, Jesus as Yahweh ratified the New Covenant when He shed his blood on the tree.

B.  The LORD fulfilled the oath He swore to the Fathers concerning the Land (8-11)

We saw several reasons in verses 1-5 why Israel should praise the LORD. Verses 8-11 is the crux why Israel should praise the LORD. It has everything to do with the land God promised to them in Genesis 12 & 15.

8 In this verse, to remember something means to act on it or to be loyal to it. It does not mean just to give means assent to something. It Here it means to be faithful to His covenant promises. A thousand generations is parallel to the term forever. The Abrahamic Covenant is eternal. It’s still valid today. Our spiritual life in Christ is eternal. It is also valid today.

9  In Genesis 15 the LORD made an everlasting and unilateral covenant with Abraham and his descendants, the Jews, through Isaac and Jacob. Three aspects of the covenant include the land forever, descendants forever, and spiritual blessings forever. The three important aspects of this covenant were expanded. The land aspect of the covenant was expanded in the Land Covenant in Deuteronomy 28-30. The descendant’s aspect of covenant was expanded in the Davidic Covenant found in 2 Samuel 7:14. And the spiritual aspect of covenant was expanded in the New Covenant found in Jeremiah 31:31. In verse 11, the land aspect of the Abrahamic Covenant is emphasized.  

10 Note that in this verse that the Abrahamic Covenant is an everlasting covenant which means it is still valid today. Since our eternal life is part of the promises of the Abrahamic Covenant, our eternal life is still valid today.

11 The land aspect of the covenant is stressed here. The borders are as follows:

South - The Wadi el-Arish

West - The Mediterranean Sea

North - Mount Hor

East - The Euphrates River

When studying the promises God made to Abraham and his descendants, the Jews, in the Abrahamic Covenant, we can always know that God always keeps His covenant promises. That means that the LORD can always be trusted. Has there ever been a time when God was leading you one way, but you resisted and went the opposite way because you did not trust His leading.

As the Abrahamic Covenant is eternal so is the LORD who will ensure that the promises are fulfilled. The Abrahamic Covenant was made with Abraham and the Jewish people, not with the church or with Gentiles. Even though that is true, believers do participate in the New Covenant because we are in Christ, Therefore, there are promises made to Abraham and Israel that are beneficial to the Gentiles who belong to the church, the body of Christ. Let us look at just a few.

1. In Genesis 12: 3c God made this promise. “And in you (Abraham) all the families of the earth will be blessed.” The most prominent aspect of this is Jesus the Messiah whose death, burial, and resurrection brings forgiveness of sin and eternal life to those who just have faith in Him. Second, for four thousands year the world  has been blessed and continues to be blessed by Jewish doctors and other Jewish professionals. Jonas Salk and Michael DeBakey and 153 Nobel Prize winners are just a small part of that promise that comes to mind.

2. The New Covenant was made with Israel and Judah not with the church or with Gentiles. However, those who have trusted in Christ as Savior are in Christ and, therefore, are participants of the New Covenant. Since we are participants of the New Covenant because we are in Christ, we look to a promise made to Israel concerning the New Covenant in Jeremiah 31.

31   “Behold, days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah,

32  not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD.

35  Thus says the LORD,

Who gives the sun for light by day

And the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night,

Who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar;

The LORD of hosts is His name:

36     “If this fixed order departs

From before Me,” declares the LORD,

“Then the offspring of Israel also will cease

From being a nation before Me forever.”

37  Thus says the LORD,

“If the heavens above can be measured

And the foundations of the earth searched out below,

Then I will also cast off all the offspring of Israel

For all that they have done,” declares the LORD.

We can look at the rainbow and know that it is God’s guarantee that He will never flood the entire earth again with water. In the same way, we can look to Israel and the Jewish people and know that this is God’s guarantee that those in Christ have eternal life and forgiveness of sin through the New Covenant.

Believes in Christ have much to praise the LORD about, but on the top of the list is that we must continually praise the LORD because He is faithful to aways keeps His promises.

PLAY YOUTUBE VIDEO OF BILL GOTHERD SINGING “LET’S JUST PRAISE THE LORD.”