Psalm 148-150  The three final psalms continue the call to praise the Lord.  All of creation.. from the angels in heaven.. to the "sea monsters" in the deepest oceans.. are called to praise the Lord.. "For He commanded and they were created."  The Name of the Lord "is exalted; His glory is above earth and heaven."  

Praise the Lord.. the psalmist exhorts us once again.. sing songs.. play music.. be glad and dance.. "for the Lord takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the afflicted ones with salvation." 

Praise the Lord.. "in His sanctuary.. in His mighty heavens.. for His acts of power.. for His surpassing greatness."  

"Let everything that has breath praise the Lord." 

Wherever we are.. however we want.. whenever we can.. let us praise the Lord.  Let us praise Him for Who He is.. for His greatness, which is unsearchable.. for His love which is everlasting.. for His grace which is lavished on us...for His unending lovingkindness towards us.  Let us sing these psalms and offer ourselves to Him in worship.. giving praise and thanks to our Great God.. our Heavenly Father and to the Son, Jesus Christ, our Wonderful Counselor and Eternal King.  Let us be filled with the Holy Spirit who guides us into all truth.. bringing us to the throne of grace with hearts full of thanksgiving and praise. 

Amen. Praise the Lord!

 Psalm 147 gives us more things.. more reasons to praise the Lord!

The psalmist tells us that it is "good to sing praises to our God."  It is "pleasant.. and becoming". 

The Lord builds His city, Jerusalem.

He gathers outcasts.

"He heals the brokenhearted."

He binds our wounds. ( v2-3)

The Lord counts the stars.

He gives them names. 

He is "abundant in strength". 

His "understanding is infinite." 

He "supports the afflicted.." and "brings down the wicked," (v4-6)

The Lord makes the clouds, provides the rain, and makes the grass to grow.

He provides food for every animal that exists..( including me!) (v8-9)

Our God is not impressed with strong horses or men.. but "favors those who fear Him."

It is God who strengthens the city, gives peace to a country, provides food for the hungry.

It is God who controls the snow and the ice.. the cold and the wind.  (v 10-18)

It is God who sends forth His word.. to make known His perfect will. (v18)

Father in heaven, we give You praise for You are worthy! Everything.. everything comes from You and You are good.  Your greatness is unsearchable.. unfathomable..incomprehensible!  May our songs of praise be pleasant in Your ear.  We rest in the abundance of Your strength and rejoice in the grace and mercy that You have provided for us.  We are thankful that Your understanding is infinite.. that You see the beginning and the end.. that You are never confused.. never confounded... never mistaken.  We rest in the truth of who You are.  Our God is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and great in lovingkindness!  We praise You, O Lord and exalt Your Name.  Praise the Lord!

 Psalm 146 "Praise the Lord!"  

This psalm continues to give us the truth of God's unsearchable.. incomprehensible, fathomless greatness.. this is why we praise Him "while [we] live"! 

He is our "help"  in times of trouble. ( v5)

He is our Hope!

He is the "Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them." v6

He "remains faithful forever." 

"He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry." v7

"The Lord sets prisoners free."

"The Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down." v8

The Lord "loves the righteous." 

"The Lord watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow." v9

The Lord "frustrates the ways of the wicked."

"The Lord reigns forever... for all generations." 

"Praise the Lord."

Which of these truths do you need to cling to today?  Praise the Lord! 

Father in heaven, thank You for being gracious and merciful.. slow to anger and great in lovingkindness.  You are my Refuge and Strength.. my shelter.. my stronghold.. my Deliverer.  I praise You!  I am looking to You for help.. for comfort.. and putting my hope in Your faithfulness and goodness.  May Your everlasting love and grace comfort those who are mourning today. Come near to our hearts this day.. filling us with Your Spirit.. for we ask this in the Name of our dear Savior, Jesus Christ the Lord. Amen. 

 Psalm 145   I love this psalm. It is a song of praise.. filled with great truths about the God we serve. It is a good psalm to memorize and meditate on.. for it brings praise to our lips as we think of the greatness of the Lord. 

We exalt our God, who is our King.  Every day.. we praise Him and lift up His name.  This is right! We cannot wait for Sunday to come before we think about our God.  If we enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise.. then how else will we come into His manifest Presence? Praise Him! Every day!

We praise the Lord for He is great.. He is "worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom." (v3)  Tozer wrote about the "Incomprehensible God"..  He quoted Richard Rolle, who said this, "Verily God is of infinite greatness.. more than we can think; ... unknowable by created things; and can never be comprehended by us as He is Himself. But even here and now, whenever the heart begins to burn with a desire for God, she is made able to receive the uncreated light and, inspired and fulfilled by the gifts of the Holy Ghost, she tastes the joys of heaven."  

This is what David is writing about! God is so great that we must praise Him.. "one generation.. to another";  speaking of His "glorious splendor".. of His "majesty".. of His "wonderful works".. of His "great power".. of His "abundant goodness" and His " righteousness. "

"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." ( v8-9) This is God's definition of Himself.. ( see Ex. 34:6) It is His revelation to His people.. that we might know something of the unknowable greatness of God. 

David proclaims that "all You have made will praise You, O Lord."  The saints will tell of the "glory of Your kingdom."  This is what we need to do.. tell of the glorious Kingdom:

That it is everlasting.. 

That His dominion will endure through every generation. 

That He is faithful to keep every promise. 

That He is loving to all that He has made. 

That He will help those who fall. 

That He will provide for all of His creations...

 that He opens His hands to "satisfy the desires of every living thing." 

The Lord is righteous.. He is near.. He hears our cries.  He watches over us with love.  He judges the wicked and saves those who call upon His name. 

Let us join with David  saying, "My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord. Let every creature praise his holy name for ever and ever. " 

Amen. 

 Psalm 144  Is the Lord.. my Rock?   Do I find Him to be my lovingkindness and fortress?  Is He my stronghold and deliverer?  Can I say He is my shield and that I take refuge in Him?

This psalm of David leads us to examine our own hearts.. " O Lord, what is man ( whom am I) that Thou dost take knowledge of him?"   The Lord does know each of us.. even though we are "like a mere breath" and our days are "like a passing shadow."  So thankful!

"Bow Thy heavens, O Lord, and come down." David prays.  He asks for the mountains to shake and the lightning to flash.. for the Lord to stretch out His hand.. to rescue Him.  We ask for so little in comparison.. don't we? But, David asks for even more:

" Let our sons in their youth be as grown-up plants, and our daughters as corner pillars fashioned as for a palace; let our garners be full, furnishing every kind of produce, and our flocks bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our fields; let our cattle bear without mishap and without loss, let there be no outcry in our streets!"   

In other words.. David is asking for the Lord's blessings on his people.. for he knows..  " How blessed are the people whose God is the Lord!" 

Are we praying?  Are we asking God to bless our sons and daughters.. our homes and businesses.. our neighbors.. our cities and towns?  We need to.. for if we.. the Lord's people.. do not pray.. who will?

Father in heaven, be my Rock.. my Fortress.. my shield and deliverer.  I am coming to You.. to take refuge in You!  Bless my children, my grandchildren and my great-grandchildren.. may they call upon Your Name, may they seek Your face.. may they do Your will and love You with all their hearts.... all the days of their lives.  Be their Rock, be their Fortress and their Deliverer.  Father, I pray for our town.. our country.. to return to You and be Your people. There is such an outcry on our streets Lord! There is such a need for truth and righteousness... for true justice and peace here in this world, Lord.  Let Your Kingdom come and Your will be done.. Bow Your heavens and come down.. we ask.. in Jesus' name. Amen. 

 Psalm 142  David cries aloud... voices his supplication.. pours out his complaint.. and declares his trouble before the Lord.   He was overwhelmed.  He was trapped.  He was "very low".  But.. he was not without hope.  "Bring my soul out of prison, so that I may give thanks to Thy name; the righteous will surround me, for Thou wilt deal bountifully with me." 

How has the Lord "dealt bountifully" with us? He has loved us with an everlasting love. He has saved us from sin and death and hell by sending Jesus Christ, the Beloved Son, to die on a cruel cross. He has given us a living hope.. eternal life in Christ who rose from the grave and sits at the right hand of the Throne of the Father, interceding on our behalf.   I will give thanks to Your Name, O Lord!

Psalm 143  This is another prayer of supplication.. seeking help and deliverance and guidance.  "Answer me in Thy faithfulness, in Thy righteousness!" David pleads. 

David confesses his longing for God's Presence and help.  He has been crushed.. overwhelmed.. and persecuted.  "I stretch out my hands to Thee.. "  

"Let me hear Thy lovingkindness in the morning; for I trust in Thee;
Teach me the way in which I should walk;  for to Thee I lift up my soul.
Deliver me, O Lord, from my enemies; I take refuge in Thee.
Teach me to do Thy will, for Thou art my God; 
Let Thy good Spirit lead me on level ground. "  ( v8-10)

V 12 ".. For I am Thy servant. " 

 May this be the prayer of our hearts. 

Amen!

 Psalm 141  David offers this prayer as an evening offering.. as "incense" before the Lord. Consider these prayer requests:

v3 "Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth. Keep watch over the door of my lips."   Jesus said, ".. the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.."  Good comes from the mouth of one with a "good" heart and evil from the one who has a evil heart.. "And I say to you, that every careless word that men shall speak, they shall render account for it in the day of judgement. For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned." (Matthew 12:34-37  James wrote much about the trouble of the tongue and how it is so hard to tame.  This prayer request is one we might all do well to include in our daily prayers.

v 4 "Do not incline my heart to any evil thing, to practice deeds of wickedness with men who do iniquity;"  Jesus taught us to pray.. ".. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil." (Matt. 6:13)  We are quite aware of the ways of this world.. we know the power of peer pressure.. and the lure of material things. David struggled.. and so do we at times.  Let us also handle it by prayer.. daily putting on the armor of truth, righteousness, and faith. 

v5 " Let the righteous smite me in kindness and reprove me.."   I think this is a courageous prayer request. David asks that God will use others to discipline him when he errs. He prays that God will help him to receive that discipline.. "Do not let my head refuse it.."  There is both humility and wisdom in such a prayer. 

v9 "Keep me from the jaws of the trap which they ( the wicked) have set for me.. let the wicked fall into their own nets, while I pass by safely."  David has turned his eyes to the Lord.. "In Thee I take refuge; do not leave me defenseless."  He knows that there are enemies that want to trap him and he prays for God's intervention and judgement against them.  We know that we have an enemy  " your adversary, the devil prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour."  Like David, may we turn our eyes to the Lord and "resist" the devil "firm in [our] faith." ( I Peter 5:8-9)

Father in heaven, hear these prayers as we follow the example of David and meditate on Your Word. Guard our mouths. Keep our hearts pure and keep us from temptation. Let us humbly and wisely listen to godly counsel.. even when it is uncomfortable. Keep our eyes on Jesus, help us to know that greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world.  Thank You for the Word of Truth that fills our hearts and brings us into oneness with Your Spirit.  Amen.