True Praise
Psalm 111:1-10,
So it's good to read our Bibles and get our hearts shaped by the Word of God in terms of our thinking and our praying. The Psalms are sometimes called the most favorite books of certain believers, you can understand why. Calvin said they are the anatomy of the soul. In other words, all your human emotions, the full range, are captured in the Psalms, whether joy, fear, hope, anger, trust. And Psalm 111 brings into sharp focus God Himself. It is probably one of the greatest Psalms from that perspective. There's no one greater than God.
You can notice how the Psalm begins. It begins on a note of praise, verse 1, and then it ends on a note of praise. And that word praise, if you went looking for that word in your Bible, I think it's used, (depending on the English translation), 300 to 400 times. But praise is a God-focused activity, a worship activity. Now, sadly, the world we live in is invested in a lot of self-praise, which you would call idolatry of self. But biblical praise is Godward, not self-ward. And notice that praise and thanks comes from the heart. That's only true praise. Anything that only comes from the tongue is not true praise, it must come also from the heart. Remember Jesus warned of drawing near to God with your lips, but your hearts are far from God. Worship, true worship, is a heart engagement, not simply a lip engagement. It is always a danger that religion can be external and not internal. It's easy to go through the motions, and we all can fall into that trap.
It's Godward, we're praising God. It's heart work, true praise is heart work. Then notice in this Psalm, it's corporate. Verse 1 again, “In the company of the upright in the congregation.” So, yes, we can worship privately, and we should be worshiping privately, but we also are to worship corporately. Together worship, you could call it. You'll never really be a healthy Christian unless you are engaged in both private and public worship.
Now, what characterizes true praise? If you read through the Psalm, two big things here, two big things. We praise God for who He is and we praise God for what He did, for what He continues to do. We praise God for His character, and we praise God for His works. That's really how you shape this Psalm. Psalm 111 starts off speaking of God's glory, His majesty. Look down to verse 4, His mercy; verse 5, faithfulness, justice; verse 6, power; verse 9, His holiness. So we praise God for who He is.
And we praise God for His great works, and again, the psalmist wants us to consider His great work. Notice verse 2, they're to be studied. That means we've got to investigate them. God wants us to be scientists, investigate the works of God, especially when we think of creation. But more, He wants us to delight in them, not just study them, but delight in them. And that's probably one of the favorite words of John Piper. If you ever read his first book, Delighting in God, we are to be a people who delight in God. We are to be a people who "delight in the Sabbath day," Isaiah 58. And here in Psalm 111, we are to delight in His works. I'm sure there's been times in your life where you've gone for a walk, maybe through a park, gone to a seashore, or gone somewhere, and you've observed God's creation, maybe climbed a mountaintop somewhere and looked over the landscape and you can't help but sing and rejoice, delighting in what God has made. Hopefully, we're delighting because it gives us opportunity to magnify God, His glory, His beauty and wisdom and His power. So creation is a work of God and we should be praising God for what He has done by His creative hand.
In this Psalm, he also mentions His providence, verse 5, He provides food. That word providence comes from the Latin word which is Providentia, which literally means to see ahead, or see in advance and to make provision. And God, who made everything, He also governs and provides for all that He has made. I like the word John Piper uses in his book on Providence, he talks about the meticulous providence of God. I like that word, meticulous providence of God. What does that mean? Well, God is in control of everything. Not just the big things, but also the smallest details in our lives. There's nothing random. Every detail fits God's purposes, from galaxies and to the little single sparrows that fall from trees, said Jesus.
But there's a third great work of God that we see in Psalm 111. We appreciate His work of creation, we praise Him for that, we praise Him for His work of providence, but look at verse 9, He sent redemption to His people. That's a word of salvation. Arguably the greatest work, the greatest work that God has ever done is the work of creation. And I thought about it today. Every time you pick up your New Testament, and you see that little phrase, “in Christ”, “in Christ”, “in Christ”, that's the word that should excite your emotions and think of praising God for what He's done for you in Jesus Christ. Think of what it cost. It cost Him His son, His only begotten Son, the Lamb of God shed His blood. And think of what it accomplishes, it delivers us from sin, it delivers us from past sin, present sin, future sin, by justification. It delivers us from the guilt of sin, the power of sin and one day, the presence of sin. And salvation in Christ reconciles and adopts, it gives us eternal life. But there's another thing great about salvation. It's not just great in terms of what we've already said, but it's great in terms of the great number of people who will be saved. We can be particularist in terms of our salvation, that God saves the elect, we believe that. But we should never think that it's a small group of people. From every tribe, every kindred. That's why heaven will be a place of praise and worship to a great God, who has accomplished great works.
And so, as we go to the throne of grace, let's remember who God is, what He has done. Let's praise Him, let's thank Him. It's a good way to begin your prayers thinking about God, who He is, and what He has done for us and He continues to save us. Salvation is a past, present, future. He continues to save us and keep us and He will continue to build His church.
“Praise the Lord! I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation. Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them. Full of splendor and majesty is His work, and His righteousness endures forever. He has caused His wondrous works to be remembered; the Lord is gracious and merciful. He provides food for those who fear him; He remembers His covenant forever. He has shown His people the power of His works, in giving them the inheritance of the nations. The works of His hands are faithful and just; all His precepts are trustworthy; they are established forever and ever, to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness. He sent redemption to His people; He has commanded His covenant forever. Holy and awesome is His name! The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have good understanding. His praise endures forever!"
So it's good to read our Bibles and get our hearts shaped by the Word of God in terms of our thinking and our praying. The Psalms are sometimes called the most favorite books of certain believers, you can understand why. Calvin said they are the anatomy of the soul. In other words, all your human emotions, the full range, are captured in the Psalms, whether joy, fear, hope, anger, trust. And Psalm 111 brings into sharp focus God Himself. It is probably one of the greatest Psalms from that perspective. There's no one greater than God.
You can notice how the Psalm begins. It begins on a note of praise, verse 1, and then it ends on a note of praise. And that word praise, if you went looking for that word in your Bible, I think it's used, (depending on the English translation), 300 to 400 times. But praise is a God-focused activity, a worship activity. Now, sadly, the world we live in is invested in a lot of self-praise, which you would call idolatry of self. But biblical praise is Godward, not self-ward. And notice that praise and thanks comes from the heart. That's only true praise. Anything that only comes from the tongue is not true praise, it must come also from the heart. Remember Jesus warned of drawing near to God with your lips, but your hearts are far from God. Worship, true worship, is a heart engagement, not simply a lip engagement. It is always a danger that religion can be external and not internal. It's easy to go through the motions, and we all can fall into that trap.
It's Godward, we're praising God. It's heart work, true praise is heart work. Then notice in this Psalm, it's corporate. Verse 1 again, “In the company of the upright in the congregation.” So, yes, we can worship privately, and we should be worshiping privately, but we also are to worship corporately. Together worship, you could call it. You'll never really be a healthy Christian unless you are engaged in both private and public worship.
Now, what characterizes true praise? If you read through the Psalm, two big things here, two big things. We praise God for who He is and we praise God for what He did, for what He continues to do. We praise God for His character, and we praise God for His works. That's really how you shape this Psalm. Psalm 111 starts off speaking of God's glory, His majesty. Look down to verse 4, His mercy; verse 5, faithfulness, justice; verse 6, power; verse 9, His holiness. So we praise God for who He is.
And we praise God for His great works, and again, the psalmist wants us to consider His great work. Notice verse 2, they're to be studied. That means we've got to investigate them. God wants us to be scientists, investigate the works of God, especially when we think of creation. But more, He wants us to delight in them, not just study them, but delight in them. And that's probably one of the favorite words of John Piper. If you ever read his first book, Delighting in God, we are to be a people who delight in God. We are to be a people who "delight in the Sabbath day," Isaiah 58. And here in Psalm 111, we are to delight in His works. I'm sure there's been times in your life where you've gone for a walk, maybe through a park, gone to a seashore, or gone somewhere, and you've observed God's creation, maybe climbed a mountaintop somewhere and looked over the landscape and you can't help but sing and rejoice, delighting in what God has made. Hopefully, we're delighting because it gives us opportunity to magnify God, His glory, His beauty and wisdom and His power. So creation is a work of God and we should be praising God for what He has done by His creative hand.
In this Psalm, he also mentions His providence, verse 5, He provides food. That word providence comes from the Latin word which is Providentia, which literally means to see ahead, or see in advance and to make provision. And God, who made everything, He also governs and provides for all that He has made. I like the word John Piper uses in his book on Providence, he talks about the meticulous providence of God. I like that word, meticulous providence of God. What does that mean? Well, God is in control of everything. Not just the big things, but also the smallest details in our lives. There's nothing random. Every detail fits God's purposes, from galaxies and to the little single sparrows that fall from trees, said Jesus.
But there's a third great work of God that we see in Psalm 111. We appreciate His work of creation, we praise Him for that, we praise Him for His work of providence, but look at verse 9, He sent redemption to His people. That's a word of salvation. Arguably the greatest work, the greatest work that God has ever done is the work of creation. And I thought about it today. Every time you pick up your New Testament, and you see that little phrase, “in Christ”, “in Christ”, “in Christ”, that's the word that should excite your emotions and think of praising God for what He's done for you in Jesus Christ. Think of what it cost. It cost Him His son, His only begotten Son, the Lamb of God shed His blood. And think of what it accomplishes, it delivers us from sin, it delivers us from past sin, present sin, future sin, by justification. It delivers us from the guilt of sin, the power of sin and one day, the presence of sin. And salvation in Christ reconciles and adopts, it gives us eternal life. But there's another thing great about salvation. It's not just great in terms of what we've already said, but it's great in terms of the great number of people who will be saved. We can be particularist in terms of our salvation, that God saves the elect, we believe that. But we should never think that it's a small group of people. From every tribe, every kindred. That's why heaven will be a place of praise and worship to a great God, who has accomplished great works.
And so, as we go to the throne of grace, let's remember who God is, what He has done. Let's praise Him, let's thank Him. It's a good way to begin your prayers thinking about God, who He is, and what He has done for us and He continues to save us. Salvation is a past, present, future. He continues to save us and keep us and He will continue to build His church.
Posted in Pastor Devotional