January 10th, 2016
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

A World of Worship

Please see the links to our EXTRA Bible Study notes at the bottom of the page.

Opening Prayer

Dear Father, You are the giver of life and truth and grace. I thank You for all Your mercies.

Read PSALM 145:1-21

[1] A psalm of praise. Of David. I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever. [2] Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever. [3] Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. [4] One generation commends your works to another; they tell of your mighty acts. [5] They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty- and I will meditate on your wonderful works. [6] They tell of the power of your awesome works- and I will proclaim your great deeds. [7] They celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness. [8] The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. [9] The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made. [10] All your works praise you, LORD; your faithful people extol you. [11] They tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might, [12] so that all people may know of your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. [13] Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The LORD is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does. [14] The LORD upholds all who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down. [15] The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. [16] You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing. [17] The LORD is righteous in all his ways and faithful in all he does. [18] The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. [19] He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them. [20] The LORD watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy. [21] My mouth will speak in praise of the LORD. Let every creature praise his holy name for ever and ever.

Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Meditate

We have a great motive for praising God. He has blessed us in temporal and eternal ways.

Think Further

The wisdom literature reminds us that God is to be found in the everyday, and the psalms, many of which are rooted in wisdom thinking, echo the cry. God’s praise, the worship of his people, belongs in the everyday.

Psalm 145 tells us why. We don’t praise God for his theoretical qualities, the attributes our doctrines have ascribed to him. We praise God, rather, for being the God we have found him to be. We praise him because he has shown himself great (1-3). God’s acts (4), his miracles (5), his deeds (6) and his righteousness (7) are not aspects of our theology but of our history. We have stories to tell our children because of who God has proven himself to be. God has shown himself to be slow to anger and full of love (8); he is compassionate (9). He showers goodness and all his creatures respond in praise (10). The entire creation knows how great he is (11). He has shown himself faithful to us (13). He helps us (14), feeds us (15) and satisfies us (16). He is righteous (17) and close to us (18). He hears our cry (19) and protects us (20).

After listing so many ways in which God has shown his love, David breaks out in praise (21). How much more should we, who have seen all this and more expressed in Christ, lift hearts of praise and gratitude to God? God does not demand your worship on the basis of his abstract goodness. He has won your praise by his actual love. He has made it possible, in Christ, for David’s last dream to come true–for everyone on earth to bless his name.

Apply

Has God given you the desires of your heart (19)? If you are unfulfilled in some way, what does this indicate?

Closing prayer

Heavenly Father, give me eyes to see You and a heart and words to praise You.

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