Psalms for the Journey

God is. The “I AM” is boundless in grace and mercy. He is unlimited with His unconditional love, and compassionate care for us. He loves being with those who love being with Him. What a great relationship to have and to live each day! Yes, God is great and greatly to be praised! David is overwhelmed with God’s goodness to Him and sings a new psalm extolling God’s attributes.

Let us pause this morning to read, to meditate, to sing it out loud and imagine God listening and smiling as we understand more and more Who He is and Who He wants to be for us and in us. He loves us. We love Him. Let us rejoice in this precious forever relationship.

Psalm 145, The Message
David’s Praise

I lift you high in praise, my God, O my King!
and I’ll bless your name into eternity.
2 I’ll bless you every day,
and keep it up from now to eternity.
3 God is magnificent; he can never be praised enough.
There are no boundaries to his greatness.
4 Generation after generation stands in awe of your work;
each one tells stories of your mighty acts.
5 Your beauty and splendor have everyone talking;
I compose songs on your wonders.
6 Your marvelous doings are headline news;
I could write a book full of the details of your greatness.
7 The fame of your goodness spreads across the country;
your righteousness is on everyone’s lips.
8 God is all mercy and grace—
not quick to anger, is rich in love.
9 God is good to one and all;
everything he does is suffused with grace.
10-11 Creation and creatures applaud you, God;
your holy people bless you.
They talk about the glories of your rule,
they exclaim over your splendor,
12 Letting the world know of your power for good,
the lavish splendor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is a kingdom eternal;
you never get voted out of office.
God always does what he says,
and is gracious in everything he does.
14 God gives a hand to those down on their luck,
gives a fresh start to those ready to quit.
15 All eyes are on you, expectant;
you give them their meals on time.
16 Generous to a fault,
you lavish your favor on all creatures.
17 Everything God does is right—
the trademark on all his works is love.
18 God’s there, listening for all who pray,
for all who pray and mean it.
19 He does what’s best for those who fear him—
hears them call out, and saves them.
20 God sticks by all who love him,
but it’s all over for those who don’t.
21 My mouth is filled with God’s praise.
Let everything living bless him,
bless his holy name from now to eternity!

Think about it…

Who could not praise a God with these wonderful characteristics? But along with telling us why we should praise the Lord, David tells us when we should praise Him.
–Praise God from Day to Day (vv. 1-2).
–Praise God from Generation to Generation (vv. 3-7).
–Praise God from Nation to Nation (vv. 8-13a).
–Praise God from Need to Need (vv. 13b-16).
–Praise God from Prayer to Prayer (vv. 17-21).
–Life Means Praising God (vv. 1-2).
–Life Means Trusting God (vv. 3-6).
–Life Means Loving God (vv. 7-9).
–Life Means Reigning with God (v. 10).

Let’s Just Praise the LORD, God of Heaven and Earth!
And I”m singing…

Let’s just praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!
Let’s just lift our hearts to heaven and praise the Lord;
Let’s just praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!
Let’s just lift our hearts to heaven and praise the Lord!