WE WERE CREATED TO PRAISE GOD!

W E W E R E C R E A T E D T O P R A I S E G O D! P a g e 1 TEXT: Psalms 147: 1-6 WE WERE CREATED TO PRAISE GOD! INTRODUCTION: Christians all around the world are gathering this morning to worship the One True God! He is the One who sustains, strengthens and the One that has provided salvation for all through His only-begotten Son, Jesus. How we need to praise God that we can gather together this morning in freedom and without fear of governmental intrusion! We do not want to focus upon our minor problems, social and political issues that stir up a mindset of complaining that leads to mental, physical and spiritual stresses. Oh my dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we must constantly be focusing upon God, the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit and the inspired Word of God to comfort and encourage us! Please follow along as I read Psalms 147: 1. Praise the LORD. How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him! 2 The LORD builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the exiles of Israel. 3 He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. 4 He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name. 5 Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit. 6 The LORD sustains the humble but casts the wicked to the ground. 1. PRAISE THE LORD [147: 1] A. THE ENCOURAGEMENT TO PRAISE - 147: 1 Praise the LORD. How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him! 1. The Hebrew root word praise is connected with making a noise. The Hebrew word here is hallelujah. 2. We have scores of Bible verses commanding and encouraging the believer to praise God! The Hebrew word for God Elohim the Mighty One. 3. Pleasant -delightful; lovely and pleasant. It is pleasant. Holy joy or delight are required as the principle of it, and that is pleasant

W E W E R E C R E A T E D T O P R A I S E G O D! P a g e 2 to us as men; giving glory to God is the design and business of it, and that is pleasant to us as saints that are devoted to his honor. Praising God is work that is its own wages; it is heaven upon earth; it is what we should be in as in our element. 4. Fitting beautiful and delightful; kind and appropriate for this particular situation as stated in verses 2-6. It is comely; it is that which becomes us as reasonable creatures, much more as people in covenant with God. In giving honor to God we really do ourselves a great deal of honor. B. THE DUTY OF PRAISE IS RECOMMENDED TO US. 1. It is not without reason that we are called to it again and again: Praise you the Lord (v. 1), and again (v. 7), Sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving, sing praise upon the harp to our God (let all our praises be directed to him and center in him), for it is good to do so; it is our duty, and therefore good in itself; it is our interest, and therefore good for us. It is acceptable to our Creator and it answers the end of our creation. 2. The law for it is holy, just, and good; the practice of it will turn to a good account. 1. Every Child of God has the God-given the spiritual DNA to live in the sphere of praise God! 2. We have the joy of just singing praises to our God and our Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ in every situation in our lives! 2. PRAISE THE LORD FOR BUILDING UP JERUSALEM - 147 : 2 The LORD builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the exiles of Israel. 3 He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. A. GOD S NATIONAL CARE OF HIS CHOSEN PEOPLE, v. 2. Is Jerusalem to be raised out of small beginnings? Is it to be recovered out of its ruins? 1. He build up restores Jerusalem. Psalms 51:18; 102:16. 2. God gathers the outcasts of Israel; He wraps them up in Himself! Those that have been scattered hunted and many fled for their very lives. B. GOD S PHYSICAL AND SPIRITUAL CARE OF HIS CHOSEN PEOPLE He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. i 1. In God s grace: He heals the brokenhearted Heals them completely; they are recovered; mends their broken hearts. The brokenhearted were those crushed, broken, 2. binds up their wounds wraps and medicates their deeply inflicted wounds of sorrow, trouble, pain and worry,

W E W E R E C R E A T E D T O P R A I S E G O D! P a g e 3 1. God will completely restore Jerusalem in the Kingdom that follows the Tribulation Period. Psalms 102: 16 For the LORD will rebuild Zion and appear in his glory. 2. Perhaps some of you this morning are experiencing broken heartedness over issues that you have no control over and some you do. a. The brokenness of the guilt and penalty of sin. b. The brokenness of personal sin and its consequences in one s life. c. The brokenness in relation to families: husbands, wives, children, families in general. d. The brokenness in relation to physical illnesses, restrictions, and just the ageing process. 3. Praise God! Jesus can heal your broken heartedness right now! Let Him into your mend now! 3. PRAISE THE LORD FOR BEING THE CREATOR OF THE STELLAR SYSTEMS 147: 4 He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name. 5 Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit. A. GOD S OMNISCIENCE - He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name. 1. The sovereign dominion he has over the lights of heaven, v. 4, 5. The stars are innumerable, many of them being scarcely discernible with the naked eye, and yet he counts them, and knows the exact number of them, for they are all the work of his hands and the instruments of his providence. 2. Their bulk and power are very great; but he called them all by their names, which shows his dominion over them and the command he has them at, to make what use of them he pleases. They are his servants, his soldiers; he musters them, he marshals them; they come and go at his bidding, and all their motions are under his direction. B. GOD S OMNIPOTENCE - Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit. 1. great is our Lord He has created the stars and names them and not only the stars, but the vast universes! 2. mighty in power - This phrase He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name confines that God is Omnipotent and Omniscient and is able to do as He pleases with the vast universes and all of mankind, including Israel! 3. his understanding has no limits and of his understanding there is no computation, so that he can contrive everything for the best. Man s knowledge is soon drained, and you have his utmost length; hitherto his wisdom can reach and no further. But God s knowledge is a depth that can never be fathomed.

W E W E R E C R E A T E D T O P R A I S E G O D! P a g e 4 C. THE LORD SUSTAINS THE HUMBLE BUT CASTS THE WICKED TO THE GROUND. 147: 6 The LORD sustains the humble but casts the wicked to the ground. 1. 6 The LORD sustains He lifts up, sustains, surrounds them with His glorious Person and embraces them in His love and grace. 2. the humble those in a proper relationship with God. Psalms 146: 8, 9. 3. the wicked He casts to the ground. The wicked ones are they that are wicked, guilty sinners! They are cast to the ground. The surface of the earth where mankind lives. They will be at the mercy of all of the unsaved! Ultimately facing an eternal shame! 4. Yahweh s power is manifested in his moral government of the world. Though the language is general, it has obviously a special reference to the restoration of Israel and the humiliation of their oppressors. The meek are those who have learned humility in the school of suffering. These he raises up; but he casts the wicked to the ground. 1 1. The God who is sustaining the stellar system and the vast universes is able to sustain you and me today! 2. God the Father and God the Son understand, they have an intimate relationship and understand about each one of us! They understand what we all are personally dealing with and can meet our immediate need! a. We, the meek and humble, are being constantly kept in the love of God and Jesus and we will one day be lifted up, glorified and be in the presence of our Lord and Saviour eternally! CONCLUDING INSIGHTS: 1. Clouds look dull and melancholy, yet without them we could have no rain, therefore no fruit. Thus afflictions look black and unpleasant; but from clouds of affliction come showers that make the soul to yield the peaceable fruits of righteousness. The psalmist delights not in things wherein sinners trust and glory; but a serious and suitable regard to God is, in his sight, of very great price. We are not to be in doubt between hope and fear, but to act under the gracious influences of hope and fear united. 2 2. Are you actively engaged in praising God, Christ and the Holy Spirit for all They are accomplishing in your daily lives? 3. Let the Lord Jesus Christ heal your brokenness today! Trust the Lord, He can and will do it! 1 Smith, J. E. (1996). The wisdom literature and Psalms (Ps 147:6). Joplin, MO: College Press Pub. Co. 2 Henry, M. (n.d.). E4 s Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary (electronic ed., p. 2).

W E W E R E C R E A T E D T O P R A I S E G O D! P a g e 5 i The Holy Bible: New International Version. (1984). (Ps 147:2 3). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.