A Portrait of a Thankful Heart

Outline

The Psalms is divided into 5 “books” or collections

Collections 1-4 end with a short doxological tag but collection 5 ends differently

• End of Book 1 – Psalm 41:13 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen.
• End of Book 2 – Psalm 72:18-19 Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, Who alone works wonders. And blessed be His glorious name forever; and may the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen, and Amen.
• End of Book 3 – Psalm 89:52 Blessed be the Lord forever! Amen and Amen.
• End of Book 4 – Psalm 106:48 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting even to everlasting. And let all the people say, “Amen.” Praise the Lord!
• End of Book 5 is Psalm 145 – an extended “Blessed be the name of the Lord” doxology.
• Psalm 146-150 is a crescendo of Praise

In the ongoing epic story of God’s people waiting for the perfect king and kingdom of God amidst oppression, personal failure, and national failure, God’s people needed to be reminded of a conclusion their past king David came to amidst all his failures. Psalm 145 is the epic conclusion of a failed Davidic king recognizing that God is his merciful King. God’s Kingship is not great because of His power to spin galaxies in His hands and execute vengeance, but the greatness of this King is in His mercy and compassion in relationship to His subjects (His kingdom). The King’s subject’s gracious experience at the hand of the King is the “glory” of the King and Kingdom throughout each enduring generation. Thus, the individual sharing of praise and thankfulness experienced at God’s merciful and saving hand leads others – “all flesh” – to bless the name of God (145:21) from generation to generation. Herein lies God’s people’s legacy – the sharing of the King’s Glory to the next generation! Appropriately so, then, after Psalm 145, Israel selected 5 psalms that enjoin all that has breath to offer praise to God.

3 characteristics of an exuberant thankful heart

I. Is Enamored with God’s Greatness (vv. 3-7)

• great…and highly…
• unsearchable
• mighty acts
• glorious splendor of Your majesty
• wonderful works
• power of your awesome acts
• eagerly utter the memory of your abundant goodness
• shout joyfully

“I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation.” (Lewis, C.S., Reflections on the Psalms, p. 111 HarperCollins. Kindle Edition)

II. Understands the Primary Reason for God’s Greatness (8-20)

Psalm 145:8 - The Lord is gracious and merciful; slow to anger and great in lovingkindness. (Hebrew word - “hesed”) Cf. Exodus 34:6

A. His works – grace in His people’s lives

B. His kingdom – which operates differently than the kingdoms of men (vv. 10-12)

III. Overflows with Proclamation of God’s Greatness for the Purpose of Edification and Evangelism (vv. 1-2, 21)

Famed atheist Richard Dawkins in a rare moment of honesty had the courage to admit that in his own atheistic world view that there is no meaning, no significance, permanence to mankind when he wrote in his book, River out of Eden

“In a universe of blind physical forces and genetic replication, some people are going to get hurt, other people are going to get lucky, and you won’t find any rhyme or reason in it, nor any justice. The universe we observe has precisely the properties we expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil and no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference….DNA neither knows nor cares. DNA just is. And we dance to its music

If there is no God….

…. and what we see around us is all random chance without meaning, purpose and lasting significance, then, the logical conclusion is eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die,

…. and I might pull the trigger on my own self.

If Richard Dawkins were being entirely consistent, he would not be writing significant books to convince others about the significance of what he believes is true!

Why Richard? It doesn’t matter….right?

Richard…Haven’t you read MacBeth?

“Life is a tale told by an idiot full of sound and fury signifying nothing!”—Macbeth, William Shakespeare

Richard, read what you wrote!!….the universe is blind and pitiless and is indifferent

Why are you writing books about so-called “truth”

The reason is …Mr. Dawkins, like all of us, ultimately cannot live as “if it doesn’t matter”

And each of us attempt to find lasting significance to outlive our death in various ways.

• Presidents attempt to establish a legacy
• Celebrities attempt to make a name for themselves
• Dictators seek to establish an empire
• Men build kingdoms that crumble
• Mass Shooting Perpetrators say— “I want people to know my name”
• Church saints have pews or buildings named after them…
• CEO build companies that we think will last forever then don’t
  • Do you remember Kodak?
  • Do you remember Sears
  • Radio Shack

Men seek in all kinds of ways to seek permanence and greatness.

The disciples argued with each other and then brought their argument to Christ, “Who will be the greatest?”

Lasting greatness is the clamor of men’s soul, but vain insignificance is the result.

Psalm 90 states,

3 You turn man back into dust

And say, “Return, O children of men.”

5 You have swept them away like a flood, they fall asleep;

In the morning they are like grass which sprouts anew.

6 In the morning it flourishes and sprouts anew;

Toward evening it fades and withers away.

9 For all our days have declined in Your fury;

We have finished our years like a sigh.

10 As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years,

Or if due to strength, eighty years,

Yet their pride is but labor and sorrow;

For soon it is gone and we fly away.

Lasting greatness is the clamor of men’s soul but vain insignificance is the result.

The point is this, God has set greatness and eternity in the soul of man. (Eccl 3:11) but death, as the thief in the night, has stolen it away.

Man was originally created to be an eternal being in the Garden of Eden

Upon his sin, and separation from God, the unnatural state of death was introduced into the world.

And since that time, mankind innately knowing that he is significant in creation, but alienated from the source of his eternality, seeks to find his significance and greatness apart from the source.

He has lost what truly makes one great in the universe.

May I ask you this morning…What make you great? What legacy will last? You know you want to be great and have a lasting legacy in some way. We all do…

There is only one way to ensure a lasting legacy.

With those thoughts in mind please turn to Psalm 145

That is on page 454 in the front section, the Old Testament, of the bible in the chair in front of you.

Today we are in a real sense bringing our annual series of Growing in Gospel Gratitude along with our fall series, The Heart of Thanksgiving to a close.

Next week begins our stewardship emphasis

And then the after than we turn our attention to our Christmas series

After almost 10 months of this theme, have you found your soul being more thankful? I pray that is the case.

Let’s set up a bit of the context of Psalm 145 for us this morning.

Psalm 145 is the Psalm Israel chose to be the last Psalm of the last book of 5 books in their hymn book before ushering in another 5 Psalm crescendo of Praise.

Psalm 145 is also a Psalm of David.

When I introduced this series too you about 8 weeks ago, I mentioned a video I made to detail the structure of the Psalms. You may view that video at www.faithlafayette.org/thepsalms so that you can see the unique place of Psalm 145.

This Psalm—145—is an extended “Blessed be the Name of the Lord” doxology that ends book V.

The Psalms is divided into 5 “books” or collections

Collections 1–4 end with a short doxological tag but collection 5 ends differently

• · End of Book 1— Psalm 41:13 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, From everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen.

• · End of Book 2 —Psalm 72:18-19 Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, Who alone works wonders. And blessed be His glorious name forever; And may the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen, and Amen.

• · End of Book 3—Psalm 89:52 Blessed be the Lord forever! Amen and Amen.

• · End of Book 4 – Psalm 106:48 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, From everlasting even to everlasting. And let all the people say, “Amen.” Praise the Lord!

• · End of Book 5 is Psalm 145 —an extended “Blessed be the name of the Lord” doxology.

• · Psalm 146–150 is a crescendo of Praise

Based upon the content, nature and placement of Psalm 145, let me give my reason for the possible strategic placement of this Psalm of David.

In the ongoing epic story of God’s people waiting for the perfect king and kingdom of God amidst oppression, personal failure, and national failure, God’s people needed to be reminded of a conclusion their past king David came to amidst all his failures. Psalm 145 is the epic conclusion of a failed Davidic king recognizing that God is his merciful King. God’s Kingship is not great because of His power to spin galaxies in his hands and execute vengeance, but the greatness of this King is in His mercy and compassion in relationship to His subjects (His kingdom). The King’s subject’s gracious experience at the hand of the King is the “glory” of the King and Kingdom throughout each enduring generation. Thus, the individual sharing of praise and thankfulness experienced at God’s merciful and saving hand leads others— “all flesh” —to bless the name of God (145: 21) from generation to generation. Herein lies God’s people’s legacy—the sharing of the King’s Glory to the next generation! Appropriately so, then, after Psalm 145, Israel selected 5 psalms that enjoin all that has breath to offer praise to God.

Let’s conclude our series on Growing in Gospel Gratitude by seeing

A Portrait of a Thankful Heart

The word of God through King David speaks for all to hear….

Psalm 145 (NASB95)

A Psalm of Praise, of David.

¹I will extol You, my God, O King,

And I will bless Your name forever and ever.

²Every day I will bless You,

And I will praise Your name forever and ever.

[The Psalm begins this way and ends this way…look down at verse 21]

²¹My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,

So (that) all flesh will bless His holy name forever and ever.

Why is the Psalmist blessing the Lord?

Because….

³Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised,

And His greatness is unsearchable.

[unsearchable—One cannot plum the depths of God’s greatness]

⁴One generation shall praise Your works to another,

[the lasting legacy comes from generation to generation speaking of this and thus the significance continues, nobody will be speaking of the greatness of Facebook or Madonna from generation to generation]

And shall declare Your mighty acts.

[What are these might acts?]

⁵On the glorious splendor of Your majesty

[What is this majesty?]

And on Your wonderful works, I will meditate.

[What are these wonderful works?]

⁶Men shall speak of the power of Your awesome acts,

[What are these awesome acts?]

And I will tell of Your greatness.

[Of what aspect of God’s greatness am I telling?]

⁷They shall eagerly utter the memory of Your abundant goodness

[eagerly overflow…getting a bit more specific here.. “goodness”]

And will shout joyfully of Your righteousness.

[even more specific “righteousness’}

⁸The Lord is gracious and merciful;

Slow to anger and great in lovingkindness.

What? Where did that come from? I thought we were talking about God’s miraculous, powerful works…like creating the universe, spinning Galaxies in his hands or parting the Red Sea, or walking on water..

⁹The Lord is good to all,

And His mercies are over all His works.

[How can mercies be on His works if we are talking about things like powerful miracles?]

¹⁰All Your works shall give thanks to You, O Lord,

[How can “works” give thanks? Have you ever heard the created stars sing a praise to God? Have you ever heard the Sun sing “amazing grace?]

And Your godly ones shall bless You.

[I thought we were talking about God’s works…what are his works?]

¹¹They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom

And talk of Your power;

¹²To make known to the sons of men Your mighty acts

And the glory of the majesty of Your kingdom.

¹³Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,

And Your dominion endures throughout all generations.

[We return to the concept of a King and a Kingdom….Here is a legacy…an enduring kingdom from generation to generation]

[What is characteristic of that king]

¹⁴The Lord sustains all who fall

And raises up all who are bowed down.

¹⁵The eyes of all look to You,

And You give them their food in due time.

¹⁶You open Your hand

And satisfy the desire of every living thing.

¹⁷The Lord is righteous in all His ways

And kind in all His deeds.

¹⁸The Lord is near to all who call upon Him,

To all who call upon Him in truth.

¹⁹He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;

He will also hear their cry and will save them.

²⁰The Lord keeps all who love Him,

But all the wicked He will destroy.

²¹My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,

And [Better translation—'So that’] all flesh will bless His holy name forever and ever.

We are talking this morning about “A Portrait of a Thankful Heart”

Three characteristics of an exuberant thankful heart

The first characteristic of an exuberant thankful heart that will produce a lasting legacy for all…

The exuberant thankful heart is

I. Is Enamored with God’s greatness (vv. 3-7)

You caught, of course, the string of superlative adverbs and adjectives pertaining to God right?

Here they are again…

• · Great ….and highly….,

• · unsearchable

• · mighty acts

• · glorious splendor of Your majesty

• · wonderful works

• · power of your awesome acts

• · eagerly utter the memory of your abundant goodness

• · shout joyfully

Folks it is the natural bent of man to express his delight in something he enjoys.

You know this dynamic well.

The moment you get in a social setting and then you cannot wait to speak about some recent event, some recent activity, some recent food of which you posted a picture on social media, some recent experience that was meaningful, significant, enjoyable to you.

Why do I use movies, like Star wars or Lord of the Rings to illustrate Scriptural points? Because I take delight in them

C. S. Lewis states, in Reflections on the Psalms

I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation. Lewis, C. S.. Reflections on the Psalms (p. 111). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.

The “appointed consummation”

Let that ring in your ears for a moment.

One of the difficulties of being single or a widow or a widower—let me do a shout out to all of our single men and women in our church family—….

…is that when a delightful experience happens there is no appointed consummation/completion to share that experience.

Right there at that moment one can sense the acute loneliness and the truth of C.S. Lewis words. “Praise (in relationship with others), completes the enjoyment…it is the appointed consummation.

Church family, that is why we want to be a community not just for our married folks who have companions but especially for our single brothers and sisters as well.

Now, since Psalm 145 is the end of book V…the appointed consummation is for an individual/God’s people to express what has been, should be, their greatest enjoyment.

This is the chief end for which all men were created….to enjoy God and the appointed consummation of that enjoyment is to glorify, praise, give thanks forever…..

That is what David learned and penned in this Psalm

Israel chose this Psalm to be the end of their book before the crescendo of praise.

Friends, you will be enamored with something.

God has designed the human heart to be filled with delight.

The meaning of the name the Garden of Eden is the “Garden of Delight”

You will delight in something. You will attempt to be enamored with something

When the serpent deceived Eve, Eve chose for the sake of self to be enamored with something other than God….and ushered in consequence of where that leads….vanity….death.

There are only two choices….in which to find your delight

That something will either be God or self.

Blaise Pascal, 17^th, century French Mathematicians said,

…there was once in man a true happiness, of which all that now remains is the empty print and trace. This he tries in vain to fill with everything around him, seeking in things that are not there the help he cannot find in those that are, though none can help, since this infinite abyss can be filled only with an infinite and immutable object; in other words by God himself”

[425 Section 7 Morality and Doctrine https://www.gutenberg.org/files/18269/18269-h/18269-h.htm

Puritan Thomas Chalmers said…

“Such is the grasping tendency of the human heart, that it must have something to lay hold of and which, if wrested away without the substitution of another something in its place, would leave a void and a vacancy as painful to the mind, as hunger is to the natural system…The heart must have something to cling to.” Thomas Chalmers, The expulsive Power of a New Affection

You do delight in something.

You are enamored with something

The question is it God or self?

And what is the evidence to all of what you enjoy the most and delight in the most?

--the anticipated consummation of your enjoyment—what you praise..

What does your speech primarily center around? [develop application]

The first characteristic of an exuberant thankful heart that will produce a lasting legacy for all…

The exuberant thankful heart is

• Is Enamored with God’s greatness (vv. 3-7)

Secondly, the exuberant thankful heart

II. Understands the primary reason for God’s greatness (8-20)

For nearly a decade, Psalm 145 has been one of my favorite Psalms.

I have been enamored with the way the psalmist is enamored with God.

I loved the phrase… “I shall eagerly utter the memory of your abundant goodness.

I had looked up that word eagerly and it has do to with a spring bubbling up or pouring out water.

The Psalmist simply could not help himself but speak of the greatness of God

I wanted that to be true of me.

So I thought I needed to meditate on all these works and acts and power that demonstrated the bigness of God—His power to create, do miracles, part the Red sea, walk on water.

But frankly if you think about it, that power could be terrifying

That kind of power in the hands of someone like Darth Vader, or Sauron, or Thanos, would be terrifying.

It wasn’t until I studied this psalm in preparation for this sermon that my perspective on these works/mighty acts/ changed.

Now, as I was reading the text, I led you partially down a train of thought for a conclusion….

Let revisit this again…starting in verse 6

⁶Men shall speak of the power of Your awesome acts,

[What are these awesome acts?]

And I will tell of Your greatness.

[Of what aspect of God’s greatness am I telling?]

⁷They shall eagerly utter the memory of Your abundant goodness

[eagerly overflow…getting a bit more specific here.. “goodness” is something in relationship]

And will shout joyfully of Your righteousness.

[even more specific “righteousness’ “righteousness” is in regard to relationships]

Then verse 8…..

Psalm 145:8 The Lord is gracious and merciful;

Slow to anger and great in lovingkindness (Hebrew word—“hesed”)— Cf. Exodus 34:6

Where does this come into the argument of God’s works?

Does anyone know from where this statement originated?

It was during Israel’s breaking of the covenant that had just been established on Mt. Sinai.

God had rescued his people from Egypt, wanted to partner with them and as the chiseled gravel of stone particles were still be brushed off the tablets of the ten commandments, Israel was breaking the very first commandment. .

Moses is distraught over this.

God speculates at impending doom for the people with Moses…

But is using this dialog with Moses to stimulate Moses to remember God’s very own character.

Moses finally says, “GOD SHOW ME YOUR GLORY”

And God does….what is His GLORY?

God descends and puts Moses in the cliff of the rock and passes by Him saying

Yahweh, Yahweh….is gracious and merciful slow to anger and great in loving kindness.

That is His glory!!!!

So my friends what are his glorious and powerful works?????

Creation? Walking on water? Parting the read sea? Splitting the Jordan?

What are his glorious, awesome, splendorous works?

List to this in verse 9….

⁹The Lord is good to all,

And His mercies are over all His works.

[How can mercies be on His works if we are talking about things like powerful miracles?]

¹⁰All Your works shall give thanks to You, O Lord,

[How can “works” give thanks? Have you ever heard the created stars sing a praise to God? Have you ever heard the Sun sing “amazing grace?]

And Your godly ones shall bless You.

[I thought we were talking about God’s works…what are his works?—only people can give thanks and bless…]

His most glorious work is nothing other than that the heart of God (gentle, lowly, compassionate grace) manifested in relationship to His people….

His works—grace in His people’s lives

The rest of the psalm fleshes out the glory of God…..His works….in relationship to his people….

Verse..

¹⁴The Lord sustains all who fall

And raises up all who are bowed down.

¹⁵The eyes of all look to You,

And You give them their food in due time.

¹⁶You open Your hand

And satisfy the desire of every living thing.

¹⁷The Lord is righteous in all His ways

And kind in all His deeds.

¹⁸The Lord is near to all who call upon Him,

To all who call upon Him in truth.

¹⁹He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;

He will also hear their cry and will save them.

²⁰The Lord keeps all who love Him,

But all the wicked He will destroy.

The exuberant thankful heart is enamored with the greatness of God as it pertains to the personal experience of God’s great grace! This is it and nothing else!!!

And that brings the individual into ….

His kingdom—which operates differently than the kingdoms of men (vv. 10–12)

Look at verses 11–12

¹¹They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom

And talk of Your power;

¹²To make known to the sons of men Your mighty acts

And the glory of the majesty of Your kingdom.

¹³Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,

And Your dominion endures throughout all generations.

Friends, here is the permanence…God’s Universal Kingdom is permanent…it will consist of those having experienced the grace and mercy of the King of the Universe….and generation after generation since Adam and Eve have been capable of experiencing this God’s graciousness….

Friends, this King and Kingdom is different than any other king and kingdom of man.

At the forefront of the greatness of God is not his spinning galaxies in his hands, wielding his power to accumulate riches unto Himself, but his granting grace and pardon to sinners…

What king is like that?!!!!

Listen to what Ephesians 1:5-6 states with new ears…… regarding the trajectory of history is leading to….. 5He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, 6to the praise of the glory of His grace, (not to his justice, not to his power, not to his vengeance) which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

Remember when we were studying John…

Christ kept saying the following, “The hour of my glorification had not come yet.” The hour of my glorification is coming,” “The hour of my glorification has come….”

God in Christ’s glory is forever defined now as what?—the cross in which he provided grace and pardon for sinners….there it is!!!!

Listen to God’s greatness in the words of Dane Ortlund from his book Gentle and lowly….

Jesus does not love like us. We love until we are betrayed. Jesus continued to the cross despite betrayal. We love until we are forsaken. Jesus loved through forsakenness. We love up to a limit. Jesus loves to the end.”

We cannot present a reason for Christ to finally close off his heart to his own sheep. No such reason exists. Every human friend has a limit. If we offend enough, if a relationship gets damaged enough, if we betray enough times, we are cast out. The walls go up. With Christ, our sins and weaknesses are the very resumé items that qualify us to approach him.

Because mercy is who he is. If mercy was something he simply had, while his deepest nature was something different, there would be a limit on how much mercy he could dole out. But if he is essentially merciful, then for him to pour out mercy is for him to act in accord with who he is. It is simply for him to be God.

The battle of the Christian life is to bring your own heart into alignment with Christ’s, that is, getting up each morning and replacing your natural orphan mind-set with a mind-set of full and free adoption into the family of God through the work of Christ your older brother, who loved you and gave himself for you out of the overflowing fullness of his gracious heart.

And out of that overflowing heart the mouth will speak….

The enamored heart

III. Overflows with proclamation of God’s greatness for the purpose of edification and evangelism (vv. 1-2, 21)

Friends, in the introduction, I quoted Psalm 90— lamenting that man is like grass…in his self-absorbed efforts to have lasting significance he fades like grass.

That same psalm had a prayer for God’s work/majesty to appear….

Psalm 90: 16 Let Your work appear to Your servants

And Your majesty to their children.

Friends, the greatest aspect of God’s Glory has appeared.

Listen…to Hebrews 1:

1 God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways,

2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.

3 And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.

Now, in light of those who have experienced it…..

Look at verses 1-2 and 21 from Psalm 145…again…the book ends of this Psalm…

¹I will extol You, my God, O King,

And I will bless Your name forever and ever.

²Every day I will bless You,

And I will praise Your name forever and ever.

²¹My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,

So (that) all flesh will bless His holy name forever and ever. (generation to generation)

Your permanence, your significance will be in the eagerly uttering the memory of God’s amazing grace to others…so that one person will hear and bless His holy name…and enter into the kingdom of God…and that person will experience God’s amazing grace and will eagerly utter the memory of His abundant goodness…from generation to generation…there is the permanence..

Finally, turn back to Psalm 90:17

17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us; (favor is his grace)

And confirm (give permanence) for us the work of our hands; (the sharing of this to others)

Yes, confirm (give permanence to ) the work of our hands.

Application [Gospel]

Believers [working for permanence—mention upcoming opportunities]

Lord’s table….