Psalms 138

- this morning we're going to move into a new Psalm - Psalm
138.
- often when we think of the Psalms, we think of the word
"praise."
- because they were used as part of Israel's worship, many
of the Psalms tell us how and why we should praise our
Lord.

- we've also been seeing in this study that the Psalms
address a lot of other topics
- cf. in the last few weeks we've discussed child-
rearing, jealousy/envy, trusting the Lord, how to
handle guilt, etc.

- Psalm 138 is a Psalm that directly addresses the issue
of praise.
- a simple definition of praise is "the acknowledging
of God's perfection, works, and benefits." (Unger)

- the Scripture tells us that one day, "every knee will bow,
and every tongue shall confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord
to the glory of God the Father." (Phil. 2:11)
- some will not be willing to admit this truth until they
face the Lord as judge...
- however you and I have the wonderful privilege of
learning to praise Him, and choosing to praise Him out
of love and appreciation for all He's done for us.

- in this Psalm, David's going to speak to us about the
extent of our praise, and the content of our praise.

(- see Trans. on relationship of the two points)

- READ Psalm 138
- let's begin talking about:

I. The Extent Of Our Praise

- David says in verse 1 - "I will praise the Lord with my
whole heart."

- so when we think about the issue, "to what extent
should I praise the Lord?", David's answer is:

A. With all your heart

1. what is your "heart?"

- we probably need to mention that when the Bible
talks about the word "heart", it's not speaking
about the seat of the emotions, or the place that
goes "pitter patter" when your wife kisses you.
- the word "heart" in the Bible is talking about the
"inner person", the "control center" of man", the
"totality of the inner man in relationship to God."

- the point that David is making is--that he wants his
praise to be characterized by "wholeheartedness."
- one writer said it this way--"all of the parts and powers
of his inner being were committed to extolling his Lord."

- now I hope none of us would allow those words to roll off
our lips "too easily."
- the matter of praising God wholeheartedly (or even
shooting toward that goal) is a serious issue that
surely doesn't come naturally...
- and it surely doesn't describe the average American
believer.

2. what are some alternatives to wholehearted praise to
God?

- please turn over to Gen. 6:5

a. wholehearted corruption

- this passage describes our condition before
salvation.
- there was no cause to praise the Lord, and no
occasion to do so.
- many people go months, years, or even an entire
lifetime and never say a positive word, or think
a positive thought about the God of heaven.

- some folks are very wholehearted--it's just that
they're wholehearted about the wrong things.

- probably the more likely category is what we might call:

b. half-hearted devotion

- in other words, if a believer in Jesus Christ is
not like David in Psalm 138:1 who sought to praise
God with his whole heart, what is he/she most
likely to be?
- the answer is -- half--hearted in their devotion
and praise---or, possessing a divided heart.

- a good example of this condition is found in
Jeremiah 3:6-11. (Israel - northern kingdom,
Judah, southern kingdom)
- cf. especially verse 10

- we're going to talk more about the issue of "idols"
in the second half of verse one, but the point here
is that David did not want to be a a person whose
praise/devotion was only half-hearted.

- let's think about this question for a moment:
INPUT - what might be some causes of half-hearted
devotion/praise? (pride-I accomplished it myself,
bitterness-I won't praise God for that because I don't
understand/appreciate it.)

- David tells us something else about the extent of his
praise in the second half of verse 1.
- INPUT - what is it?

B. Before the "gods."

- you understand, that when David talks about the gods,
he's not saying that he considers them to be genuine
deities.
- Paul made the same argument in I Cor. 8:4 - "we know
that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there
is no other God but one."

- so David's not saying that He's going to praise the
real God in front of the false gods/idols because
that's going to have any impact on the false gods/idols
- INPUT - but who is it going to have impact on?
(the people who wrongly worship the false gods.)

- this part of the verse brings up a critical concept for you
and I to get a handle on.
- let's try to do it by thinking together about two critical
questions: (on white board)

INPUT - what are some of the "gods" that people (or even
you or me) might "worship" (serve/praise) today?

- INPUT - what are some contexts in which you and I might
be tempted to praise the Lord in?

(apply to child-rearing--contexts in which our
children might be tempted not to praise the Lord
in)

- by the way, while we're on this subject, there
are some activities/events your child might want
to get involved in that are, by their very
nature, contrary to what we're talking about.
- either by the purpose of the event
- or by the kind of music
- or by the kinds of activities

- you'll have to decide for yourself and you'll have to
decide for your children how important the concepts in
this verse really are.
- you're also going to have to decide what God wants you to
do when your children don't agree with what the direction
you're trying to give your family on some of these issues.
- I'm not talking about taking an immediate bottom line
- of course there's room for discussion and additional
study of the Scripture.

- but let me ask you this--is there ever a place in your
thinking where a bottom line would have to be drawn?
- some parents allow their children to run the home.
- for some, whether the child is happy, and satisfied,
and pleased is the controlling issue in the home.

- please let me remind you that the Lord didn't put you
in the home to win a popularity contest.
- in fact, the Scripture strongly condemns parents who
don't show godly and biblical leadership in their
homes:

I Kings - 1:5-6 - (context - one of David’s own sons has
rebelled against him) - "Then Adonijah, the son of Haggith,
exalted himself, saying, I will be king, and he prepared
chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him.
And his father had not displeased him at any time, saying,
Why have you done so...?"

- you read about the same thing in I Samuel 3 concerning Eli
the priest where the Lord said, "For I have told him that
I will judge his house forever for the iniquity which he
knows, because his sons made themselves vile, and he
restrained them not."

- Eli found himself on the shelf--no longer useful for God
and His service
- and that’s the case with many Christian parents who
have valued "pleasing their children" more than
they've valued "pleasing the Lord" and as a result
they've limited the spiritual service of the entire
family.

- David's talking about the extent of his praise
- "with my whole heart will I praise the Lord--regardless
of where I am or how those around me might respond."

- let me ask you this--is that the testimony of your heart?

- we're no talking about you being a fanatic or standing
on top of your desk at work and shouting Bible verses...
- but do you look for opportunities to praise the Lord?

- cf. comments about the house - "The Lord's been good
to us."

- there are all sorts of natural ways to give God praise if
we look for them
- the problem is that some folks are ashamed of the
gospel, ashamed of the Bible, ashamed of the Lord.

***- recommend "Ashamed of the Gospel"

- I'm going to move over verse 2 more rapidly, but we see the
same kind of ideas concerning the extent of David's praise.

C. Directed toward the holy temple.

- a person who wanted to praise the Lord in Jerusalem
would naturally turn toward the tabernacle and later
the temple because that was the special place where
God's people met for corporate worship.
- David was not ashamed of worshipping in that way, and
he wouldn't let other things get in the way of his
desire to praise God.

D. Involving God's name

- he wanted to be a man who "praised His Lord"
- he said "I will praise thy name"

- he didn't want there to be any question about who he
believed was responsible for the goodness and blessing
he enjoyed.
- we'll have to move more quickly through the rest of the
verses, but let's talk now about...

II. The Content Of Our Praise

A. For God's personal characteristics - 138:c

- David brings out two of the most important
attributes of the Lord--his loving kindness (grace)
and his truth.

- we see those same attributes mentioned often in the
Scriptures:
- Psalm 40:11 - let thy loving kindness and thy
truth preserve me.
- Psalm 89:33-37

- of course those attributes are perfectly
exemplified in our Lord.
- that’s why John said in John 1:17, "for the law was
given by Moses, grace and truth by Jesus Christ."

- now what we're talking about here may explain why those in
our generation don't seem to be as interested or able to
praise the Lord in the way David is talking about.
- the ability to praise the Lord is directly connected to our
knowledge of Him, and our desire to know Him more.
*** - the pre-requisite to praise is right theology.

- CT article.

- point is - a person ought to come to church (or to
his/her own study of the Scripture) asking
questions like:

1) what does the Bible say the God of Heaven is like?

2) how is this different than my view/beliefs and how
do I need to change to demonstrate my submission
to the Scriptures?

3) Since God is holy, how can I be reconciled to God
in my sinful state?

4) How does God want me to live after I've been
reconciled to Him and how can I get busy ay
changing as quickly as possible?

- but this article is showing that’s not the way many
folks are approaching their relationship with the Lord.
- (by the way, when a publication as far to the left as CT
gets concerned about something, we better all get
concerned about it.)

- many are coming back to the church with questions like:
1) What has God done for me and how can he help me?
(maybe not intrinsically wrong--but definitely
intrinsically incomplete).

2) what does the Bible say about God--and then I'll tell
you if that goes along with my belief--if not, I'm
not going to change.
- the point is - there's no place for truth//sound theology
in the minds of many believers today.

- quote MacArthur - page xi-xii.

- the same point is made in a book I mentioned to you a
couple of weeks ago entitled "No Place For Truth--Whatever
Happened To Evangelical theology?"

- part of the argument of the book is that our culture has
placed such a premium on television, and videos, and
other forms of entertainment--that we're no longer able
to think.

- the point is -- you and I couldn't possibly do what
David is advocating unless we have a genuine place in
our lives and hearts for learning more about the Lord
through His Word.

- The prerequisite to praise is right theology.

- let me just mention the other things David praises the Lord
for to complete your outline.

B. Answered prayer - 138:3a

C. Strength - 138:3b

D. Future world dominion - 138:4, 5

E. His attitude toward men - 138:6

F. His preservation - 138:7

G. His faithfulness