Archive of Psalm 146:1-10

He's worthy! Expository Preaching Outline on Psalm 146:1-10 - Praise the LORD! O my soul, praise the LORD! I will praise the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God as long as I live. Do not put your trust in princes or in the sons of men, in whom there is no salvation. Introduction to Psalm 146:1-10 This Psalm is the first of five Psalms that are called "Hallelujah Psalms" or "Psalms of Praise". These five Psalms were probably written around the time Israel returned from a terrible period of captivity in Babylon. After returning from exile, the Jews rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem, rebuilt their Temple and re-established their nation. To commemorate God's grace in bringing them back from the brink of extinction, these Psalms of praise were written to glorify the Lord's name. It seems that the Jews were so moved by what the Lord had done in them and for them that they couldn't contain their praise for Him. Therefore, all five of these precious Psalms begin and end with a declaration of praise to God and a call for others to get involved in praising God. They all begin and end with the phrase "Praise the LORD!" This phrase translates the Hebrew word "Hallelujah!" These people were praising the Lord for all he had done for them. They understood the truth that their years of captivity were the direct result of their sins. They realized that they were back in their land by the sheer grace of God. They knew that they had been punished because they had worshipped other gods; and they knew that they had been brought back home by the one true God. So they praise Him for one reason: He is Worthy! I want to remind you today that He is still worthy! Just as He did for those ancient people, God acted with grace and power to free our souls from the torment and captivity of our sins. He delivered us from an eternity in hell and adopted us into His family when He saved us. If these ancient people could praise the Lord for His grace in bringing them back to their homeland, how much more should God's redeemed people praise Him for bringing us out of the shame, condemnation and sorrow of our sins? Today, I want to look at Psalm 146. I want to try to show you, from these verses, that He is Worthy! I want to remind you that He is worthy of your love. He is worthy of your devotion. He is worthy of your obedience. He is worthy of everything you can offer Him. But in this message, I want to focus on the truth that He is worthy of your praise. Let's reflect on that as we think about the theme: He is Worthy! I. v. 1-2 THE CHALLENGE TO PRAISE A. v. 1 A Call to Praise The psalmist summons his soul to praise the Lord. There are many times when these fleshly bodies find no reason to praise the Lord; but the redeemed soul can find unlimited justification for loud and prolonged praise to the Almighty. (Illustration: Psalm 103:1-5; Ephesians 1:3.) B. v. 2 A Commitment to Praise The writer goes on to tell us that his praise will know no bounds. An Earthly Commitment - As long as there is breath in his lungs, this psalmist declares his intention to praise the Lord. If you are saved, sickness, age, pain, suffering, sorrow and even death can never touch the reasons for true praise. We are commanded to be grateful for all things, even the negative things in life, 1 Thessalonians 5:18; Ephesians 5:20; Philippians 4:6. But the real reasons for genuine praise are internal and not external. They are some of the things we mentioned earlier when considering Psalm 103:1-5. We are saved; we are God's children; we are safe in Jesus forever; we are on our way to a city called Heaven; these things are ours and cannot be touched by this world, by time or by Satan! So we have reason to rejoice, even when life is hard, Luke 10:20. An Eternal Commitment - The psalmist goes on to tell us that as long as he exists, in whatever form, he will still be personally involved in praising the Lord. As I said, there are times when it's hard to find a reason to praise the Lord from an earthly perspective. But when we exchange the earthly for the heavenly and are perfected in His presence in glory, we will have even more reason to exalt the Lord's name. And we will do just that! If you don't believe me, take a look at your own future, Revelation 4:1-11; Revelation 5:9-14. II. v. 3-4 the warning in praise We are warned against praising other men in these verses. There is a double reason for this. A. Man is an Impotent Creature The psalmist warns us against making any man the object of our praise. We are told that man lacks the ability to "help". That's an interesting word! It is often translated as "salvation, deliverance and victory" in the Old Testament. The idea here is this: man can be helpful from time to time in this life; but man can never offer eternal help. Therefore, we must be cautious when giving our praise to men. (Illustration: The tendency in our society to praise actors, singers, athletes, etc. Illustration: The tendency in the modern church to praise preachers and singers. The only one who is worthy of our praise is the Lord. He is the only one who can redeem us from our sins and change our eternal destiny). B. Man is a Passing Creature At his best, man is a transient creature. He is in this world for a short time and then he is gone, James 4:14. And when man passes from the scene; all that he was and all that he offered to other men disappears with him, Ecclesiastes 2:16; 8:10; 9:5. God, on the other hand, is eternal. What He does and what He gives are also eternal. Therefore, He, and not man, deserves all the praise we can give Him! He is worthy! III. v. 5-10 THE CAUSE FOR PRAISE To support what he is saying, the psalmist shows us why the person who knows the Lord has many reasons to praise His name. You see, those who put their trust in themselves or others have no reliable reason to rejoice; but all those whose faith is in God have more reasons to praise Him than they can comprehend! That's the message of verse 5. And support for this position is offered in verses 6-10). A. v. 6 The Greatness of God We can always praise the Lord for his greatness, which is revealed in two special ways. The Greatness of His Power - He is the God of creation! He is the God who said "Let there be..." and there was, Psalm 19; Isaiah 40:12! His power is awesome and unlimited! It is this power that He extends to us in salvation and in our sustenance day after day! When you are overwhelmed by life, remember who your God is and what He has done. Then remember that He is still "able", Ephesians 3:20, and that He is still the "I Am", Exodus 3:14. When you trust Him, His power becomes your power! My car can move down the road at high speeds. It can maintain that pace for hours on end. It can climb hills that would leave me exhausted long before I reached the top. My car can do many things that I can't do; but when I trust in its power and give myself over to its capabilities; my car's capabilities become mine! Suddenly, I can do what it can do, all because I trust it. The same is true, in a much greater sense, when it comes to the Lord. When I trust in Him, His wealth becomes my wealth. His power becomes my power. His ability becomes my ability. I am enabled to stand, to walk, to overcome, all because I am resting in His power and not my own. He is worthy!) The Greatness of His Promises - We are told that God "keeps the truth forever". I'm sure there are many meanings to this phrase. But I think it refers to the fact that God will fulfill His Word. In other words, what God has promised, God will fulfill. God's children need never fear that a single one of his promises will go unfulfilled. God will do everything He said He would. Every promise, from putting food on your table and clothes on your back, Matthew 6:25-34; to saving you and keeping you saved, John 10:28; to His promise of a perfect home in Heaven one day, John 14:1-3; Revelation 21:4, will be perfectly and completely fulfilled. He keeps the truth forever! B. v. 7-9 The Grace of God I think we could stop here and understand the great truth that He is worthy of all our praise. But the psalmist goes on to list the reasons why the redeemed have to praise the Lord. Just look at what He does for His people and I think you'll agree: He is worthy! v. 7 He Fights for the Helpless - He helps those who cannot help themselves! Just as He delivered Israel from the cruel captivity of their captors; He delivered His redeemed people from the cruel captivity of sin and Satan. When we couldn't free ourselves, He stepped in by grace and saved us, Psalm 40:1-3. He is worthy! v. 7 He Feeds the Hungry - Not just our daily bread; but every need we have, both physical and spiritual, is met by our wonderful Father, Philippians 4:19! We like to focus on blessings that are physical in nature; but God's greatest blessings are spiritual. I can remember times when I needed a word for my soul; and He never let me down. He is worthy! v. 7 He Sets the Captives Free - He set Israel free from their oppressors and did the same for you and me. Jesus came to set man free, John 8:36. He freed us from the greatest danger of all; He freed us from our lost condition, condemned to hell, Luke 4:18. He is worthy! v. 8 He enlightens the blind - Again, there is praise for a physical benefit. But the opening of blind eyes would be one of the marks of the Messiah when He came, Isaiah 42:16-18; Luke 4:18. Throughout his ministry, Jesus did just that. He opened the eyes of the blind on many occasions. But I would remind you that there is a greater darkness than physical darkness! That poor soul trapped in sin is blind to the things of God. He is held prisoner in his darkness by Satan, 2 Corinthians 4:4. I was there one day, but Jesus came to where I was and healed my blindness and restored my spiritual sight and brought me into His marvelous light, 1 Peter 2:9. He is worthy! v. 8 He lifts the broken - The idea here is that God lifts the burden from the backs of the weary. Oh, how many times He has lifted my burden and given me rest, Matthew 11:28. How many times have I had the privilege of casting my burdens on Him simply because He cares for me, 1 Peter 5:7; Psalm 55:22. But then there was that day when the burden of sin on my soul was so heavy that I felt I couldn't take another step. I came to Him by faith, cast my burden of sin on Jesus and He lifted me up with His mighty power! He is worthy! v. 8 He Loves the Believer - God has a special place in His heart for those who are in a right relationship with Him, Jeremiah 31:3. He tells us that nothing can ever break this bond of love that unites us to the Lord, Romans 8:38-39. He loves us even when we are undesirable! He loves us when we deserve hatred. He loves us despite our foolishness and failures. He loves us unconditionally, completely and eternally! He is worthy! v. 9 He Protects the Foreigners - The psalmist even praises the Lord because he takes care of those who are not even part of the nation of Israel. He cares for those who are foreigners by birth, but have adopted Israel as their new home. What grace! Of course, there is a sense in which you and I are strangers and pilgrims, 1 Peter 2:11. And while we travel this earth as pilgrims on our way to a city, we can count on the Lord to protect us, keep us and always be present with us on our journey, Matthew 28:20; Hebrews 13:5. I am sure that, as I travel through this world, I am safe because of His protection and His promise, John 10:28; 1 Peter 1:5. He is worthy! v. 9 He Supports the Sufferers - The most disadvantaged members of that society were the focus of God's care and protection. Those whom others often ignored and forgot were never out of God's mind. He cared for the suffering. By the way, He still does! When you and I suffer as we walk this path, we can trust Him to comfort us in our suffering for His glory, 2 Corinthians 12:9; Hebrews 4:15-16. You and I may not have much by the world's standards, but the poorest believer has more than the richest person in the world! Thank God, there is grace for the journey! He is worthy! v. 9 He Judges the Sinner - This may not seem like a great reason for praise, but when we look at it from God's perspective, it is. You see, just as the Lord takes care of His own along the road of life; He thwarts the plans of the wicked. In the end, God will vindicate His name and exalt Himself. All those who love Him will live with Him in heaven. But those who deny Him will face the judgment of hell. How is that grace? Imagine, if you can, a heaven full of unregenerate, unredeemed sinners. Heaven would be hell! We may not fully understand this truth today; but when we get to Heaven, with a mind like the Lord's, we will! He is worthy! C. v. 10 The Glory of God He will forever be God. He will reign forever. He will forever be worthy of our praise. His promises will stand forever. His people will be preserved forever. And as the infinite expanse of eternity unfolds before our eyes, we will raise our voices in praise to the King of kings and Lord of lords. We will forever declare that He is worthy! Conclusion of Psalm 146:1-10 The hymns of the redeemed in heaven revolve around the fact that He is worthy, Revelation 5:9, 12. But let me remind you that He is worthy now! So let me challenge you to praise the Lord and exalt His name, because He is worthy! If you are behind in the area of praise and want to catch up; you can start that process right now. If you are not a child of God and would like to experience all the great things He can do for you; you can have that. If there is a burden, a need or a situation that needs to be brought to Him; you can do that too. Expository Preaching Outline on Psalm 146:1-10 - Praise the LORD! O my soul, praise the LORD! I will praise the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God as long as I live. Do not put your trust in princes or in the sons of men, in whom there is no salvation. More Preaching Outlines God's help - Psalm 79:11 The Lord is our Fortress - Psalm 46:1 Wait on the Lord - Psalm 27:14

Psalm 146:1-10

He is worthy! – Psalm 146:1-10

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