The Importance of Prayer – A Love God Greatly Study, w1d4
Read Psalm 145 and SOAP Psalm 145:2-3
2I will praise you every day;
Psalm 145:2-3
yes, I will praise you forever.
3 Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise!
No one can measure his greatness.
For me, soaping this passage might look like the following –
Scripture: 2I will praise you every day;
My SOAP
yes, I will praise you forever.
3 Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise!
No one can measure his greatness. Psalm 145:2-3
Observation: 1. David makes it personal. He isn’t simply leading others to praise God – He is declaring his personal heart felt adoration for His God. 2. David is committed, pledging to praise God every day – forever. 3. David declares the Lord to be great and worthy of praise. 4. David is certain that no one can measure God’s greatness.
Application: If I am to emulate David, who was a ‘man after God’s own heart, I should seek to praise God forever and ever. I will declare His greatness, remember that He is “most” worthy of praise, and not allow anyone a greater place or tribute in my life – not because I’ve been told that He is great or because other people are praising Him but because I personally know that so great is He, His greatness cannot be measured.
Prayer: Father, thank you for David’s reminder that you are great and most worthy of praise. Help me to praise you throughout every day of my life, forever and forever. – Amen!
SOAPing Scripture is a beautiful and helpful technique of studying and understanding God’s Word. However, it is important, when doing so, to allow yourself the time and the joy of mining for other treasure. Or, as I like to say, to chase some ‘scripture squirrels’. So, naturally when my study for today – The Importance of Prayer by Love God Greatly – called for me to read Psalm 145 and SOAP only verses 2-3 – I ended up chasing down some squirrels.
As we discovered yesterday, praising God makes for a great time of worshipful prayer. This Psalm of David is an excellent example. He begins by lifting up, or exalting, the Lord in verse 1 and is still praising Him in verse 21. David declares in his own singular praise – I will exalt you, my God and King, and I will praise your name. Keep reading though and you will see that his praise leads to more praise, followed by an invitation or the expressed hope (4) for others to continue the praise – “Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts; let them proclaim your power.” Watch, then, as he purposes to meditate on some of the most beautiful characteristics and works of our God. According to David, when we think of God’s majestic, glorious splendor and His wonderful miracles we will proclaim His greatness. And because praise is contagious God’s awe-inspiring deeds will be on every tongue not just his own; David will proclaim God’s greatness, yet not just His greatness toward David, but an extensive resume’ of God’s character and previous works.
- He keeps His promises;
- He is gracious in all He does.
- The Lord helps the fallen
- He lifts those bent beneath their loads.
- He gives them their food as they need it.
- He satisfies the hunger and thirst of every living thing.
- The Lord is righteous in everything he does;
- He is filled with kindness.
- The Lord is close to all who call on him,
- He grants the desires of those who fear him;
- He hears their cries for help and rescues them.
- The Lord protects all those who love him
- He destroys the wicked.
Look back with me to verses 5-13, and note that by proclaiming some simple yet profound truths of God, like His greatness and the fact that He is worthy of praise, David’s Psalm turns from the singular ‘I will’ statements to declaring that ‘everyone will’ and ‘they will’.
Everyone will share the story of your wonderful goodness;
Psalm 145:7
they will sing with joy about your righteousness.
David knows what it is to benefit from or to see the Lord’s mercy and compassion or to experience His goodness. He knows how his own heart responds in praise to these things and surmises, based on his own experience, that because the Lord is merciful and compassionate and because the Lord is good to everyone, that His faithful followers will also cry out in praise. He says, they will speak of the Glory of God’s kingdom, they will tell about His mighty deeds and give examples of His power and talk about the majesty and glory of His reign.
… your faithful followers will praise you.
Psalm 145:10b-12
11 They will speak of the glory of your kingdom;
they will give examples of your power.
12 They will tell about your mighty deeds
and about the majesty and glory of your reign.
David ends the Psalm with the same declaration that he opened with, the pledge that “I will praise the Lord.” He then entreats everyone on earth to do the same. May we follow David in this most worthy quest. May our eyes and hearts and minds be opened to see, to hear, and to experience God – and then may we respond with praise – not just silent or whispered praises to Him but bold and confident praise that will testify to His goodness, His mercies, His grace, love, and magnificent works. May our praise ignite more praise both in us and in all those who hear or see what He is doing.
I will praise the Lord,
Psalm 145:21
and may everyone on earth bless his holy name
forever and ever.
Me, from the inside out
I will be the spark 🙂 I can praise for improvement in my covid symptoms and a code red day for snow that won’t count against my days.