#55 Praise the Lord

1. #55 Praise the Lord From all that dwell below the skies, Let the Creator's praise arise; Let the Redeemer's name be sung, Through ev'ry land, by ev'ry tongue.

2. Eternal are thy mercies, Lord; Eternal truth attends thy Word; Thy praise shall sound from shore to shore, From age to age forevermore.

3. Your lofty themes, ye mortals bring; In songs of praise exulting sing; The great salvation loud proclaim, And ever praise the Saviour's name.

4. In every land begin the song; To every land the strains belong; In cheerful sounds all voices raise, And fill the world with joyful praise.

5. Praise God

6. The Delaware Valley Bible Students

7. The Griehs Family

9. August 8-13, 2010, Baia Mare, Romania

10. Last six Psalms are Psalms of praise • Psalm 145 begins final section • Also one of many “acrostics”

11. Acrostic Psalms • Each begins with successive letters of Hebrew alphabet • Psalm 119 is a famous example • written with 8 verses for each of the Hebrew consonants in order • verses 1-8 each have a first word beginning with aleph • verses 9-16 each have a first word beginning with beth, and so on.

12. Acrostic passages occur in nine psalms Psalm 9 2 verses for each of the 22 Hebrew consonants Psalm 10 2 verses each Psalm 25 1 verse each Psalm 34 1 verse each Psalm 37 2 verses each Psalm 111 ½ verse each Psalm 112 ½ verse each Psalm 119 8 verses each Psalm 145 1 verse each

13. Note that there are two versions of some letters. Kaf, Mem, Nun, Pei and Tzadei all are written differently when they appear at the end of a word than when they appear in the beginning or middle of the word. The version used at the end of a word is referred to as Final Kaf, Final Mem, etc. There are 22 letters in this alphabet.

14. The significance of the number “22” As early as the 1st & 2nd centuries B.C. the Jews noted that 22 was significant in not just being the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet but also the number of generations from Adam to Jacob , the number of works of creation, and the number of books in the Jewish canon of the Bible. (Sources: Josephus; the book of Jubilees 2.23; cf. Kabala)

15. Psalms Chapter 145 תְּהִלִּים(KJV) 1 A Psalm of] praise; of David. I will extol Thee, my God, O King; and I will bless Thy name for ever and ever. 2 Every day will I bless Thee; and I will praise Thy name for ever and ever. ALEPH BEITH-VEITH

16. 3 Great is the LORD, and highly to be praised; and His greatness is unsearchable. 4 One generation shall laud Thy works to another, and shall declare Thy mighty acts GHIMEL DALETH

17. 5 The glorious splendour of Thy majesty, and Thy wondrous works, will I rehearse. 6 And men shall speak of the might of Thy tremendous acts; and I will tell of Thy greatness. HÉ VAV

18. 7 They shall utter the fame of Thy great goodness, and shall sing of Thy righteousness. 8 The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. ZAÏNN HETH

19. 9 The LORD is good to all; and His tender mercies are over all His works. 10 All Thy works shall praise Thee, O LORD; and Thy saints shall bless Thee. TETH IOD

20. 11 They shall speak of the glory of Thy kingdom, and talk of Thy might; 12 To make known to the sons of men His mighty acts, and the glory of the majesty of His kingdom. HAPH-KAPH LAMED

21. 13 Thy kingdom is a kingdom for all ages, and Thy dominion endureth throughout all generations. 14 The LORD upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that are bowed down. MEM NUN-14th letter SAMEKH

22. 15 The eyes of all wait for Thee, and Thou givest them their food in due season. 16 Thou openest Thy hand, and satisfiest every living thing with favour. AYINN PÉ-PHÉ

23. 17 The LORD is righteous in all His ways, and gracious in all His works. 18 The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon Him, to all that call upon Him in truth. TSADÉ QÔF

24. 19 He will fulfil the desire of them that fear Him; He also will hear their cry, and will save them. 20 The LORD preserveth all them that love Him; but all the wicked will He destroy. RESCH SINE-SHINE

25. 21 My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD; and let all flesh bless His holy name for ever and ever. TAV

26. The Missing Letter and Verse • Inspired much debate • Some translations contain verse—those based on Syriac, Septuagint and Vulgate • Some suggests copyists omitted • Others say author omitted to show incomplete praise • What do you think? 13 Thy kingdom is a kingdom for all ages, and Thy dominion endureth throughout all generations. MISSING VERSE 14 The LORD upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that are bowed down. MEM NUN SAMEKH

27. Verses 1-4Alter translation A David song of praise. Let me exalt You, my God the king. and let me bless Your name forevermore. Every day let me bless You, and let me praise Your name forevermore. Great is the Lord and highly praised, and His greatness cannot be fathomed Let one generation to the next extol Your deeds and tell of Your mighty acts.

28. God’s divine kingship is theme • Our first obligation: recognize God is sovereign over creation • First cause for praise • Should be part of daily meditation • Jesus thanked God in advance in model prayer • Acknowledgement that God’s wisdom is superior to ours or any other • Begin day with prayer, inspirational text or hymn • Must never take God in our life for granted

29. God overrules for outworking of His plan • May not know purpose of trial until death and resurrection • Prayers ought to seek first development of Divine Plan and collective development of Church I know not what the future holds, but I know who holds the future --Known Only To Him

30. Verses 5-8 Of the grandeur of Your glorious majesty and Your wondrous acts let me treat. And the power of Your awesome deeds let them say, and Your greatness let me recount. The fame of Your great goodness they utter, and of Your bounty they joyously sing, Gracious and merciful is the Lord, slow to anger, great in kindness

31. People’s concept of God’s involvement in their lives varies greatly “let our God-given ability…” “has a God-given ability to…” “that her God-given ability…”

32. Little Understanding of God’s Eternal Purpose

33. The permission of evil

34. Destiny of mankind

35. Four foundation attributes • Love, justice, wisdom, power 1 Corinthians 2:14 (New American Standard )  But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.

36. Isaiah 55:8,9Contemporary English Version The LORD says:    "My thoughts and my ways    are not like yours.     Just as the heavens    are higher than the earth,    my thoughts and my ways    are higher than yours…”

37. Verses 9-12 Good is the Lord to all, and His mercy is over all His creatures. All Your creatures, Lord, acclaim You. and Your faithful ones bless You. The glory of Your kingship they say, and of Your might they speak, to make known to humankind His mighty acts and the grandeur of His kingship’s glory.

38. “The Lord is good to all…? • On surface, one might question this since all do not prosper • Many experience poverty, destitution for all their lives • Don’t see God executing his plan • What is God’s overruling is seen as chance

39. 1980’s—Amazon rain forest burning and projected to disappear by end of 20th century

40. Brazil under strict military dictatorship • General João Figueiredo (1979-85) • Began to develop Brazil’s portion of rain forest—1.6 million square miles • Began devastation of ~80% of world’s largest remaining wilderness • Late 80’s massive debt crisis stopped Brazilian activity

41. Today rainforest is vast carpet of green crisscrossed by Amazon River and 1,100 tributaries. God used natural selfishness of man to end threat against important part of creation

42. Entire Creation is under God’s care • Wisdom, power, goodness and benevolence • Memory never fails, judgment never errs • Wisdom plans for eternity without possibility of failure • Can harness every opposing element and make them work for accomplishment • Providences today mainly over prospective Church, yet no human in future will escape His mercy

43. Verses 13-16 (without missing verse) Your kingship is a kingship for all time, and Your dominion for all generations. The Lord props up all who fall and makes all who are bent stand erect. The eyes of all look in hope to You and You give them their food in its season, opening Your hand and sating to their pleasure all living things.

44. Verse 14- The missing verseAccording to the Septuagint The Lord is faithful in His words and holy in all His works. • Most ancient translations contain • Text of Psalm found at Qumran also contains • Likely omitted when transcribed for Masoretic text (source of KJV) • Importance: God’s Word is His law and creation will reflect holiness

45. God has limits that man cannot exceed • Cannot ignore natural laws of universe • Man can only go as far as God permits Ecclesiastes 1:4, “One generation passeth away and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.” Despite nuclear threats existing today, man will never be allowed to obliterate the earth through such a war—or even the nation of Israel

46. Verses 17-18 Just is the Lord in all His ways, and faithful in all His deeds. Close is the Lord all who call Him to all who call Him in truth.

47. God is always righteous Isaiah 45:7 (NAS) The One forming light and creating darkness,         Causing well-being and creating calamity;         I am the LORD who does all these. • God allows calamities as chastisement for sin • Adam and Eve protected from harm, but choice of disobedience brought consequences • God’s protection over Church does not spare lives from trouble and pain • God’s special care eases the pain

48. Today’s world is not as God intended

49. Deuteronomy 32:4 NAS The Rock! His work is perfect, For all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness and without injustice,  Righteous and upright is He. Habakkuk 1:13a Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity… Today’s evil is temporary Zephaniah 3:5 NIV The LORD within her is righteous;        he does no wrong.        Morning by morning he dispenses his justice,        and every new day he does not fail,        yet the unrighteous know no shame. Psalm 5:4,5 For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.  The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity.

50. Verses 19-20 The pleasure of those who fear Him He performs, and their outcry He hears and rescues them. The Lord guards all who love Him, and all the wicked He destroys.