Psalm 145: Speak!

Psalm 145 is currently one of my absolute favorite passages in the Bible.  I served as a counselor at five different high school Bible camps this summer, and this Psalm was brought to my attention during one of the counselor meetings at the third camp.  I don’t remember what all the camp director talked about concerning this Psalm at our meeting, but I have come back to it several times since then to dig into it for myself.  I still have a lot of digging to do, but I want to share what I have discovered in this precious portion of Scripture so far.

(I primarily use the New American Standard Bible for studying, so it may benefit you to look at that translation if you would like to follow along.  If you do not own a copy, you can use www.biblegateway.com.)

Speaking

The verbs in Psalm 145 were the first attention-grabbers for me.  If you have time, I recommend going through and underlining all of the words that describe the actions of everyone except God before you keep reading this post.  When I did just that, I discovered two main categories of words: praise words and speaking words.  Here is what I came up with:

Abbreviations: v. = verse, vv. = verses

Praise                                              Speaking                                                  Other

Extol (v. 1)                                     Declare (v. 4)                                           Meditate (v. 5)

Bless (vv. 1, 2, 10, 21)                    Speak (vv. 6, 11, 21)                               Look (v. 15)

Praise (vv. 2, 4)                               Tell (v. 6)                                                 Fear (v. 19)

Praised (v. 3)                                  Utter (v. 7)                                               Love (v. 20)

                                                        Shout (v. 7)

                                                        Give Thanks (v. 10)

                                                        Talk (v. 11)

                                                        Make Known (v. 12)­

                                                        Call Upon (vv. 18, 19)

Cry (v. 19) – Cry isn’t used as a verb in this verse, but still describes what the people did as indicated by the statement that God heard them.

This entire Psalm is focused on praising God.  What I learned from this exercise is that praising God is not only done silently in the heart.  A monumental aspect of praising God is talking about who He is and what He has done (Another exercise you can do is to go through and underline what specifically the Psalmist [David] and others praise and speak about concerning God)!  I love verses 6 and 7: “Men shall speak of the power of Your awesome acts, and I will tell of Your greatness.  They shall eagerly utter the memory of Your abundant goodness and will shout joyfully of Your righteousness” (emphases mine).  David and the men of verse 6 aren’t scared to share about what God has done and about who He is!  They are not embarrassed or cautious because of what others may think.  They know that God deserves every ounce of verbal praise that they offer up to Him and more.  Not only do they know that they ought to praise God in this way, but I get the idea that they would burst if they didn’t praise God out loud.  This has been such a huge challenge me to open my mouth and share with eagerness, joy, and enthusiasm about who God is and what He has done for me. 

Remembering

There is so much in this passage, but I want to bring up just one more thought for now.  Verse 5 says, “On the glorious splendor of your majesty and on Your wonderful works, I will meditate.”  How can I share who God is and what He has done if I don’t think about Him and His works?  I mean really think: mulling it over in my mind constantly throughout the day.  One illustration I have often heard of meditation is that of a cow chewing cud.  The cow eats its food, and then brings it up later to chew on it some more.  If I understand it all correctly, the cow brings up the food to chew several times as it processes through different stomachs until it is finally digested.  I should bring what I know and learn about God up several times to chew on it: to get all of the nourishment and flavor I can possibly get out of it.  When I do this, it is so much easier to talk about God with other people! 

My main problem is that I am forgetful.  I tend to forget what God has done for me and who He really is.  The quote from Del Tackett in my last post is also very applicable here: “We have a tendency to forget the things we're supposed to remember and to remember the things we're supposed to forget.”  Israel had the same problem.  Judges 3:7 says, “The sons of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth” (emphases added).  When Israel forgot God, she did what was evil and served idols.  When I forget God, my feet rush much more quickly to sin, and I find myself bowing down to what this world pretends to offer: pleasure, security, happiness, control, etc.  I forget God when I let myself get so busy with life and even with serving God that I neglect to spend time with Him in prayer and in His Word.  Forgetting God makes praising God nearly impossible. 

I Choose to Remember and to Speak

With all that said, I have to praise God by sharing a couple things He has done lately.  First of all, I am originally from Colorado, and I have been praying for all my loved ones as the floods have wreaked havoc.  I am so thankful to say that my friends and family are safe and haven’t had any damage as far as I know.  However, I know that many people are suffering loss, and for them I pray and am thankful that God will use this somehow to draw them closer to Himself and to work this out for good in their lives.  I praise Him for His sovereignty in this entire situation. 

Second, my husband and I have had major issues with the tires on my husband’s car in the past year.  All four tires went flat multiple times.  When we took them in for repair, the repairmen couldn't figure out exactly what was causing the tires to go flat.  We finally got to the point where we felt like we needed to get the alignment checked and possibly get new tires.  Last year, my husband and I were both full-time students, and now my husband is currently in his senior year as a student.  I worked last year, and my husband has worked both years, but we still weren’t thrilled with the idea of having to buy new tires (especially since the ones that were going flat had only been purchased a year ago).  A couple weeks ago, my husband was talking to a fellow student and found out that he had totaled his car, which was almost identical to my husband’s.  Before he totaled it, the student had just gotten new tires for it.  He saved the tires, not knowing for sure what he was going to do with them.  When he found out about my husband’s tires, he gave us the entire set!  Now, we have had the alignment on the car fixed and have nice, like-new tires as well!  We are so thankful for how God provides and how He uses His people to meet each other’s needs.  This was also a beautiful illustration to me of how God can take something bad that happens and use it for good.  Even though our friend suffered loss at one point, we know he will be blessed by God for meeting the need of a brother and sister in Christ.  To God be all glory and praise!

One Step - The Title's Inception

Taking one step at a time has always been a struggle for me.  

Practically, I like to dig in my heels and stay put.  Even the smallest steps necessitate some sort of change: change in circumstances, surroundings, emotions, relationships, ideas, communication, interaction, etc.  My husband, parents, brother, relatives, and friends can all testify to the fact that I have never been one to deal well with change.  The fact that I succumb to nostalgia much too often also contributes to my heel-digging.  I see the past through rose-colored glasses.  In other words, I “have a tendency to forget the things [I’m] supposed to remember and to remember the things [I’m] supposed to forget” (Del Tackett, The Truth Project).  The past is comfortable, and I don't like the feeling of moving too far away from it.  Thus, I often have to push myself to take steps of any sort.    

Mentally, I try to fly instead of taking one step.  I think through as many possible scenarios (usually the worst-case ones come to the forefront), options, methods, outcomes, consequences, and reactions as I can.  I am a planner, I like to know what is coming, and I like when plans go how they were meant to go.  Unfortunately, this kind of thinking is overwhelming and often betrays a lack of trust in God.  It causes me to worry, to stress, to try to control the uncontrollable, and to miss what is happening in the present.

The more life and change I experience, the more I learn the importance of taking life one step at a time.  Not all change is bad; in fact, it is necessary for any type of growth or progress.  My past is not necessarily what I remember it to be, and it is irretrievable anyway.  Focusing too much on the unknown future (or even the “known” future) robs me of today.  As one of the chapel speakers at my school so aptly put it, I am not called to “sit, soak, and sour,” but to grow constantly.  I have no need to fear moving forward, and I have every reason to trust God in what He is doing with my life.  So, I am left with one option: take one step at a time, following the footsteps of my Savior by His power.  This is life.