I Exalt the Lord
[Psalm 145]
I often enjoy singing the gospel song “Blessed People.” In the chorus of this song, the lyrics say: “Your service is a beautiful hymn, your dedication is a fragrant prayer, wherever you step, the name of the Lord will be exalted.” As I sing this hymn, especially during this part of the chorus, I think of the blessed people in my heart, and I pray that wherever they are and whatever they do, the name of the Lord will be lifted high. When I think of these people, I reflect that their service is a beautiful hymn, and their dedication is indeed a fragrant prayer. In this way, I pray that, along with myself, all of us at Victory Presbyterian Church may become blessed people of God who, wherever we are and whatever we do, exalt the name of the Lord. In fact, this is one of the three main purposes of our church: to be a church that welcomes, imitates, and exalts the Lord. Our founding pastor established these three purposes, and even after his retirement, he continues to exalt the name of the Lord in the mission field.
Today, in Psalm 145:1, we see how the psalmist, David, is devoted to exalting the Lord: "I will extol you, my God, the King, and I will bless your name forever and ever." David is dedicated to exalting the Lord, and he has committed to blessing His name forever. But what kind of Lord was David seeking to exalt?
First, David sought to exalt “my God, the King.”
Look at Psalm 145:1: "I will extol you, my God, the King, and I will bless your name forever and ever." You are probably familiar with the gospel song “My God, the King”: “My God, the King, I will extol you, and bless your name forever and ever.” Our God, the King, is the one who rules over His kingdom (verse 13). The kingdom of our God, the King, is eternal (verse 13) and is full of majesty and glory (verses 11, 12). In the kingdom of the Lord, where there is majesty and glory, we experience His power (verses 11, 12). David, who experienced the majesty, glory, and power of his King, devoted himself to meditating on the mighty works of “my God, the King.” Look at verse 5 of today’s passage: "On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate."
Last week, during the children's summer Bible school, I had a conversation with our church’s educational pastor and his friend, a pastor. We shared this thought: as ministers, to make the right decisions, we must pause for a moment, look back at our lives, and reflect on the hands of the Lord, the Potter. This reflection is important because, when we do so, we can make decisions that align with God's perspective in our present situation. Especially in light of today’s passage, it is important for us to meditate on how the “King, my God” governs our lives. When we reflect on the glory of God and His power in our past, we can be more certain that the King is guiding and governing our lives in the present. When we have that assurance, no matter what situation we face, we will be able to exalt the Lord, just as David did.
Secondly, David sought to exalt the 'Great God'.
Look at Psalm 145:3: “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and His greatness is unsearchable.” You are probably familiar with the gospel song “The Lord is Great”. The lyrics of this song go like this: “The Lord is great! Praise Him in His holy temple. The Lord has given us victory, He has defeated all our enemies. Let us bow down and worship our Lord! (Chorus) Exalt His great name, thank Him for the great things He has done for us. Oh, His faithful love is over all the earth and the heavens. His name is the only eternal one.”
In verse 8 of today’s passage, it says that the Great God, the mighty God, loves us with “great love”. How can we know this? Let’s look at verse 14: “The Lord upholds all who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down.” Last Friday, during our early morning prayer service, we meditated on Isaiah 41:10, where God says, “I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” In situations that are terrifying and overwhelming, we learned that the Immanuel God, who is with us, holds our weak and powerless right hand (v. 13) and gives us strength, lifting us up. In Psalm 145:14, David also says that the Great God, with His great love, holds us up when we fall due to tribulations and persecutions, and He lifts us up again.
How can we know that the Great God loves us with His great love? We can see this in verses 18-19 of today’s passage: “The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth. He fulfills the desire of those who fear Him; He also hears their cry and saves them.” The Great God, the mighty God, loves us with His great love and is near to all who call on Him in sincerity (v. 18). And when we fear Him and cry out to Him, He hears our cry and saves us. And the Great God, by experiencing His great love [holding us up (v. 14), answering our prayers (vv. 18-19)], will protect all of us who love Him (v. 20).
Therefore, like David, we must dedicate ourselves to praising and proclaiming this 'Great God'. Look at verses 3, 4, and 6 of today’s passage: “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; His greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall commend Your works to another, and shall declare Your mighty acts. … They shall speak of the might of Your awesome deeds, and I will declare Your greatness.” David could not help but praise and proclaim the greatness of God when he thought of the great acts of salvation that God performed with His mighty power. Similarly, we must, like David, dedicate ourselves to giving great glory and praise to the great Lord as we experience His great love and His great works of salvation in our lives.
Lastly, in third place, David wanted to exalt the ‘Gracious God.’
Let’s look at Psalm 145:8: “The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and great in mercy.” As David meditated on the King God, thinking about how God's greatness had been revealed in his life, he could not help but praise God because he understood God's grace. As he reflected on how the King and Great God had performed mighty works of salvation in his life with His great love, he became even more deeply aware of God’s abundant grace. In particular, he saw and experienced that the gracious God “is good to all and has compassion on all He has made” (v. 9). He also experienced that the gracious God “satisfies the desires of every living thing” (v. 16). Therefore, David confessed: “The Lord is righteous in all His ways and gracious in all His works” (v. 17). He was dedicated to commemorating this ‘gracious God.’ Look at verse 7: “They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom and talk of Your power.” God, with His great love, loves His people (His children), caring for them, showing mercy, and satisfying our desires. As we remember the great grace that God has shown us in the past, and as we commemorate His grace today, what else can we do? Look at verse 10: “All Your works shall praise You, O Lord, and Your saints shall bless You.” We can only be thankful to God. And we can only express our gratitude to Him through praise. Therefore, David dedicates himself to this in the final verse of today’s passage, verse 21: “My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord, and all flesh shall bless His holy name forever and ever.”
We must live a life that exalts the Lord. The reason is that our Lord is worthy of being exalted, for He is God. He is our King, the One who reigns and rules over us. He has honor, power, and glory. He is the Great God. This great God loves you and me with His great love. He is the One who holds us when we stumble in the midst of tribulations and persecutions, the One who answers our prayers. Also, our God is a gracious God. He shows us kindness and mercy. Therefore, we must meditate on the works of the Lord in the past and commemorate the grace He has given us. We must go forward in gratitude to the great Lord, offering Him praise. May we all be those who exalt the Lord.
Unable to exalt the Lord’s name,
Pastor James Kim
(As I reflect on my own disobedience, hypocrisy, pride, and the ways I fail to show love and grace).