the glorious splendor of Your majesty. And I will meditate on Your wondrous works. Sermons
I. AS HERE, THERE MAY BE BOTH The psalmist is not left alone, but his joy in God and his praises are sympathized with and shared in by a goodly company of others. How rarely can this be said of any nation? Some there will be who will be on the Lord's side; but they are very far from being all the people. It will be, as in this psalm, when we reach the heavenly world; there, there will be universal praise. But rarely is it so here. Still, there may be, and there are, oftentimes, approximations to this blessed condition, when not one here and there only, but when the people generally praise the works of the Lord. Let it be our prayer and endeavor to bring about such condition. It is the prayer of Psalm 67. Would that it were that of all the people of God! II. BUT THERE MAY BE NEITHER. Not only are the voices of the many silent as to the praise of God, but not one solitary voice is heard anywhere. So will it be amid the abodes of those who have finally rejected the grace of God, and are therefore lost. And there are, alas I utterly godless communities even now! When Noah was taken from his generation, all the rest could not furnish a solitary servant of God. So at Sodom and Gomorrah. And when the Christian Church had left the doomed Jerusalem, and betaken themselves to Pella, there remained such another godless people. Thank God, amongst mankind at large, he has never left himself without witness in some region or another; but in different localities it may be that there are neither the many nor even the one on the Lord's side. If any servant of God knows of such a locality, that is where at once he should go and hear his testimony, and extol the Name of his God and King. The dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty; but woe betide that Church or that individual Christian who cares not for it, or seeks not to enlighten that darkness! Let us all remember that we are day by day fitting ourselves either for the abode where all men praise the Lord, or where none do, and each day sees us nearer the one or the other. III. OR THERE MAY BE ONLY THE ONE. There have been scenes where but one solitary voice has been lifted up for God, whilst all the rest have been either indifferent or his declared foes. Elijah thought he was such a one: "I only am left alone." And our blessed Lord foretold that it would be so with him: "Ye shall leave me alone," he said to his disciples. And sometimes it is so with faithful servants of God, as St. Paul before Agrippa and before Nero, when he said, "No man stood by me." And many a faithful missionary has known this awful loneliness; and had not God, for whom they alone witnessed, come and revealed himself to them, they could not have borne it. But this is the encouragement of the faithful yet solitary servant of God, that God will never let him be really alone, because the Lord himself will come and manifest himself to such servants, and thus fill them with his own joy. "My grace is sufficient for you." So spake Christ to the much-tried Paul; and so he speaks still to every one of his lonely witnesses, wherever they may be. IV. OR THERE MAY BE THE MANY, AND NOT THE ONE. The one may live in a very atmosphere of worship and service, and yet stand aloof from it himself. Have we not known families where every member is an avowed and faithful servant of Christ, and yet some one of their number stands separate and apart from all the rest? How is this? Sometimes such sad facts occur because, half unconsciously, but yet really, the reserved one is trusting to the godliness of the rest, and reckoning that that will serve for him without his becoming as they are. But let such remember that not one of us "can by any means redeem his brother, or give to God a ransom for him;" each one of us must personally and individually give himself to God. There is no praising in a crowd. There was but one at the wedding-feast that had not on the wedding-garment; but when the king came in to see his guests, he was at once detected, and cast out into the outer darkness. That is a never-to-be-forgotten fact. And what makes the sin of such the greater is that they were so favorably placed for gaining eternal life. Everything is in favor of an individual soul, if all those around him are pressing into the kingdom of God. He has but to go with the stream - not against it, as so many have to. How much increased, therefore, is their responsibility! Be thankful for such hallowed, helpful surroundings, and avail yourselves of them, as you should. - S.C.
One generation shall praise Thy works to another, and shall declare Thy mighty acts. : — The Church that stood aloof from missions would now be as much condemned as formerly it would have been commended. And how much has been done in the varied mission fields. Now, all this you inherit. Next to the Gospel of salvation, no generation of men have ever had such a trust committed to them as is committed to you. May God help you to be faithful. For, besides being an inheritance of natural succession, it is also a moral entrustment. It constitutes part of your stewardship. How, then, will you treat this missionary inheritance? Two extremes are to be avoided: you may slight and disesteem it, or you may stereotype and superstitiously regard it; you may treat it as a puerility, or you may embalm it as a relic. You may become men of faith, and hope, and charity, or men of captiousness and self. conceit; you may have an intelligent reverence that will wisely build on the foundation that your fathers have laid, or you may have a foolish self-conceit that will be contented with nothing less than to dig it up and lay a foundation afresh for yourselves. There was wisdom in the world, let us believe it, before we were born; and we may not unbecomingly sit at our fathers' feet. Both these extremes you will avoid. As to your relationship to the future, it will be your duty —1. To qualify yourself for thus standing in the succession of the generations. But this you cannot do unless you yourselves be personally converted to God. None but the spiritual can possess the spiritual. Alas, here is a possibility of the succession failing. The pious and devoted sire may have in you a godless son. You cannot succeed him in the work he did for God. You care not for your own soul, how, then, can you care for the souls of others? 2. Form missionary and self-denying habits. But these can only be formed in early life. Those who have done this have been, and are, the most useful in the Church. 3. If you would reap the present rewards of spiritual service, begin your spiritual sowing whilst you are yet young. Life will be too short for both sowing and reaping if you do not. To induce you to give yourselves to this glorious service, remember how much depends upon it. You, humanly speaking, are indispensable for the transmission of truth to posterity. Think of your honoured fathers, how they loved this work. Think what an honoured name you may leave behind you, and the gratitude that will follow you. Think of the plain Divine command and the "blood that will be required at your hand," if you make not known the Gospel. Think of the moral grandeur and transcendency of your work. Think of the final issue and glory of it. By this motive Christ sustained His Spirit. Look on to that blessed time. (H. Allon, D. D.) I. THE DUTY. 1. To declare, or make known, the works of God to succeeding generations, and especially to that generation which immediately follows us. His works of — (1) (2) (3) 2. For one generation to praise God's works to another. While they communicate a knowledge of His works they must speak highly of them. While they tell what He has done, they must add, He has done all things well. When they describe His works of creation, they must extol the wisdom, power and goodness which are displayed in them. While they communicate a knowledge of His works of providence, they must applaud them as infinitely wise, holy, just, and good. And while they exhibit the wonders of redemption, and God's works of grace to the following generation, they must accompany the exhibition with those glowing expressions of admiration, gratitude, love and icy which this grand display of all God's perfections ought to call forth from those for whose benefit it was made, and whose everlasting happiness it is designed to promote. II. REASONS. 1. The natural relations which exist between the present and the next generation. 2. Each of the successive generations of mankind is the natural and rightful heir of the generation which preceded it. 3. For the religious knowledge and the means of acquiring it which we possess, we are indebted, under God, to preceding generations. 4. We transmit to our posterity a corrupt and depraved nature which, unless its influence is counteracted by religion, will render them miserable hero and hereafter. (E. Payson, D. D.) I. We may consider this as THE DECREE OF GOD. He who made the world has willed that it should praise Him. The Most High has imposed this task upon the ages. He who formed man from dust has decreed that by him His glory shall be shown. The works of God carry out His decree. The sun and moon proclaim His power. Day and night utter His wisdom. The seasons declare His bounty and His faithfulness. The fruits of the earth call forth thanksgiving. Even war, and famine, and pestilence work His will. And the history of man, even yet more strikingly, set forth God's glory. This truth is ever written — "The Lord is King." He rules. "None can stay His hand, or say unto Him, What doest Thou?" Look at Pharaoh. Hear him ask, "Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice?" He little thought how his own history should answer the question. Listen to Nebuchadnezzar, — "Who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hand?" Yet his burning fiery furnace has borne witness for two thousand years, — "Trust ye in the Lord for ever." The mysteries of affliction teach the same lesson. The erring has been thus brought back, or the faithful confirmed, or God's power displayed (John 9:3). And the Church of Christ is a standing witness of the same great truth. II. We consider the text, also, as expressing THE RESOLUTION AND WORK OF CHRIST'S CHURCH. Praise is the rightful attitude of the redeemed (Psalm 107:2). It is the natural outpouring of the renewed heart. Mercy felt, love appreciated, salvation embraced and enjoyed is sure to beget true thanksgiving. So David wrote the matchless 103rd psalm. So Paul and Silas could not refrain from singing praise in Philippi's dungeon. Nay, we are told that God has chosen His people to praise Him (Isaiah 42:21; 1 Peter 2:9). And even angels cannot sing the new song which belongs to the saved from earth alone (Revelation 14:3). And the people of God have ever claimed their holy privilege. They have sung of creation and of providence, and the wonders of redeeming love. God has never left Himself without this witness in the world. Conclusion — 1. What are we doing to make our generation one of praise? We have received a pure faith; are we taking care to hand it down? 2. Do we possess in ourselves that salvation which alone enables us truly to praise? Have we tasted that the Lord is gracious? Can we thus say, "O taste and see"? 3. How glorious shall be the praise of heaven! Now one age to another, one land to another, praises God. What shall be the glory of the song when every age and every land shall sing "Salvation"; when those who sang creation (Job 38:7), and redemption (Luke 2:13), and grace (Romans 8:1; 1 Timothy 1:15): shall all unite in praise; when teachers, taught; ministers, people; Jew, Gentile; bond, free; when prophets, apostles, martyrs, from Abel to the last saint of time, shall join in the song of Moses and the Lamb? (W. S. Bruce, M. A.) People David, PsalmistPlaces JerusalemTopics Declare, Glorious, Glory, Honor, Honour, Majesty, Matters, Meditate, Rehearse, Rule, Speak, Splendor, Splendour, Thoughts, Wonder, Wonderful, Wonders, Wondrous, WorksOutline 1. David praises God for his fame8. For his goodness 11. For his kingdom 14. For his providence 17. For his justice, holiness, and savings mercy Dictionary of Bible Themes Psalm 145:5 1090 God, majesty of Library June 17 EveningAll thy works shall praise thee, O Lord; and thy saints shall bless thee.--PSA. 145:10. Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.--I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.--Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever. Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift … Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path The Satisfier of all Desires Christian Conversation How I Know God Answers Prayer Exhortations to those who are Called God, My King, Thy Might Confessing Free Grace Prayer Out of the Deep. The Life, as Amplified by Mediaeval Biographers. I Will Pray with the Spirit and with the Understanding Also- Second Great Group of Parables. The Knowledge of God Conspicuous in the Creation, and Continual Government of the World. The Holiness of God Covenant Duties. The Mercy of God The Intercession of Christ Psalms Links Psalm 145:5 NIVPsalm 145:5 NLT Psalm 145:5 ESV Psalm 145:5 NASB Psalm 145:5 KJV Psalm 145:5 Bible Apps Psalm 145:5 Parallel Psalm 145:5 Biblia Paralela Psalm 145:5 Chinese Bible Psalm 145:5 French Bible Psalm 145:5 German Bible Psalm 145:5 Commentaries Bible Hub |
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