Attributes of God 1
21 January 2018 PM – Psalm 145:1-2 – Psa145 – Scott Childs
Introduction: “The Bible, God’s Word, tells us what God is like and what He is not like. Without the authority of the Bible, any attempt to explain God’s attributes would be no better than an opinion, which by itself is often incorrect, especially in understanding God (Job 42:7). … Only what God has chosen to reveal of Himself can be known.” Gotquestins.org
The dictionary defines an attribute as a quality or feature regarded as a characteristic or inherent [essential] part of someone.
God’s inherent attributes are His qualities that are essential parts of His very nature.
Here is a typical list of God’s attributes – He is holy, eternal, righteous, just, love, kind, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, good, merciful, grace, immanent, immutable, self-existence, sovereign, transcendent … see https://www.blueletterbible.org/faq/attributes.cfm
Though man lacks inherent attributes of God, he does have certain inherent attributes. By that I mean the characteristics that are part of his essential nature. Man’s inherent attributes are the qualities or features belonging to all humans.
1) Man has the God-given ability to choose right or wrong
2) Man has a conscience
3) Man has a sin nature inherited from Adam
Transition: This evening we are going to begin a study of Psalm 145. Our focus is going to be on the attributes of God. Psalm 145 speaks of several of God’s common attributes, but it also contains attributes not included in every list. As we examine these attributes of God, my goal is that we might gain a greater awe for the God we serve.
1. The LORD is Admirable!
(Psalms 145:1) “I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever.”
a. The LORD is King of kings and Lord of lords.
1) This is a Psalm of David. He called God, “my God”.
a) Before we will ever truly praise the Lord, we must know Him personally. He must be our God.
(1) He is our God by creation
(2) But He becomes our God personally at salvation.
b) It would be vain to try to praise someone else’s God.
2) David was the king of Israel, yet he acknowledged God as his King, the true King.
b. The word “extol” means to lift up.
1) The Hebrew word is found in 185 verses in the Bible.
2) Here are some of the ways it is translated, “lift up”, “exalt”, “heaved up”, “held up”, “offer up”, “high”, “tall”, and “to give”.
3) Philip Power said it is, “to exalt above all others; it is the expression of the greatest possible admiration.” ToD
4) In the Psalms it is often translated “exalt”. (Psalms 34:3) “O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together.” (Psalms 57:5) “Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth.” (Psalms 99:5) “Exalt ye the LORD our God, and worship at his footstool; for he is holy.” (Psalms 108:5) “Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: and thy glory above all the earth;” (Psalms 118:28) “Thou art my God, and I will praise thee: thou art my God, I will exalt thee.”
5) David purposed in his heart that he would extol or exalt the Lord as his God and his King. He was going to lift up and hold up the Lord in his heart and by his actions.
c. The word “bless” describes the act of kneeling before the Lord.
1) The Ancient Hebrew Lexicon defines the word as “To bend the knee to kneel in homage or to drink water. Also the extended idea of presenting a gift or giving honor to another.”
2) Mickelson says it is, “to bless God as an act of adoration.”
a) Adoration is a feeling of love and admiration
b) It is the act of admiring strongly WordWeb
3) In (Psalms 95:6) it is translated “kneel”. “O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.” In Psalm 72:15 it is translated “praise”, but the 66 other times in the Psalms it is translated “bless”.
4) Charles Spurgeon wrote in the Treasury of David, “To bless God is to praise him with a personal affection for him, and a wishing well to him.”
5) Though David was the king, he kneeled before the Lord to bless and adore His name. He made a promise in his heart that he would bless the name of the Lord. (Philippians 2:9) “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:”
d. David determined that he would extol and bless the name of the Lord for ever and ever.
1) He would bless the Lord for the rest of his life and for all eternity.
2) The Lord’s name deserves our praise for all eternity.
O When we extol and bless the Lord, we are giving Him praise. Thus, we lift up the Lord as we kneel down before Him in adoration. Our praise ought to be 1. Personal, 2. Daily, 3. Enthusiastic, 4. Perpetual. ToD
2. The LORD is Praiseworthy!
Psalms 145:2) “Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever.“
a. The word translated “bless” is the same as in the previous verse.
1) It means to kneel to and to bless as an act of adoration.
2) By repeating the same word, David places emphasis on the importance of kneeling to bless and adore the Lord. Matthew Henry comments, “The repetition intimates the fervency of his affection to this work, the fixedness of his purpose to abound in it, and the frequency of his performances therein.”
3) I don’t know about you, but I find that I don’t take nearly enough time to truly adore the Lord. I don’t tell Him that I love him nearly enough. The more time that we spend in thoughtful study of God’s Word and meditation on what we read, the more natural it is to adore Him.
b. The LORD is worthy to be blessed every day!
1) David emphasised that he would bless the Lord every day!
a) The word “every” means all day, the whole day, or every day. It refers to the totality of the day.
b) It was David’s prayer and passion to bless the Lord all day long every day of his life.
2) Have you counted your blessings today and humbly and lovingly blessed the Lord for them?
c. The LORD is also praiseworthy
1) The word “praise” simply means “to praise” or “to make a boast of” something or someone.
2) “If we are to define it in words, we may say that praise is thankful, lowly, loving worship of the goodness and majesty of God. And therefore we often find the word “praise” joined with “blessing” and “thanksgiving”: but though all three are akin to each other, they are not all alike. They are steps in a gradual scale—a song of degrees. Thanksgiving runs up into blessing, and blessing ascends into praise; for praise comprehends both, and is the highest and most perfect work of all living spirits.” Henry Edward Manning, 1850, ToD
3) David specifically said that he would praise the name of the LORD. The name of the LORD represents:
a) First, the Person of God Himself
b) Second, the attributes of God
c) Third, the authority of God
d) Fourth, the honour, respect, esteem and reputation of God (ideas from ToD)
4) The name of the Lord is worthy of our praise for ever and ever, endlessly! We must praise and bless the Lord with our life and our lips.
Conclusion: Four times in these two verses David said, “I will”. Extolling, blessing and praising the Lord was not an option with David; it was a passion in his heart.
Truly the Lord is worthy of our admiration and our praise. If you have not been lifting Him up in your heart and in your prayers; if you have not been kneeling before Him in blessing and admiration; if you have not been praising His name for all He is, begin this evening!
I encourage you to read over these verses repeatedly as well as the entire 145th Psalm and meditate on your duty to admire and praise the Lord your God and Saviour.
Song: Praise Him! Praise Him! 442