Living Understanding Pt 34: Exalt Him!
Psalm 145 1I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever. 2Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever. 3Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. 4One generation commends your works to another; they tell of your mighty acts. 5They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty— and I will meditate on your wonderful works. 6They tell of the power of your awesome works— and I will proclaim your great deeds. 7They celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness. 8The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. 9The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made. 10All your works praise you, LORD; your faithful people extol you. 11They tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might, 12so that all people may know of your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. 13Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The LORD is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does. 14The LORD upholds all who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down. 15The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. 16You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing. 17The LORD is righteous in all his ways and faithful in all he does. 18The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. 19He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them. 20The LORD watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy. 21My mouth will speak in praise of the LORD. Let every creature praise his holy name for ever and ever.
Exodus 34:6 6 And Yahweh passed over before him, and he proclaimed, “Yahweh, Yahweh, God, who is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding with loyal love and faithfulness, 7 keeping loyal love to the thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and he does not leave utterly unpunished, punishing the guilt of fathers on sons and on sons of sons on third and fourth generations.”
I exalt you
There is a temptation to look at the Book of Psalms as disconnected from the real world. People think, “Why should I praise God? You have no idea of the struggles I have; if you did you wouldn’t ask such a silly thing!” Yet here is a Psalm which presents God as fully understanding the struggles of his people. It presents God as gracious (v8), good to all (v9), trustworthy (v13), upholding of those who fall (v14), feeding of those who call on him (v15), and fulfilling the desires of his children (v19). So, when we think God doesn’t understand, what we are really saying is that we are feeling isolated, unloved, completely overwhelmed by our struggles, and vulnerable.
This is exactly the time to praise God. Most of us understand it is not OK to gripe to someone about the person who is hurting us—that’s called gossip—but did you know it is completely OK to have that identical conversation with God? That’s called prayer. God knows everything that is going on in our hearts anyway, so why now talk to Him about it? He wants to have a conversation with us. So, what could it hurt to talk with God about our struggles? Maybe you are angry with Him about allowing these things to happen. Maybe you even think God created them to make you suffer because you sinned in some way.
Gracious and compassionate
God never said that life would be sweet-smelling or beautiful. But this and many other passages do show that He wants to be involved in our lives and help us through our struggles. It is easy to understand God as King, and in such understanding, we expect Him to be all-knowing and all-powerful. We don’t expect Him to be merciful though. After all, consider who we human beings are: If there is any theme apparent in the development of human society, it is that we routinely do our own thing, think of little else than ourselves, and increasingly deny God’s existence. Modern society is nothing if not God-denying!
It is surprising, isn’t it, to read that God is also gracious and compassionate? Based on our experience with human leaders, even elected ones, we would expect arrogance, distance, and pejorative behavior. After all, human beings have continually spurned his rightful authority and have even murdered his Son who came to bring salvation. If God did not one other thing than to bring my salvation to me, that is enough. But no! He forgives sins, he helps when we fail, he picks us up when we fall, he lifts our burdens from our shoulders. I, for one, need no other reason to exalt him. He is my God and my King, and yours too.
Trustworthy in all he does
God does these things because he loves us; there is no other motive. But such love does express another characteristic of God. He is trustworthy. Everything he does is for our good, even if we don’t recognize it at the time. And here is where the ‘rubber meets the road’. Most of the time we want our needs met right now and are impatient with any delay. Human beings have needs and wants which are two different things. But we treat them as if they are identical. But we often don’t recognize the most basic need we have: It’s not just food and water, which are required for life, but it is also the presence of God in our lives. To know that we are loved, without condition, for who we are and not just for what we do, is a very basic need. We need to know we are approved of, loved despite appearances, and cared for during our struggles. God does all of this and much more.
What about me?
Take a moment, right now, to look back upon your life. Was there a time when some situation could have gone horribly wrong but didn’t? Even if your life has been filled with struggle and contentious people, the truth of the matter is that you are still here. All the things that could have gone wrong or could have been much worse didn’t happen. You are here, loving God and seeking His presence in your life. Isn’t that testimony enough of his love for you?
If I have learned anything in my eight decades it is that there is no better time than the present to praise God, to exalt his very Name. Every event in my life changed me, usually for the better. I assume the same applies to you. Exalt Him for this! He has guided, nourished, shaped, and directed your life in ways you don’t even understand, and if you look back on your history you will see a growth in maturity, grace, and love. That’s God acting and living in your life. Exalt Him and embrace Him.