[Biblemat] B> Gospel Observer 8/10/08
tedwards at onemain.com
tedwards at onemain.com
Tue Aug 19 16:31:04 CDT 2008
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THE GOSPEL OBSERVER
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"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching
them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you
always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19,20).
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August 10, 2008
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Praise Jehovah!
Psalm 135:1-6
by Wayne S. Walker
The Hebrew word for Psalm is "mizmor." However, in the Hebrew
Bible, the name for the book of Psalms isn't "Mizmorim" (or
whatever the plural of "mizmor" is) but "Tehellim" which simply
means "praises." Now, not all of the Psalms are specifically
intended to praise God. Some are expressions of repentance, many
are cries for God's protection, and others are even calls for God's
judgment upon His enemies. However, the book of Psalms has in
general been called the Hebrews' hymnbook, and the last 5 Psalms,
along with several others, all begin with the words "Praise the
Lord!"
This is true of Ps. 135. "Praise the LORD! Praise the name of
the LORD; Praise Him, O you servants of the LORD! You who stand in
the house of the LORD, In the courts of the house of our God,
Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good; Sing praises to His name,
for it is pleasant. For the LORD has chosen Jacob for Himself,
Israel for His special treasure. For I know that the LORD is great,
And our Lord is above all gods. Whatever the LORD pleases He does,
In heaven and in earth, In the seas and in all deep places" (verses
1-6).
Notice that the word "LORD" is in all capital letters. The
ancient Hebrew language did not have written vowels, so the name
which God chose for Himself and revealed in the Old Testament is
represented in writing by four consonants, usually transliterated
into English as YWHW. Because of a fear of accidentally taking the
Lord's name in vain, the Jews became very superstitious about using
it and refused to pronounce it, substituting the Hebrew word for
"Lord" which is "adonai" in its place. Thus, over a period of time,
the actual pronunciation of God's name was lost.
Later, when a system of vowel points was added to the Hebrew
language by the medieval scribes, they used the vowels of the word
"adonai" to fill out the name for God. The traditional way that
this has been represented in English is Jehovah. We sing songs such
as "Hallelujah! Praise Jehovah" and "Guide Me, O Thou Great
Jehovah." In fact, the American Standard Version reads, "Praise ye
Jehovah." Many modern scholars think that in Hebrew the name was
probably pronounced Yahweh. However, most English translations
follow the Jewish practice and substitute the word "Lord" for the
name of God, but put it in all capitals to show its origin. These
six verses give us three reasons why we should praise Jehovah.
God
First, we should praise Jehovah because He is God (vs. 1-2).
What does it mean to be "God"? We have a couple of English words
which express the quality of being God. One is "deity" which comes
from the Latin word "deus" meaning god, and "divinity" which comes
from the same Latin root through the French. Both of these words
are defined as the state of being God. But again, what does that
mean? I guess that the best way to express the idea is to say that
being God means having absolute infinity or unlimitedness. We
generally identify God as being omnipotent, omniscient, and
omnipresent, or unlimited in power, knowledge, and presence (Ps.
139:1-14).
There is something else that being God means. The name which
God chose to call Himself, I AM WHO I AM, suggests the idea of one
whose existence is self-sustained and eternal (Exo. 3:13-14). This
terminology is linguistically the basis for the name which we know
as Jehovah or Yahweh (Exo. 6:2-3). Many authorities suggest that
the nearest translation of this name is "the eternal one" (Deut.
33:27, Ps. 90:2, Isa. 57:15). Because of who and what He is, God is
absolutely eternal, without beginning or end. Unlike the nature of
God, all of us who live in this earthly life have a beginning
point, birth, and an ending point, death, at least from a physical
viewpoint. Because we are beings bound by time, it is difficult for
us to grasp this aspect of God's nature, but it is taught in the
Scriptures.
One other concept inherent in the idea of being God is master
or ruler. The Hebrew term "adonai," usually translated "Lord,"
suggests this idea. "Come and see the works of God; He is awesome
in His doing toward the sons of men. He turned the sea into dry
land; They went through the river on foot. He rules by His power
forever; His eyes observe the nations; Do not let the rebellious
exalt themselves" (Ps. 66:5-7). Again, simply because of who and
what He is, God is the ruler or master who's in control of the
entire universe, and thus is worthy of our praise.
Good
Second, we should praise Jehovah because He is good (vs. 3-4).
The specific reason that the Psalmist gave for knowing the goodness
of God was His treatment of Israel. He said that He chose Jacob for
Himself. We remember that God made promises to Abraham about His
descendants (Gen. 15:13-16,18). And he kept those promises (Josh.
21:43-45). The inspired writer of the Hebrew letter uses this fact
to argue that God is good (Heb. 6:13-18). Because our God is one
who has always kept His promises, such as those He made to Israel,
we can trust that He will always continue to do good for His
people.
We also know that God is good because of His provisions for
mankind on earth. Paul said that He did good in that He gave us
rain from heaven and fruitful seasons filling our hearts with food
and gladness (Acts 14:17). In fact, every good gift and every
perfect gift comes down from the Father of lights (Jas. 1:18). God
is so good to have provided for all our material needs in this
life. "God is great, God is good, Now we thank Him for our food."
Furthermore, we know that God is good because of His offer of
redemption in Christ. Yes, God provided for our physical needs, but
our spiritual needs are even greater, and God provided for them
too. He has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in Christ,
including redemption through His blood (Eph. 1:3,7). All
responsible human beings have sinned, stand condemned in God's
sight, and deserve punishment in hell. Yet, God wants all people to
be saved and is not willing that anyone should perish. Therefore,
He sent His Son to die on the cross to pay the price for our sins
by the shedding of His blood that salvation from sin and the hope
of eternal life might be made available to all who would obey Him.
So there can be no doubt to the honest observer that our God is
good and therefore should be praised.
Great
Third, we should praise Jehovah because He is great (vs. 5-6).
According to the Psalmist, God's greatness is seen in His place
above all gods. All other beings or things called "gods" are in
actuality mere figments of men's imagination or dumb idols made by
men's hands, but the God revealed in the Bible, and who in fact
revealed the Bible, is a being who is intelligent and active, in
contrast to the idols who are dumb and motionless (Isa. 46:5-10).
The Bible is full of incontrovertible examples of where God foresaw
the future and prophesied what would happen, something neither man
nor non-existent pagan deity ever did. That in itself shows the
greatness of God.
However, for all mankind, God's greatness is seen additionally
in creation. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the
earth.... Then God said, 'Let there be light;' and there was light"
(Gen. 1:1-3). We have visited many caves through the years, and
when the lights are turned out they are dark -- very dark! Imagine
someone in a dark cave without any electricity or other source of
light who says, "Let there be light" -- and there is light. We
cannot do that, but God did. Man can "create" items out of already
existing materials, but God created everything out of nothing, "so
that the things which are seen were not made of things which are
visible" (Heb. 11:3). Such great power surely demonstrates the
greatness of God
Then, for those of us who live this side of the cross, God's
greatness is seen in His providential guidance of history. We
remember the dream of Nebuchadnezzar, as interpreted by Daniel, in
which the Babylonian king was the head of gold, which would be
followed by a second, inferior, kingdom, then a third, and finally
a fourth during which God would set up His kingdom (Dan. 2:36-44).
Later visions of Daniel identify the second and third kingdoms as
Persia and Greece (Dan. chapter 8). The New Testament identifies
the fourth kingdom as that of Rome (Lk. 3:1). The existence and
activities of all these kingdoms contributed to the circumstances
of which Paul said that in the fulness of time God sent forth His
Son to redeem us (Gal. 4:4-5). Thus, God used the events of
history, even the activities of His enemies, to bring about the
conditions that enabled Him to fulfill His plan for the redemption
of mankind. Only a God as great as the one revealed in the Bible
could work through history to accomplish His will, and hence we
need to praise Him for it.
Conclusion
There's a song in the Hymns for Worship Supplement, #99, that
is based upon the first six verses of Psalm 135 and summarizes the
reasons for praising Jehovah that are outlined in this passage.
"Praise ye the Lord, Jehovah is His name.
Ye who are servants sing unto His fame.
Stand in His house where He can be adored.
Forever in His courts, Praise ye the Lord!
Praise ye the Lord, for He is full of grace.
Yes, praise is pleasant here and every place.
He chose a people for Him by His word.
Ye who His treasure are, Praise ye the Lord!
We know the Lord is holy and is great.
He dwells above all gods in heaven's gate.
He does whate'er His wondrous plans afford.
In heaven and earth and sea, Praise ye the Lord!"
We should praise God in our prayers. We should praise God by
singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. "Hallelujah! I am
rejoicing, Singing His praises, Jesus is mine" (Henry J. Zelley).
However, we also can and should praise God by our lives. Those who
are Christians should think, speak, and act so as to do everything
to the glory and praise of God. And even those who are outside of
Christ, when they make a decision to come to the Lord in obedience
to His will so as to seek salvation from sin, are in essence giving
praise to God. "Sing on, O blissful music, With every note you
raise, My heart is filled with rapture, My soul is lost in praise"
(Fanny J. Crosby).
-- Via Expository Files 15.3; March 2008
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MYRTLE STREET CHURCH OF CHRIST
1022 Myrtle Street
Denham Springs, LA 70726
(225) 664-8208
Sunday: 9:15 AM, 10:00 AM, 4:00 PM
Wednesday: 7:00 PM
evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (225) 667-4520
e-mail: tedwards at onemain.com
web site: http://home.onemain.com/~tedwards/go
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