God's 'majesty' is his inherent greatness; his 'glory' is the manifestation of that majesty; and its 'splendor' in the brightness of this manifestation is seen by the eyes of men. "God declares his almighty power most chiefly in showing mercy and pity. The contemplation of simple majesty breathes awe; the sense of graciousness in majesty adds to it the glow of thankfulness." "If philosophy is to be believed, our world is but an outlying corner of creation; bearing, perhaps, as small proportion to the great universe as a single grain bears to all the sands of the seashore, or the small quivering leaf to the foliage of a boundless forest. Yet even within this earth's narrow limit, how vast the work of Providence! how soon is the mind lost in contemplating it! How great, then, must the Creator of all be, if his works are so great! Truly ' his greatness is unsearchable'" (Guthrie).
I. THE OPPRESSION OF THE MERE SENSE OF POWER. Only an overwhelming feeling attends the working of the great forces of nature, in tempest, flood, earthquake, etc. Only a crushing humiliation follows on the masterful workings of great conquerors - Alexander, Attila, Napoleon, etc. And oftentimes the almightiness of God is so presented, the majesty of his creation, his control, his judgments, that the mind and heart of man are simply crushed before him. See the sentiment we have in relation to giants, who are nothing but embodiments of physical power. There is no rest for man in God if all we can know of God is that he is almighty, "none can stay his hand." Illustrate by the slavish submission of Islamism before a God conceived as absolute power only.
II. THE RESTFULNESS OF A SENSE OF GOODNESS BEHIND POWER. Illustrate by the different feeling we have toward the giant when we see him tenderly toying and playing with a helpless babe. There is a character behind the power, which puts limitations on, and quality into, the acts of power. The giant is good. It is thus with God. We find no rest in the mighty things he has done, or does, until we see that love to us, and planning for our good, tones, qualifies, and directs all the forthputtings of his power. - R.T.
And men shall speak of the might of Thy terrible acts: and I will declare Thy greatness.
: — Various are the ways in which men speak of the Lord. There is an ascending scale in the four sentences of our text. We hear —
I. THE AWESTRUCK TALK. "Men shall... terrible acts." There have been times m human history when men have thus spoken. As often the flood, the destruction of Sodom, the judgments on Egypt, on Canaan. So, too, in regard to Nineveh, Babylon. When such acts are abroad turn them into prayer that men may learn God's lesson from them. Such acts leave deep impress; the boldest blasphemers are silenced then.
II. THE BOLD DISCOURSE. "And I will declare Thy greatness." After the many have spoken in awe I will deliver my soul with courage. It is the right time for this. I heard it said of a certain preacher by one who was no ill judge, though a simple countryman, "I have heard many preachers, but I never heard one that seemed to make God so great as that man does." That was high praise — too little deserved in our day. All divinity is now to be shaped according to man, and from man's point of view. Men are such wonderful beings in this nineteenth century that we are called upon to tone down the Gospel to "the spirit of the age" — that is, to the fashions and follies of human thought as they vary from day to day. This, by God's help, we will never do. But after the awestruck people talking of God's mighty acts, and then the child of God coming in with his personal testimony, we have —
III. THE GRATEFUL OUTPOURING OF THANKFUL SPIRITS. "They shall abundantly utter the memory of Thy great goodness." The Hebrew word tells of a bubbling up, as of a full fountain, a springing well. Did you ever tell the story of your life to anybody to the full? Did you ever write it? I am sometimes not a little amused, certainly not surprised, when I get, as I did this week, a letter upon foolscap, twelve sheets, twenty-four pages, all filled up with the story of a man I never saw, who lives far away in the backwoods. Nothing will do but he must tell somebody or other what God has done for him, and he has selected me to hear it. But I like the instinct that makes a man feel, "I must tell what the Lord hath done for me."
IV. LISTEN TO THE SELECT SONG. It is of "Thy righteousness." David says in Psalm 51. that he will sing aloud of this. Is it not a strange choice? God's righteousness is a terror to many. But see how God's righteousness is preceded and succeeded by mention of His goodness. It is righteous mercy and merciful righteousness. What a horror it would be if we had an unrighteous God. But He is righteous in all that He reveals, commands, decrees, does; in all His judgments, but especially in Christ Jesus. To sing of God's righteousness is in our day one chief mark of real conversion. If we were more sanctified we should be less tempted to cavil at the righteousness of God. Here is a man who takes down his Bible, and he reads, "These shall go away into everlasting punishment." "Can't bear it," says he. It is because you do not know the mind of God fully, or else, terrible as it is, you would say, "It must be right if God determines it." The modern men blot out from God's Word what they like, or they lay it aside altogether. But when the soul is brought to know God it does not question His Word or His doings any more. Men dream, and then assert their visions as truth. If there be a "larger hope," so be it, but let me not preach it as a doctrine. Let us each learn to say, "I will sing of Thy righteousness."
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People
David,
PsalmistPlaces
JerusalemTopics
Acts, Awesome, Declare, Deeds, Fear, Fearful, Glory, Greatness, Power, Proclaim, Recount, Speak, Strength, Talking, Terrible, Tremendous, WorksOutline
1. David praises God for his fame8. For his goodness11. For his kingdom14. For his providence17. For his justice, holiness, and savings mercyDictionary of Bible Themes
Psalm 145:1-13 5849 exaltation
Psalm 145:3-7
8444 honouring God
Psalm 145:4-6
1100 God, perfection
Library
June 17 Evening
All 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 PathThe Satisfier of all Desires
'Thou openest Thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing ... 19. He will fulfil the desire of them that fear Him: He also will hear their cry, and will save them.'--PSALM cxlv. 16, 19. You observe the recurrence, in these two verses, of the one emphatic word 'desire.' Its repetition evidently shows that the Psalmist wishes to run a parallel between God's dealings in two regions. The same beneficence works in both. Here is the true extension of natural law to the spiritual world. …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture
Christian Conversation
"They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power."--Psalm 145:11. YOU HAVE only to look at the preceding verse, and you will discover, in a single moment, who are the people here spoken of who shall speak of the glory of God's kingdom, and talk of his power. They are the saints: "All thy works shall praise thee, O Lord; and thy saints shall bless thee. They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power." A saint will often be discovered by his conversation. He …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 46: 1900
How I Know God Answers Prayer
How I Know God Answers Prayer The Personal Testimony of One Life-Time By ROSALIND GOFORTH (Mrs. Jonathan Goforth) Missionary in China since 1888 "They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness."--Psalm 145:7. "Go . . . and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee."--Mark 5:19. HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS NEW YORK AND LONDON Copyright, 1921, by Harper & Brothers PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA …
Rosalind Goforth—How I Know God Answers Prayer
Exhortations to those who are Called
IF, after searching you find that you are effectually called, I have three exhortations to you. 1. Admire and adore God's free grace in calling you -- that God should pass over so many, that He should pass by the wise and noble, and that the lot of free grace should fall upon you! That He should take you out of a state of vassalage, from grinding the devil's mill, and should set you above the princes of the earth, and call you to inherit the throne of glory! Fall upon your knees, break forth into …
Thomas Watson—A Divine Cordial
God, My King, Thy Might Confessing
[1186]Stuttgart: Gotha, 1715 Psalm 145 Richard Mant, 1824 DOXOLOGY God, my King, thy might confessing, Ever will I bless thy Name; Day by day thy throne addressing, Still will I thy praise proclaim. Honor great our God befitteth; Who his majesty can reach? Age to age his works transmitteth, Age to age his power shall teach. They shall talk of all thy glory, On thy might and greatness dwell, Speak of thy dread acts the story, And thy deeds of wonder tell. Nor shall fail from memory's treasure …
Various—The Hymnal of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the USA
Free Grace
To The Reader: Nothing but the strongest conviction, not only that what is here advanced is "the truth as it is in Jesus," but also that I am indispensably obliged to declare this truth to all the world, could have induced me openly to oppose the sentiments of those whom I esteem for their work's sake: At whose feet may I be found in the day of the Lord Jesus! Should any believe it his duty to reply hereto, I have only one request to make, -- Let whatsoever you do, be done inherently, in love, and …
John Wesley—Sermons on Several Occasions
Prayer Out of the Deep.
Hear my prayer, O God; and hide not Thyself from my petition. Take heed unto me and hear me; how I mourn in my prayer and am vexed.--Psalm iv. 1, 2. In my trouble I will call upon the Lord, and complain unto my God; so shall He hear my voice out of His holy temple, and my complaint shall come before Him; it shall enter even into His ears.--Ps. xviii. 5, 6. The Lord is nigh unto them that call upon Him; He also will hear their cry, and will help them.--Psalm cxlv. 18, 19. In the day when I cried …
Charles Kingsley—Out of the Deep
The Life, as Amplified by Mediaeval Biographers.
1. His Early Years.--Ephraim, according to this biography, was a Syrian of Mesopotamia, by birth, and by parentage on both sides. His mother was of Amid (now Diarbekr) a central city of that region; his father belonged to the older and more famous City of Nisibis, not far from Amid but near the Persian frontier, where he was priest of an idol named Abnil (or Abizal) in the days of Constantine the Great (306-337). This idol was afterwards destroyed by Jovian (who became Emperor in 363 after the …
Ephraim the Syrian—Hymns and Homilies of Ephraim the Syrian
I Will Pray with the Spirit and with the Understanding Also-
OR, A DISCOURSE TOUCHING PRAYER; WHEREIN IS BRIEFLY DISCOVERED, 1. WHAT PRAYER IS. 2. WHAT IT IS TO PRAY WITH THE SPIRIT. 3. WHAT IT IS TO PRAY WITH THE SPIRIT AND WITH THE UNDERSTANDING ALSO. WRITTEN IN PRISON, 1662. PUBLISHED, 1663. "For we know not what we should pray for as we ought:--the Spirit--helpeth our infirmities" (Rom 8:26). ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. There is no subject of more solemn importance to human happiness than prayer. It is the only medium of intercourse with heaven. "It is …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3
Second Great Group of Parables.
(Probably in Peræa.) Subdivision D. Parable of the Lost Son. ^C Luke XV. 11-32. ^c 11 And he said, A certain man had two sons [These two sons represent the professedly religious (the elder) and the openly irreligious (the younger). They have special reference to the two parties found in the first two verses of this chapter --the Pharisees, the publicans and sinners]: 12 and the younger of them [the more childish and easily deceived] said to his father, Father, give me the portion of thy substance …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel
The Knowledge of God Conspicuous in the Creation, and Continual Government of the World.
1. The invisible and incomprehensible essence of God, to a certain extent, made visible in his works. 2. This declared by the first class of works--viz. the admirable motions of the heavens and the earth, the symmetry of the human body, and the connection of its parts; in short, the various objects which are presented to every eye. 3. This more especially manifested in the structure of the human body. 4. The shameful ingratitude of disregarding God, who, in such a variety of ways, is manifested within …
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion
The Holiness of God
The next attribute is God's holiness. Exod 15:51. Glorious in holiness.' Holiness is the most sparkling jewel of his crown; it is the name by which God is known. Psa 111:1. Holy and reverend is his name.' He is the holy One.' Job 6:60. Seraphims cry, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of his glory.' Isa 6:6. His power makes him mighty, his holiness makes him glorious. God's holiness consists in his perfect love of righteousness, and abhorrence of evil. Of purer eyes than …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity
Covenant Duties.
It is here proposed to show, that every incumbent duty ought, in suitable circumstances, to be engaged to in the exercise of Covenanting. The law and covenant of God are co-extensive; and what is enjoined in the one is confirmed in the other. The proposals of that Covenant include its promises and its duties. The former are made and fulfilled by its glorious Originator; the latter are enjoined and obligatory on man. The duties of that Covenant are God's law; and the demands of the law are all made …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting
The Mercy of God
The next attribute is God's goodness or mercy. Mercy is the result and effect of God's goodness. Psa 33:5. So then this is the next attribute, God's goodness or mercy. The most learned of the heathens thought they gave their god Jupiter two golden characters when they styled him good and great. Both these meet in God, goodness and greatness, majesty and mercy. God is essentially good in himself and relatively good to us. They are both put together in Psa 119:98. Thou art good, and doest good.' This …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity
The Intercession of Christ
Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us! T he Redemption of the soul is precious. Fools make mock of sin (Proverbs 14:9) . But they will not think lightly of it, who duly consider the majesty, authority, and goodness of Him, against whom it is committed; and who are taught, by what God actually has done, what sin rendered necessary to be done, before a sinner could have a well-grounded …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 2
Psalms
The piety of the Old Testament Church is reflected with more clearness and variety in the Psalter than in any other book of the Old Testament. It constitutes the response of the Church to the divine demands of prophecy, and, in a less degree, of law; or, rather, it expresses those emotions and aspirations of the universal heart which lie deeper than any formal demand. It is the speech of the soul face to face with God. Its words are as simple and unaffected as human words can be, for it is the genius …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament
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