Heart of a Psalmist - Worshipping Christ Through The Psalms

II HIS UNFAILING LOVE - 4,5

• 5th Directive- “Enter his gates with thanksgiving;…” (4) This verse implies that the psalm was written during the time of the temple of Solomon or most likely the rebuilt temple after the Jews returned from Babylon. It also teaches us that the worshiper must be active in their approach to God putting them into an attitude of thankfulness. If there are gates, then it follows that there are walls that separate the ungrateful from those who genuinely appreciate all that God has done for them. The essence of thank- fulness is being appreciative of the value of others around you. This is modeled by the relationship be- tween the Father, Son and Holy Spirit; Jesus himself gave thanks to his Father; “And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it.” (Mrk. 14:23) Ungratefulness keeps us outside the presence of God: “Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks.” (Rom. 1:21) • 6th Directive- “…go into his courts with praise.” (4) We can picture thanksgiving and praise as access keys into a closer relationship with God. Thanksgiving is the underlying attitude while praise is the overflowing action. Thanksgiving is a reflection of the personal worth of God in our lives; praise springs forth from there into a celebration of who he is and what he has done and what he is capable of doing in the future. • 7th Directive- “Give thanks to him and bless his name.” (4) God created us with the authority to bless or curse and when we bless him, we are entering into the relationship enjoyed between Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Father ‘blesses’ his son; “This is my beloved Son, and I am fully pleased with him.” (Mt. 17:5) Jesus sang hymns to his Father: “Then they sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives.”(Mrk. 14:26) Jesus bore all of the curses of the law upon the cross that the blessings of grace might flow to us and through us. • Reason #5- “For the Lord is good.” (5) The psalm ends with three powerful reasons to give him thanks all rooted deeply in the very character of who he is. Goodness is a characteristic of God that has ‘causality’, it ‘causes’ or motivates him to do all that he does. “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” (Rom. 8:28) While ‘all-powerful’ is an attribute of God, it has no ‘causality’ attached to it, he does not act just to exercise his sovereign power but he is compelled to do all that he does by his essential ‘good- ness’. This never changes; he will forever be simply ‘good’! • Reason #6- “His unfailing love continues forever,…” (5) All of the translators of this beautiful Hebrew word ‘chesed’ search for the most tender words in their language to properly express God’s heart: “mercy”(NKJV), “all-generous love”(MSG), “lovingkindness”(NAS95) . But deep at the core of this love is the enormous strength of a covenant bond that will never be broken. Like his goodness, his ‘love’ also has causality and underlies the reason for all that he does. We are invited to live and participate fully in his ‘unfailing love’ … “God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.” (1 Jn. 4:16) • Reason #7- “…and his faithfulness continues to each generation.” (5) Faithfulness is God’s guarantee that all he “is” and all that he has “promised” will never be retracted or changed till the end of time. Our emotions, thoughts and hopes can all rest on this assurance and with excellent faith we can “Shout with joy to the Lord!”

PSALM 101: I WILL LEAD A LIFE OF INTEGRITY A Life of Determination

This psalm reveals the inner resolutions of David’s heart to follow God and his ways as he takes the throne of Israel. David is resolving to follow God in his spirit (v2), his house (v 2), his eyes (v 3), his activities (3) his thoughts (4) and his relationships with others (5-8). He determines that no evil person will be a part of his government and he will actively root out those who oppose godliness. This has led the psalm to be called ‘The Prince’s Psalm’ or as Luther named it; ‘David’s Mirror of a Monarch’. The secret decisions of the heart affect the entire kingdom. All the subsequent kings of Israel are measured by these declarations of the man after God’s own heart.

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