Tonight we are celebrating the 60th anniversary of St Matthew’s Bowling Club. We acknowledge the vision and hard work of all those who founded the club back in 1959; and the ongoing dedication and commitment of all those who have been involved in the club ever since; especially those who lead the club, organising matches and teams and tournaments and practices and everything else that goes into making St Matthew’s Bowling Club all that it is today. And it is right and proper that we gather tonight to give thanks to God, for our Bowling Club, and for all his blessings to us.
To help us to give God our thanks and praise, we’re going to focus in on Psalm 145, our Bible reading. (p. 631). We’re told in the little heading that it is ‘A psalm of praise. Of David.’ (superscription). David is singing his song of praise. It starts out as a solo performance, but he wants everyone to join in with him. So let’s listen in, as we prepare to sing along with him.
You can see that it starts off as a solo performance because the the first two verses are all ‘I’. This is what David is going to do. And what is he going to do? ‘I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever. Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever.’ (1-2)
David is going to praise God. All those words - exalt, praise, extol - they’re all about praising; praising ‘you, my God the King.’ King David is praising his King - God, who rules over all. And when is he going to do this? Every day, and for ever and ever. He’s committed to doing it - he says, ‘I will, I will, I will.’ (I’m reminded of Mrs Doyle, the housekeeper in Father Ted offering a cup of tea - you will, you will, you will...) David says I will praise God, I will praise God every day for ever.
But that raises the question - why will you praise God every day for ever? Why praise? It’s not immediately obvious to us reading it in English, but in the Hebrew, this Psalm is written as an acrostic - each verse starts with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet. It’s an A-Z of praise, and it tells us why we should praise. And it breaks down into four sections, each of which tell us something about God the King. Here’s the first: The LORD is great.
‘Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise;
his greatness no one can fathom.’ (3)
God is not just great, but he is so great that you can’t even measure his greatness. As great as you think God is, he is actually even greater. We just can’t get our heads around it. But we are to get our tongues speaking of it, telling the next generation about how great God is.
When bowlers get together, the chat will inevitably roll round to talking about the really good players you’ve played against. And how do you know a player is good, or great? It’s by the way they play; what they’ve done, or what they’ve won. So we see and know that God is great because of what he has done.
One generation will tell the next generation about God’s works, his mighty acts, the glorious splendour of his majesty, the power of his awesome works, and his abundant goodness. These mighty acts include the way that God rescued the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt through the Passover Lamb; and brought them into the promised land.
But supremely for us, the Lord’s mighty acts focus in on the cross, where Jesus died to save us. Just think of how we have come to hear about the Lord Jesus. one generation told another generation, and another generation, until we got to hear the good news of the gospel ourselves. And it shouldn’t stop with us! When we know the greatness of the Lord, we need to pass it on to the next generation.
So God is great. But he’s not only great, he is also gracious. That is, God is overflowing in loving-kindness towards us. Verse 8 is found in quite a few places in the Bible, a short summary of what God is like:
‘The LORD is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and rich in love.’
Jesus shows how God is gracious in the way that he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. (Matt 5:45) And just think of the many ways in which God is gracious towards us every day. He is good to all, he has compassion on all he has made.
And again, the idea is that when we know that God is gracious, we need to pass it on, we need to tell others the good news. As the saints, God’s people, extol God, so they tell of the glory of God’s kingdom, and speak of his might - and whats the purpose of this praise? ‘So that all men may know of your mighty acts and the glorious splendour of your kingdom.’ (11-12)
When we praise, we are spreading the news of God’s kingdom, telling people who don’t already know, so that they will know. God’s kingdom will endure for ever; and so we are inviting people to come under God’s kingship, to receive his saving grace.
We praise because God is great, and God is gracious. Next, we see that God is also faithful. The word ‘LORD’ in capital letters is the personal name God, who makes promises and keeps promises. And David spells that out in the second half of verse 13:
‘The LORD is faithful to all his promises
and loving towards all he has made.’
Sometimes we aren’t so good to keeping our promises. Just think how easily we make them, only to turn around and break them. I’ll give you a ring tomorrow. Don’t worry about that, I’ll sort it out. Give me a shout any time. We can so easily break our promises, but God is faithful to all his promises. He keeps every one he has made. You can depend on his word. But don’t just take my word for it. Look at what David says:
‘The LORD upholds all those who fall
and lifts up all who are bowed down.
The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food at the proper time.
You open your hand
and satisfy the desires of every living thing.’ (14-16)
We’re coming into harvest season, and we find that again God has kept the promise given to Noah that as long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest will not fail. We can depend on God, and depend on his word. He is faithful to his promises.
And finally, God is righteous. We find that in verse 17. ‘The LORD is righteous in all his ways and loving towards all he has made.’
To be righteous is to be in a right relationship with God. And so for God to be righteous, it means that he always acts in ways that are consistent with his character. He always does what is right. He never has a bad day; he never gets out of bed on the wrong side; he is always perfect in all he does, and is righteous in all his ways.
We see what this looks like in verses 18-20. ‘The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfils the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them. The LORD watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.’
To call on the LORD is to confess that we can’t do it by ourselves - that we need God’s help. It’s to say that God, you are righteous, but we are not; that we fall short in so many ways. It’s to experience that proper fear of the LORD - not a phobia type of scared fear, but a proper reverence and awe and respect for God who is great, and gracious, and faithful and righteous. To admit that we need God’s help.
And do you see the great promise of this Psalm? That when we call on him, he is near to us. He’s at hand to help; he hears, and he saves. He will hold us safe in the day when he destroys the wicked - all who mar his glorious creation; who persist in rebellion against him; who refuse his offer of grace and salvation.
Why does David praise? He praises because God is great, and gracious, and faithful and righteous. It’s no wonder that he returns to his opening idea as he brings the Psalm to a close in verse 21. ‘My mouth will speak in praise of the LORD.’ David is committed to praising.
But David wants us to join in with him, so that we also praise the LORD. The Psalm started as a solo, just David praising. Through the Psalm, we’ve heard hints of others joining in - one generation telling the next generation; those who know God’s glory telling those who don’t know - but now comes to climax, the prayer that is also an invitation, as David calls us to join in with his song of praise:
‘Let every creature praise his holy name for ever and ever.’ (21)
That’s your cue, now comes your part, it’s time to join in, and sing praise to the God who is great, and gracious, and faithful, and righteous. Take it away.
This sermon was preached at the St Matthew's Bowling Club 60th anniversary service in St Matthew's Church, Richhill on Sunday evening 29th September 2019.
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