Proclaiming God's Goodness: A Call to Abundant Praise

Devotional

Day 1: Observing God's Goodness in Everyday Life

To truly praise God abundantly, one must first observe His goodness in every aspect of life. This requires a conscious effort to be attentive to the blessings that surround us, both in the grandeur of creation and the intimate details of our personal experiences. By cultivating a habit of observation, we become more aware of God's hand in our daily provisions and the beauty of the world around us. This attentiveness lays the groundwork for a memory rich with material for praise, allowing us to recognize and appreciate the ways God blesses us. [06:16]

Psalm 104:24-25 (ESV): "O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. Here is the sea, great and wide, which teems with creatures innumerable, living things both small and great."

Reflection: What is one small blessing in your life today that you often overlook? How can you make a habit of observing God's goodness in your daily routine?

Day 2: Strengthening Memory for Worship

Memory plays a crucial role in worship, as it allows us to recall and celebrate God's past goodness. By immersing ourselves in Scripture and reflecting on personal experiences, we strengthen our memory and ensure that our hearts are full of praise. This active recollection fuels our worship and deepens our relationship with God. By remembering His goodness, we are better equipped to offer Him the praise He deserves, creating a foundation for a life of worship. [22:32]

Deuteronomy 6:12 (ESV): "Then take care lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery."

Reflection: What is one specific instance of God's goodness in your past that you can recall today? How can you incorporate this memory into your worship this week?

Day 3: The Overflowing Power of Utterance

Our praise should be like a bubbling fountain, overflowing with the goodness of God. By speaking of His goodness, we not only honor Him but also encourage those around us. In a world filled with negativity, our testimony of God's goodness can be a beacon of hope and joy. This utterance is not just for our benefit but for the benefit of others, drawing them closer to Him and uplifting their spirits. [32:07]

Psalm 71:15-16 (ESV): "My mouth will tell of your righteous acts, of your deeds of salvation all the day, for their number is past my knowledge. With the mighty deeds of the Lord God I will come; I will remind them of your righteousness, yours alone."

Reflection: Who in your life needs to hear about God's goodness today? How can you share your testimony with them in a way that encourages and uplifts?

Day 4: Praise as a Testimony to Others

Our abundant praise serves as a testimony to others, drawing them closer to God. By sharing our experiences of His goodness, we can uplift and encourage those around us, showing them the beauty of a life lived in relationship with Him. This testimony is a powerful tool for evangelism, as it demonstrates the transformative power of God's love and grace in our lives. [42:42]

1 Peter 2:9 (ESV): "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light."

Reflection: Think of a recent experience where you witnessed God's goodness. How can you share this story with someone who may not know Him yet?

Day 5: Glorifying God Through Praise

Our praise glorifies God by making His goodness known to the world. While we cannot add to His glory, we can spread the truth about Him, contributing to a flood of praise that covers the earth. This is our calling and our joy, to lift His name high and join in the eternal hallelujah. By glorifying God through our praise, we fulfill our purpose as His creation and participate in the divine chorus of worship. [46:58]

Habakkuk 2:14 (ESV): "For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea."

Reflection: In what ways can you actively participate in spreading God's glory today? How can your actions and words contribute to a world filled with His praise?

Sermon Summary

Psalm 145:7 calls us to abundantly utter the memory of God's great goodness and sing of His righteousness. This is a call to praise that is not just personal but public, a call to let the world know of the majesty and might of our God. David, in his psalm, is not content with silent admiration; he desires that God's praise be openly declared and joyfully proclaimed. This is a call to all of us to join in this chorus of praise, recognizing that God's goodness is not just a private experience but a public testimony.

To secure this abundant praise, we must first observe God's goodness. Observation is the foundation of memory, and memory is the foundation of praise. We must be attentive to the ways God blesses us, both in creation and in our personal lives. Too often, we overlook His hand in our daily provisions and the beauty of the world around us. We must train ourselves to see His goodness in every aspect of life, from the grandeur of the universe to the intimate details of our personal experiences.

Once we have observed His goodness, we must remember it. This involves not just retaining the memory but actively recalling it. We can strengthen our memory by immersing ourselves in the Scriptures, participating in the memorials of our faith, and reflecting on our personal experiences of God's grace. By doing so, we ensure that our hearts are full of the material needed for abundant praise.

Finally, we must utter this memory. Our praise should be like a bubbling fountain, overflowing with the goodness of God. This is not just for our benefit but for the benefit of others. Our testimony of God's goodness can encourage and uplift those around us, drawing them closer to Him. In a world filled with noise and negativity, our praise can be a beacon of hope and joy.

Key Takeaways

1. Observation as the Foundation of Praise: To abundantly praise God, we must first observe His goodness in our lives. This requires attentiveness to His blessings, both big and small, and recognizing His hand in all things. By cultivating a habit of observation, we lay the groundwork for a memory that is rich with the material for praise. [06:16]
2. The Role of Memory in Worship: Memory is crucial in our worship, as it allows us to recall and celebrate God's past goodness. By immersing ourselves in Scripture and reflecting on personal experiences, we strengthen our memory and ensure that our hearts are full of praise. This active recollection fuels our worship and deepens our relationship with God. [22:32]
3. The Power of Utterance: Our praise should be like a bubbling fountain, overflowing with the goodness of God. By speaking of His goodness, we not only honor Him but also encourage those around us. In a world filled with negativity, our testimony of God's goodness can be a beacon of hope and joy. [32:07]
4. Praise as a Testimony to Others: Our abundant praise serves as a testimony to others, drawing them closer to God. By sharing our experiences of His goodness, we can uplift and encourage those around us, showing them the beauty of a life lived in relationship with Him. [42:42]
5. Praise as a Means of Glorifying God: Our praise glorifies God by making His goodness known to the world. While we cannot add to His glory, we can spread the truth about Him, contributing to a flood of praise that covers the earth. This is our calling and our joy, to lift His name high and join in the eternal hallelujah. [46:58]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:10] - Introduction to Abundant Praise
[00:51] - David's Call to Praise
[01:26] - Public Declaration of God's Goodness
[02:39] - The Majesty and Might of God
[04:37] - Method of Securing Abundant Praise
[05:23] - Observation as the First Step
[06:44] - Recognizing God's Goodness
[09:12] - The Greatness of God's Goodness
[11:31] - Divine Goodness in Grace
[14:57] - Deliverance from Evil
[19:08] - The Greatness of God's Gifts
[22:32] - Strengthening Memory for Praise
[32:07] - The Power of Utterance
[36:08] - Singing of God's Righteousness
[37:34] - Motives for Abundant Utterance
[42:42] - Impact of Praise on Others
[46:58] - Praise as Glorification of God

Sermon Clips

David is not content with declaring that Jehovah is worthy of praise or with pleading that his praise ought to be felt in the heart, but he will have it publicly spoken of, openly declared, plainly uttered, and joyfully proclaimed in song. The inspired psalmist, moved by the Holy Ghost, calls upon all flesh, yea, and upon all the works of God, to sound forth the praise of the Most High. [00:80:08]

The first thing therefore towards the plentiful praising of God is a careful observation of his goodness. Now see what it is that we are to observe: it is God's goodness. Too many are blind to that blessed object. They receive the bounties of providence, but they do not see the hand of God in them. They are fed by his liberality and guided by his care, but they attribute all that they receive to themselves or to secondary agents. [00:406:08]

We are then to consider what many will not so much as believe, that there is great goodness in Jehovah, the God of creation, providence, and redemption, the God of paradise, of Sinai, and of Calvary. We are thoroughly to acquaint ourselves with him as he has made himself known, and we are continually to consider his great goodness that we may retain the memory of it. [00:590:00]

The point which struck the psalmist and should strike us all is the greatness of the goodness. The greatness of the goodness will be seen by the contemplative mind upon a consideration of the person upon whom the goodness lights. Whence is this to me will often be the utterance of a grateful spirit that God should be good to any of his people shows his mercy. [00:740:639]

The greatness of the goodness becomes apparent when we think of the greatness of God the benefactor. What is man that thou art mindful of him, or the son of man that thou visitest him? That God himself should bless his people, that he should come in the form of human flesh to save his people, that he should dwell in us and walk in us, and be to us a God, a very present help in trouble, is a miracle of love. [00:814:80]

The greatness of the goodness is on some occasions made manifest by the evil from which it rescues us. Nobody knows so well the blessing of health as he who has but lately been tortured in every limb. Then for his restoration he blesses Jehovah Rafi, the healing Lord. None know what salvation from sin means like those who have been crushed beneath the burden of guilt and have been wracked by remorse. [00:895:36]

The first two processes for securing abundant praise are observation and remembrance. The next is utterance. They shall abundantly utter. The word contains the idea of boiling or bubbling up like a fountain. It signifies a holy fluency about the mercy of God. We have quite enough fluent people about, but they are many of them idlers, for whom Satan finds abundant work to do. [00:1914:399]

They shall abundantly utter it, that is, they shall constantly be doing it. They shall talk about God's goodness all day long. When you step into their cottages, they will begin to tell you of God's goodness to them. When you bid adieu to them at night, you shall hear more last words upon the favorite theme. Very likely they will repeat themselves, but that does not matter. [00:2014:159]

The goodness of God demands that we should speak of it. If the Lord Jesus himself should charge his people to be silent as to his goodness, they would scarcely be able to obey the command. They would, like the man that was healed, blaze abroad the mighty work that he has done. But bless his name, he has not told us to be quiet. [00:2266:24]

Another motive for abundantly uttering the praises of God is that other voices are clamorous to drown it. What a noisy world this is with its conflicting and discordant cries. Lo here cries one, lo there shouts another. This uproar would drown the notes of God's praise unless his people uttered it again and yet again. The more there is said against our God, the more should we speak for him. [00:2362:24]

Praise the Lord abundantly because it will benefit you to do so. How bright the past looks when we begin to praise God for it. We say I am the man that hath seen affliction, and we are to fill the cup of memory with gall and wormwood, but when we see the goodness of God in it all, we turn the kerchief with which we wiped our tears into a flag of victory and with holy praise in the name of our God. [00:2446:96]

Lastly, let us praise and bless God because it is the way in which he is glorified. We cannot add to his glory, for it is infinite in itself, but we can make it to be more widely known by simply stating the truth about him. Do you not want to give honor to God? Would you not lay down your life that the whole earth might be filled with his glory? [00:2817:359]

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