Journal for Christ: From Abasement to Amazement

February 24, 2020

Worship in WORD:

A psalm. A song. For the dedication of the temple. Of David. 4 Sing to the Lord, you saints of his; praise his holy name. NIV	A psalm of David. A song for the dedication of the Temple. 4 Sing to the Lord, all you godly ones! Praise his holy name. New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved_
A Psalm and Song at the dedication of the house of David. 4 Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. KJV	Joy Comes with the Morning A Psalm of David. A song at the dedication of the temple. 4 Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name. ESV

I. Personal/Public Purpose - Title

II. Personal Praise: vs. 1- 3

III. Public Exhortation: vs. 4 - 5

IV. Personal Plea: vs. 6 - 10

V. Personal/Public Praise: vs. 11 – 12

David now directs the saints to what their song of praise should be about in this instance. But before I go into that, let me camp on the words “praise” or the phrase “give thanks.”

As one can see, the NIV and NLT employ the word “praise” to translate the Hebrew “yadah.” The ESV and KJV use the phrase “give thanks.” Here is an instance where English fails us. Both are legitimate translations of the Hebrew word “yadah,” but the way we use them today may limit our understanding of the fullness of what David is trying to convey here. To us, the word “praise” conjures up the picture of worship in song, poem, or prose. To some, it may even include the lifting of hands in praise. The word “thanks” invokes the idea of expressing gratitude. However, both of these ideas are inherent in the word “yadah,” and even more. The act of “confession” or “acknowledgment” is also germane to this word.

Girdlestone says:

Yadah hdy OT:3034), to set forth, or confess publicly, whether in the way of praise or otherwise...
(from Synonyms of the Old Testament. PC Study Bible formatted electronic database Copyright © 2013 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)

The TWOT gives these meanings for this word in its present form:

847 OT:3034 hd*y` (y¹dâ) confess, praise, give thanks, thank. (ASV, RSV similar, except that RSV also uses "acknowledge" and "extol.")
(from Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament. Copyright © 1980 by The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago. All rights reserved. Used by permission.)

It goes on to discuss three ways the word is used in the Bible. We are only interested in the first two since they deal with the word as it relates to us and our relationship with God. I will only highlight excerpts from this resource:

First, it was used to convey the acknowledgment or confession of sin, individually or nationally...Second, this verb was predominately employed to express one's public proclamation or declaration (confession) of God's attributes and his works. This concept is at the heart of the meaning of praise. Praise is a confession or declaration of who God is and what he does. This term is most often translated "to thank" in English versions, but such is not really a proper rendering according to Westermann: In the Old Testament... there is as yet no verb that means only "to thank."
(from Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament. Copyright © 1980 by The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago. All rights reserved. Used by permission.)

The TWOT concludes with this thought:

The best rendering of the term is "confession," for the person confesses or declares God's attributes and works, as seen abundantly in the psalter (cf. Ps 89:6; Ps 105; Ps 106; Ps 145) and elsewhere (cf. 1 Chron 29:13). Therefore, y¹dâ is one of the key words for "praise." It is continually found in Hebrew poetry in parallelism with such praise terms as h¹lal "to praise," z¹mar “to praise with musical instruments, "rûm “to exalt," z¹kar "to remember," k¹bad "to glorify," and n¹gad "to declare." Thanksgiving attributes and works, he cannot help but be thankful for these. Praise leads regularly to thanksgiving.
(from Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament. Copyright © 1980 by The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago. All rights reserved. Used by permission.)

JFB comment on this verse:

Give thanks ... his holiness - literally, 'confess (for when we give thanks to God, we can never exceed the truth; we are always only confessing what God actually is)

Therefore, by God’s grace through faith, we acknowledge and confess something genuine and glorious about God. This leads to worship Him through praise and thanksgiving. As I contemplated these things, some thoughts came to mind. What would happen if we(I) were to put this to practice in our(my) life? I thought of 5 effects that should result from this practice.

They are:

1. Humbling – position, awe-inspire

2. Clarifying – focus, illuminate, purify

3. Unifying – community, encourage, embolden

4. Glorifying – adore, magnify

5. Disseminating – witness, worship

The words I wrote following each effect are further clarifications on what I mean by each term. Let me take time now to consider each point or effect further. Since this may take some time to write, I think I am going to address each point in a separate journal entry.

1. Humbling – position, awe-inspire

The first effect is the positioning of the self before the Lord. When we contemplate and acknowledge something about God, it ought to humble us as we recognize His infinite greatness and our own unworthiness. This was the experience of Isaiah. In chapter 6, we read that Isaiah “saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple (vs. 1 NIV).” What was his response? Isaiah responded with utter humility as he realized his low position to the Most High God.

"Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty."

Isa 6:5 NIV

Job had a similar response:

⁵ My ears had heard of you

but now my eyes have seen you.

⁶ Therefore I despise myself

and repent in dust and ashes."

Job 42:5-6 NIV

Moving into the New Testament, we read of Peter’s response after he and those fishing with him brought in a great draw of fish when the Lord had instructed him to "Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch (Luke 5:4 NIV)."

Peter abased himself before the Lord and said:

“Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”

Luke 5:8-9 ESV

Not only does it have the effect of putting us in a position of humbleness and humility. It also puts us in place, whereby we will respond appropriately with awe and wonder.

Notice Peter’s and his companions’ response in Luke 6:9-10:

⁹ For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, ¹⁰ and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon's partners.

Luke 5:9-10 NIV

Note: The word perie/xw translated as “astonished” by the NIV is translated as “awestruck” by the NLT. The NASB as “amazement.”

Worship in Witness:

From abasement to amazement, that is the pattern of praise. If we fail to recognize the utter depravity that resides in us in our old nature, we will fail to be amazed by the grace of God in saving us and clothing us in our new nature. Our praise will be weak or lacking entirely in our life. Our gratitude will be missing, as well.

Is this not illustrated for us in Luke 7:36 – 50? It is the story of Simon and the sinful woman. Our Lord was invited to dine with Simon, who was a Pharisee. As Jesus reclined at this banquet, a “woman who had lived a sinful life” began to weep and anoint our Lord’s feet.

³⁶ Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. ³⁷ When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, ³⁸ and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.

39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is — that she is a sinner."

⁴⁰ Jesus answered him, "Simon, I have something to tell you."
"Tell me, teacher," he said.

⁴¹ "Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. ⁴² Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?"

⁴³ Simon replied, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled."
"You have judged correctly," Jesus said.

⁴⁴ Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. ⁴⁵ You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. ⁴⁶ You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. ⁴⁷ Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven — for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little."

⁴⁸Then Jesus said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."

⁴⁹ The other guests began to say among themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?"

⁵⁰ Jesus said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."
NIV

Doesn’t this periscope and the parable in it illustrate the point I am trying to make? Our Lord said the one “who has been forgiven little loves little.” By this, He is not saying that some don’t need much forgiving. On the contrary, He was pointing out the self-righteous attitude that kept Simon, and all who are like him, from seeing their own depth of depravity. Because of that, they loved little. To love “little” is to lack a heart of gratitude (see note below).

Gratitude and love resulting in praise and worship, reside in those who are humble and recognize themselves as they truly are apart from God. Gratitude is love’s response when forgiven and blessed by our God of grace. Gratitude overflows in a verbal confession of praise and thanksgiving! All this is undergirded by a sense of awe and wonder that the Most High and Holy God would deign to bless and save a wretch such as you and me.

Let me conclude with an illustration in Paul”s life. Concerning himself, he testifies to his sinfulness and God’s mercy.

¹⁵ Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. ¹⁶ But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life.
1 Tim 1:15-16 TNIV

This realization leads Paul to follow immediately in doxology.

Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
1 Tim 1:17 TNIV

Let us confess the same and add these words from the Apostle Peter in praise!

³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade — kept in heaven for [us], ⁵ who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

1 Peter 1:3-6 NIV

[us] – actually “you” but adapted to make it a prayer of praise

A Promise to the Humble Saint

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ba/43/8f/ba438f3361793e6528819da5ea0a1b51.jpg

Note: Some scholars have argued that *Aramaic lacks a term for gratitude, hence "Which will love him more?" rather than, as we might expect, "Which will be more grateful?"

* Aramaic A language related to Hebrew that was the standard international language of the ancient Near East before Alexander the Great's conquests made Greek the standard; it was still widely spoken in different forms in Syria-Palestine and farther east in Jesus' day. Most Jewish people in first-century Palestine probably spoke both Greek and Aramaic.

Worship in Song: Here is Our God by Sovereign Grace

VERSE 1

Who can light the fires

Of a thousand burning suns

Blazing in the heavens?

There is only One

He is our God

VERSE 2

Who commands the nations

Building up and tearing down

Silencing His rivals?

There is only One

He is our God, He is our God

CHORUS 1

Holy, You alone are holy

Matchless in Your glory, holy God

VERSE 3

Who would come to save us

When we turned away His love

Conquer us with kindness?

There is only One

He is our God, He is our God

CHORUS 2

Holy, You alone are holy

Matchless in Your glory, no one is like You

Worthy, You alone are worthy

We adore You only, holy God

BRIDGE

Now to the King on the throne

Who was and is to come

And to the Lamb Who was slain be glory

(Repeat 3 times/repeat chorus 2)

Lyrics: https://sovereigngracemusic.org/music/songs/he-is-our-god/

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-6LUhrZ5y4

Journal for Christ

Monday, February 24, 2020

From Abasement to Amazement

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