– joy and sorrow, excitement and depression, confidence and doubt, triumph and defeat. I’m calling the psalms “the heart’s cry.” For the psalms contain the whole of the music in the heart of us human beings: lament and penitence, praise and prayer, remembrance and prophecy, public liturgy and private devotion.    

For the five Sundays in August, we’re looking at the different types of psalms, the various movements of expressions to God and his word for us.

So, I’ve got to ask, “Why did you come to church today? What are you doing here?” Why do people show up for worship like this together on Sunday morning? Some churches are like teaching centers where people attend with open Bible, pen and paper. They’re here to learn. Some churches are like social work centers engaged in the social problems, challenges and needs of our times. Some churches are designed for inspiration, spiritual shopping centers for all our needs. There are new churches flourishing by ministering to the “rock” generation with informal, warehouse, coffeehouse formats.

Some people come to church out of a sense of history or tradition. Some come to assuage guilt or to satisfy family expectations. Some people go to church to gain favor with God, as if he’s impressed with our attendance. Some show up for business contacts or a find a Friday night date. Some people come occasionally because they have a vague feeling that it’s good for them. Others come out of desperation, sincerely looking for God.

In Psalm 138, David explores the best motives for worship. God’s people come to worship the Lord together because of who God is, for his covenant love, and for his truth to take hold in their lives. There’s thanks for answered prayer, knowing that God works out his plans for our lives and brings us through the difficulties we face. Last week it was a song of lament. This week it’s a song of thanks.

I. Personal Praise and Thanks (vs. 1-3)

The first word in the psalm can be translated either to give praise or to give thanks. “I will praise you, Lord; I will give thanks, with all my heart.” It’s a comprehensive word praising God for who he is and thanking God for what he does. Both are important in our worship and prayer.

Praise is to honor and ascribe ultimate, infinite worth to God the creator and redeemer of our lives. The Bible often calls for this response because of the beauty and majesty of God himself as well as his saving actions. The Psalms, Israel’s worship book is filled with ascriptions of praise. Messianic Psalm 22 says it: “I will declare your name to my people; in the assembly I will praise you. You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor him! Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!” I hope that’s why we came to church this morning.

As God’s salvation came particularly in the person and work of Jesus Christ, praise is heard everywhere. On the occasion of his birth, a great company of the heavenly host appeared praising God and saying “Glory to God in the highest!” (Luke 2:13-14). That’s why Christmas is such a joyful holiday for those who know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. In his healing ministry, the response was praise. Jesus put his hands on a woman who’d been crippled for 18 years and “immediately she straightened up and praised God” (Luke 13:13). One of the ten lepers who’d been healed came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him” (Luke 17:15-16). When Jesus entered Jerusalem we heard “Hosanna to the Son of David. Hosanna in the highest.”

This worship finds its climax in the Book of Revelation. Worship is its main theme. Here’s what John sees Revelation 19: “I heard a great multitude in heaven shouting: ‘Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God… Hallelujah! For the Lord our God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory!’

Giving thanks was the focus of Old Testament worship. “I will bow down toward your holy temple and will praise your name and give thanks for your unfailing love and faithfulness.” When you and I experience God’s covenant love, his protection and deliverance, his sovereign acts of salvation, we are bound to give thanks. Eugene Peterson renders Psalm 138 like this: “Thank you! Everything in me says, ‘Thank you!’ Angels listen as I sing my thanks. I kneel in worship facing you holy temple and say it again: ‘Thank you.’ Thank you for your love, thank you for your faithfulness” (The Message).

So, in our worship on Sundays and in your prayers everyday, keep this disposition of your heart, your heart’s cry to the Lord: praise and thanks. I hope that’s why we came to church today.

As the elite athletes from all over the world gather in Beijing this month, an officially sanctioned Church of Christ is offering worship, support, encouragement, and faith to the athletes and others. Yet with continued oppression and suppression of Christianity in China, many believers face persecution that we can’t even imagine. A mission organization called The Voice of the Martyrs has offered these prayer bracelets that say “Pray for China” in English and Chinese. I hope you will wear one and/or pray for the Christian witness during the Olympics and for the Chinese people. Pray with Psalm 138: “May all the kings of the earth, communist and capitalist politicians everywhere, the best athletes professional and amateur, prominent world-wide business people, those in higher education, all those with famous names, may they praise God.” How great the glory of God! And here’s why: God, high above, sees far below; no matter the distance, he knows everything about us.

But God also “looks kindly on the lowly.” You remember Mary’s song when expecting Jesus: “My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior… He has lifted up the humble… He has filled the hungry with good things.” So, whether high or low, rich or poor, and anything in between, the Lord wants all to praise his name and come that place of thankfulness for life and faith, mercy and forgiveness, grace and glory.    

You know, every person, every one of us has dreams and makes plans for our lives. And we work hard to see those dreams and plans come true. But to make the most of life, we must include God in our dreams and plans. He alone knows what’s best for us; he alone can fulfill his purpose for us. So, as you make plans each day and dream dreams for tomorrow, talk with the Lord about them. Read and pray the psalms. They’re a great help.

Then David moves from his worship of God for his word to the worship of God for his works. The Lord preserves his life even in the midst of trouble. God’s right hand (his power and authority) saves him from the anger of his foes. David is thankful in praise and worship for God’s covenant love. “Your love, Lord, endures forever.” His final prayer is never to “abandon the works” of his hands. “Lord God, since your love is eternal, please finish what you started in me.”   

So, the Lord our God is to be worshiped because he renews us, delivers us, is true in his love for us, and completes his work in us. The apostle Paul tells the Philippian church: “Being confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).

So, I’ve got to ask, “Why did you come to church today? What are you doing here?” To learn, yes… to address the problems of our times, yes… to be inspired, yes… to find a relevant faith, yes… But, the Lord is most glad when we come to “praise him, to give him thanks with all our heart” and to be part of that vision for all people, high and low, to “hear what the Lord has decreed and sing of the ways of the Lord… For the glory of the Lord is great.”

Let us pray together.