What Would David Do?

The Foundation of the House of Worship

Who God Is, or What He Has Done?

In the introduction, I mentioned that a friend challenged me with the statement that we worship God for who He is, and not for what He has done. Is that correct? In the book of Psalms, does David worship God for who He is, or for what He has done? The correct answer is... yes. David, (and the other Psalmists) worshiped God for both who He is, and for what He has done, and in almost identical amounts. One sixth of the book of Psalms is about Who God Is, and another sixth is about what He has done. The count is within two verses, and I'm not absolutely certain of my accuracy. They could be equal. So we worship God for both what He has done, and who He is. Actually, that shouldn't be too surprising. Psalm 150:2 says,

Praise Him for His mighty deeds; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness. (NASB-updated)

His mighty deeds (what He has done) and His excellent greatness (Who He Is)

We said that one third of the book of Psalms is about who God is and what He has done, but what of the other two thirds of the book of Psalms? Another sixth of the book of Psalms is about what God is doing now, or what He will do. And another 6% (one sixteenth) of the book of Psalms is about what God has said, His Word.

Who God Is

Who God is can be divided up into Gods names and roles, (like shepherd, king, etc.) His character (love, holiness, etc.), and His attributes (eternal, powerful, etc.) His past works are basically divided up into deliverance from enemies, and creation. (I'm working from memory here, not my Bible study. It got trashed on the computer, so a friend is retyping it into the system.) God's present works though are divided a lot more broadly. He guides us. He listens to us. He lifts our head. Rather than me simply giving you a list, scan through a few chapters of the Psalms. And what God will do is similar. There are a wider variety of things He will do, many of them the same as what He is doing. He will hear my prayer, or He will lead and guide me.

This is encouraging, except for the limited number of songs that relate to what God is doing, or will do. If you think about it, we should expect on every Christian CD, (or tape) we buy with 16 songs on it, one of them should be on what God is going to do, and one or two should be on what God is doing right now. But that's not the case. In fact, that's one of the reasons I'm writing this Home page. Hoping to stimulate Christian musicians and song writers to sing and write these type of songs.

The Elements of Worship

So who is God in the book of Psalms? Psalms 18:1 and 2 says,

"I love You, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold...:

Both of those chapters begin with different names or roles for God. Think about that in relation to how you and I pray. Typically, I call God either God, Jesus, or Father. Yet, David and the other Psalmists use a very large number of titles for God.

I have also noticed that in our hymns and choruses, we limit the number of names and roles we use for God. The use of different names for God probably does a number of things. First, it expands my understanding of who God is, and His works. Think about the fact that God is your rock and your fortress. What kind of rock is He? Is He a large boulder, strong enough to deflect any arrows or spears that are sent my way? Can fire damage Him? In fact, in the day and age that David lived, were there any weapons that could damage a rock?

Or is He a rock that also protects from the elements? Surely when David was a shepherd, there were times when the cold rain came pelting down, and David crouched down under the protection of a rock to stay dry. Or at night, when it became cool, David may have stayed near rocks that had obsorbed the heat of the sun.

If God is our fortress, that kind of implies that we may be under attack. But that there is also a safe place to hide. The fact that He was our rock may have left us open to attack from another side. But if He is also our fortress, then we are protected both from attack from the front, or the rear. The fortress is also a place of supply. A place to receive food, water, and weapons. The fortress is even a place where we can sleep in relative safety.

And God is also a deliverer. The first two names, a rock and a fortress, are inanimate objects. They are strong, but they don't have any life. I can run to a fortress, but the fortress cannot run to me. But a deliverer can. And a deliverer is either someone who has delivered me, or someone who is delivering me. God is either one or the other. Or both. David's use of these different names for God increases my understanding of who God is.

Psalm 27:1 says,

The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the defense of my life; Whom shall I dread?

I had a quiet time with my son Dusty the other night in Psalm 27. We talked about what it meant for God to be our light. The fact that without light, we cannot move very far, or very fast. That we can accomplish almost nothing. That we don't feel as safe. God is our light.

I don't intend to drain these verses of everything they have to say, but rather just to stimulate our thinking. We can also see that frequently David says that God is 'my God...my light.... my fortress... my salvation.' Not that David personally owned God, but that David had a close relationship to God, just as I might say, 'my wife, my son, my father.'

 

Who God Is 

Roles/Names of God

Character of God

Attributes of God

Defense of my life

My Cup

Holy

Power

Judge

My Deliverer

Loving

Strength (related)

Helper of the orphan

My Fortress

Righteous

Eternal

Horn of my salvation

My Glory

 

Knowledge

King

My God

 

 

Lord of Hosts

My Light

 

 

Most High

My Redeemer

 

 

Portion of my inheritance

My Rock

 

 

Refuge

My Salvation

 

 

Saving Defense

My Shepherd

 

 

Shield

My Shield

 

 

Son

My Strength

 

 

Stronghold

 

 

 

What God Has Done

Knowing who God is, and what He has done is probably the strength of our hymns. It's also a fairly strong emphasis in the book of Psalms. As mentioned before, taking up about one sixth of the book of Psalms. Let's take a look at some of these verses.

"I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, 'You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.'

Psalm 2:7

One of the first works of God mentioned in the book of Psalms is that God has had a Son. It's doesn't amaze me that God has a Son, but it is amazing to me that God would reveal that in the book of Psalms. Somehow, I thought this was a Top-Secret God had kept for thousands of years, and then one day in Bethlehem, the angels popped it out. But it wasn't. Instead, in the book of Psalms, God says to His Jewish children, 'I have a Son'.

The second work of God this verse reveals is that God has spoken. "He said to Me, 'You are My Son...'" God has not lived with us in silence, He has spoken. Again, is that an amazing insight? No, but it is something that God chose to fit into worship.

God did not choose at this point to have His worshipers sing about their feelings or commitment to God. He had them sing about what He had done. He had begotten a Son. He had spoken. His focus was not on our feelings, but on His works.

But know that the Lord has set apart the godly man for Himself; The Lord hears when I call to Him.

 Psalm 4:3

First, this verse blends both what God has done in the past, and what He is doing right now. But this verse also tells me something that isn't obvious from other parts of the scripture. God has taken people who are godly and set them apart for Himself. That creates a very special relationship between God and us, if we have chosen to be godly. We become something special to Him.

This might be similar to the way that we are set apart to each other when we are married. Before I married my wife, I could date anyone I wanted, and so could she. But after we were married, we were both set apart for each other. We had a mutual commitment to each other to 'love, cherish and protect'. And so God has also set us apart for Himself.

Depart from me, all you who do iniquity, For the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping. The Lord has heard my supplication, The Lord receives my prayer... But certainly God has heard; He has given heed to the voice of my prayer.

Psalm 6:8,9; 66:19

One of the most common past tense actions of God in the book of Psalms is that God has heard us. It occurs about 14 times in the book of Psalms, and of course it occurs all over the rest of the Bible.

We sometimes take this for granted. God listens to us while we pray. In fact, in some of the verses it says God has 'inclined His ear' to us. (Psalm 116:2) It is as if God stands on the edge of heaven, leaning over to hear us. We lean over in order to hear someone else more clearly. While God doesn't need to hear us more clearly, what David is communicating is that God is listening to us carefully, as individuals.

David believed that God had heard his prayers, and that God had acted on what He had heard.

But You have saved us from our adversaries, And You have put to shame those who hate us.

Psalm 44:7

When we look at Who God is, and what He has done, we are seeing two sides of the same coin. Because part of God's character is that He loves us, there are certain actions that He has done. Because God is powerful, there are certain actions that He is capable of. In this verse, David says, 'You have saved us... You have put to shame those who hate us.' In this case, God is demonstrated His love and power by saving the David and those with him, and by shaming David's enemies.

These verses above aren't meant to be a complete list of what God has done, but rather as an example of the kinds of acts spoken about in the Psalms.

There are a number of actions of God that relate to what He has done in the past. In the first 20 chapters of the book of Psalms, God:

Personal

To the Enemy/Wicked

Other

Answered me

Punished

Had a Son

Relieved me

Rebuked the nations

Installed His Son as King

Heard me

Destroyed the wicked

Appointed judgement

Maintained my cause

Has seen the wicked

Displayed His splendor

Helped the orphan

Did not answer them

Ordained moon and stars

Dealt bountifully with me

Uprooted their cities

Established strength

Counseled me

Became angry

Set man's rule over creation

Not forsaken those who seek Him

Made them turn their backs

Crowned man with glory and honor

Tried my heart

Subdued them under me

Sat on the throne

Visited me by night

 

Established His throne

Delivered me

 

Has revealed Himself

Delighted in me

 

Bowed the heavens (poetry)

Rewarded me

 

Spoke

Put gladness in my heart

 

Set apart the Godly for Himself

Gave me strength

 

 

Gave me salvation

 

 

We'd encourage you to continue to make a list of your own. The goal isn't to create a list, though, but to remember these actions of God in our worship. In my own personal prayers to God, I'm often limited to thanking God for what He's done creating the world, in giving His Son, and what He's done personally in my life. David's prayers were far broader than these however. I want to become like that.

The God Who Is Here, Today

Another sixth of the book of Psalms is also dedicated to God's works. They relate to What God is Doing Now, and What God Will Do. Together, those two parts of worship add up to as many verses as there are about who God is. That's obviously a very significant portion of the book of Psalms. But it's not a part of worship that we are used to thinking about, or singing about. What is God doing right now? A good example can be found in Psalm 23. It's written mostly in the present tense.

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Psalm 23

If you read that passage carefully, you see that it begins with a statement about Who God Is (My shepherd). Immediately, David begins to talk about what God is doing. He makes me... He leads me... He restores... He guides... He comforts me, prepares a table for me, and makes my cup overflow. In the past, He has anointed my head with oil, and in the future, His lovingkindness will follow me, and I will dwell in His house forever. Those comments are typical of the book of Psalms. Much of it is written in the present tense, the equivalent of 15 of the 150 chapters! Unfortunately, if you look in our hymnals and chorus books, we don't sing often of what God is doing right now. (In fact, if you know of some songs on what God is doing, or will do, please E-mail me.)

In chapters 20 through 40 of Psalms, I found the following actions that God is doing:

What God Is Doing

Personally

To the Righteous

Generically

Saves His anointed

His eyes are toward the righteous,
His ears are open to their cry (34:15)

Rules over the nations

Gives the king good things

Hears the righteous cry,
and delivers them (34:17)

His voice breaks the cedars (29:5)

Sets a crown on the king's head

Delivers the righteous (34:19)

Makes Lebanon skip like a calf (29:6)

Make the king blessed

Keeps all their bones (34:20)

His voice hews out flames of fire (29:7)

Make the king joyful

Redeems His servant's souls (34:22)

His voice shakes the wilderness (29:8)

Makes me lie down in green pastures

Delights in the prosperity of His servants (35:27)

His voice makes the deer to calve (29:9)

Leads me

His eye is on all those who fear Him (33:18)

Sits as King forever (29:10)

Restores my soul

Sustains the righteous (37:17)

He loves justice and righteousness (33:5)

Guides me in righteousness

Knows the days of the blameless (37:18)

He gathers the waters together (33:7)

Comforts me

Does not forsake His godly ones (37:28)

Nullifies the counsel of the nations (33:10)

Prepares a table for me

Helps them and Delivers them from the wicked (37:40)

Frustrates the plans of the peoples (33:10)

Instructs sinners

 

Looks from heaven (33:13,14)

Leads the humble

 

Sees all the sons of men (33:13)

Teaches the humble

 

He understands all their works (33:15)

Preserves the faithful (31:23)

 

His face is against evildoers (34:16)

Rewards the proud doer (31:23)

 

Is near to the brokenhearted,
and saves those crushed in spirit (34:18)

Surrounds me with songs of deliverance (32:7)

 

Delivers the afflicted (35:10)

 

 

Preserves man and beast (36:6)

 

 

Gives people to drink of the river of His delights (36:8)

 

 

He laughs at the wicked (37:13 also 2:4)

 

 

Delights in a man's way (37:23)

 

 

Hold's man's hand (37:24)

 

 

Loves justice (37:28)

 

 

Chastens men for sin, and consume what is precious to him (39:11)

Again, we'd encourage you to make a list of your own. Simply go through the book of Psalms, writing down verses about what God is doing right now. In fact now might be an interesting time to give yourself a little test. Without looking at the list above, make up a list of things that you know God is doing. Then compare it with the list above.

If you're like me, your list of what God is doing will be pretty short. We simply aren't that aware of God's present works in our lives, or in the world.

It's something to think about.

Unfortunately, one of the reasons we don't know what God is doing now is this; we don't sing about it. One verse in ten of Psalms is on what God is doing now. But as I think about it now, I can't think of any songs about what God is doing.

That's something to think about too.

If you do know of any, please E-mail me at rb11187@www.cedarnet.org

The God Who Will Be There Tomorrow

As we saw, another 6% of the book of Psalms is about what God will do. Psalm 5:3 says

In the morning, O LORD, You will hear my voice; In the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch.

David knew that God had listened to him in the past. But he also had confidence that God would continue listening to him in the future. In the morning, David would speak, and God would hear. In Psalm 9:8, David wrote,

And He will judge the world in righteousness; He will execute judgment for the peoples with equity.

David was also very aware that God would judge the world.

Considering the small portion of scripture available to David, it amazes me what he understood about God. God had somehow communicated to David that in the end, He was the judge. It was perhaps this understanding that allowed David to run from Saul, and yet believe that God would deliver him in the end. Psalm 10:17 says,

O LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will strengthen their heart, You will incline Your ear.

Again, David understood that God would listen to him, but also that God would personally strengthen our hearts.

While David used some names for God over and over, he used a large number of different things that God would do in the future. These include:

In The Future:

For Us Personally

In General

God will listen and answer us

God will have compassion

God will strengthen us

God will maintain the cause of the poor

God will protect us

God will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him

God will guide, counsel and instruct us

God will reign forever

God will give us peace

God will beautify the afflicted ones with salvation (Psalm 149:4)

God will give us wisdom

God will judge the wicked

God will help us

God will punish the wicked

God will reward us

 

God will revive us

 

God will satisfy us

 

While the things God had done in the past were sometimes ancient history, (like the creation of the world, or the deliverance of Israel) when David looked at the future, he saw two things. First, David primarily was thinking about what God would do soon, for him. And secondly, what God would do in the end, to the wicked. When David thought of God in the present and future, God was very personal.

The Word of God

While we've covered half of what the book of Psalms says, (Who God Is, and What He Has Done, Is Doing and Will Do) another 6% of Psalms is about the Word of God.

In fact, the longest chapter of the Bible, Psalm 119, is almost completely about the Word of God. So in our worship, what has David asked us to sing?

But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night.

Psalm 1:2

In this Psalm about the Man of Worship, David says 'his delight is in the law of the Lord...' Have you considered how much of the law David had? Genesis through Deuteronomy would have covered most of it. May have had a few other scraps, since Moses also wrote one of the Psalms. Maybe Job.

And from this collection of books, David says, 'his delight is in the law of the Lord...' David loved the books we may never even read. We believe the whole Bible, but frequently haven't even read the whole Bible. While we do believe that,

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;

2 Timothy 3:16

in our hearts we also perhaps believe that some parts have far more value than others. While I would steer young believers to spend time first in the Gospels perhaps, after awhile we all  need to spend time in the whole book.

The second part of Psalm 1:2 says that, 'in His law he meditates day and night.' The law of God is constantly on the mind of the worshiper. What God has said is significant to us. Again, David says,

O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day. Psalm 119:97
I hate those who are double-minded, But I love Your law.  Psalm 119:113
I hate and despise falsehood, But I love Your law.  Psalm 119:163
Those who love Your law have great peace, And nothing causes them to stumble.
                                                                                  Psalm 119:165

David had a passion for the Word of God. But as we saw before, David spent more time talking about who God is, and His actions, than he did talking about his own emotions. So what did David say about the Word?

Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path. Psalm 119:105

God's word had both short term and long term effects on David. His word was a lamp to his feet. David could see where he was standing at the present time. He could tell if there were spiritual snakes or bugs crawling around his feet, or if he was stepping into a trap. Would his next step be in mud, or on solid ground? The word gave him that answer.

And the word was also a light to his path. I didn't think a lot about that until recently. When you and I walk around at night, we are used to having street lights, a car light, or at least a flashlight available. But David didn't have those things. There were nights when David watched the sheep, and the sky was dark and overcast. David could barely see his own hands in front of his face. And then he'd hear the growl of a lion or a bear, and perhaps the nervous baa-ing of the sheep. And he could see nothing. He couldn't run to the sound, he could only carefully pick his way. Perhaps he'd find a dead sheep, perhaps a wounded one, perhaps nothing. Oh for a light!!

And God's word is a light. God's word shines ahead on our path, telling us what we can expect in the future, and the possible pitfalls and rewards along the way. It also shines on our path backwards, telling us where we've been.

To be totally honest, I don't really like the first few chapters of the book of Romans. Basically, they tell me that there are a lot of wicked people around. And that I'm one of them. Paul could have left out the last part.

But the word reveals that to me. It tells me where I've been.

The word reveals a lot more than that. Here are a few qualities and actions of the word from Psalms:

Qualities of the Word

Actions of the Word

Attitude/Actions toward the Word

It Is Tried (18:30)

Created the Heavens (33:6)

Delight (1:2; 119:70,77, 92, 174)

Upright (33:4)

Heals (107:20)

Praise the Word (56:4,10)

Holy (105:42)

Keeps Pure (119:9)

Trust (119:42)

Settled (119:81)

Revives (119:25,50,107)

Obedience (119:67)

Lamp and a Light (119:81)

Strengthens (119:28)

Treasure it (119:11)

Righteous (119:123,172)

Produces Reverence for God (119:38)

Wait for It (119:74,81,114)

Pure (119:140)

Promises Grace(119:58)

Longing (119:82,123)

True (119:142, 160)

Promises Lovingkindness (119:76)

Love (119:97, 113, 140, 163)

All Eternal (119:160)

Promises His Sustaining (119:116)

Meditation (1:2;119:97, 148)

Sweeter than honey (19:10;119:103)

Gives Understanding (119:169)

Rejoicing as One Who Finds Great Spoil (119:162)

Perfect (19:7)

Delivers (119:170)

Hope (130:5)

Has wonderful things in it (119:18)

Warn (19:11)

More Desireable than Gold (19:10)

Better than thousands of Gold and Silver pieces (119:72)

Reward if Obeyed (19:11)

Remembered it (119:61, 109, 153)

Peace (119:165)

Restores the soul (19:7)

 

 

Makes the simple wise (19:7)

 

It amazes me that David mentions that the law is his delight, and that he loves it. The reason that is amazing is this. At least five times, David says that he delights in the law of the Lord. At least four times, he says that he loves it.

Do you know how many times David says that he loves God in the book of Psalms?

"I love You, O Lord, my strength."

Psalm 18:1

That's it. Only once in the book of Psalms does David (or any of the other writers) say to God, 'I love You...' Yet he says, 'I love His word' four times, and 'I delight in His word' five times. Again, this reminds us that we can't be real worshipers unless we live and love the word. But also, we need to be singing, praying, and thinking that. 'This book is incredible. It revives and strengthens and gives grace, and is true and eternal and...' should be our constant stream of thought regarding the Word.

Summary

So we've discussed the foundation of worship in the book of Psalms; God. Who He is, His actions (past, present and future) and His word. All of worship is built on these. If we sing a thousand songs of adoration to Him, telling Him of our great love and devotion, we've probably missed the boat. We've got to build our house on the foundation.

And He is the rock, (Psalm 18:1) the sure foundation.

Table Of Contents

Email: Ron Bremner

References:

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, Copyright 1960,1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

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