World Wide Praise
Pastor Don Carpenter
Praise Eruption / Psalm 138:4–5
A little five-year-old girl had been attending the church kindergarten. Each day before the children were dismissed, the teacher had them sing the Doxology, which the little five-year-old loved to sing, but in her own words. “Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him all creatures, here we go!”
—Christian Parent
1 Tan, P. L. (1996). Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times (p. 244). Bible Communications, Inc
It is good to teach the children to praise, even if they do not fully understand. Bible believers are faced with skepticism and opposition on every side. The Biblical response is to PTLA! Praise the Lord Anyway! God manifests His presence in praise!
God reaches the world as His people open up and passionately praise Him!
Welcome to the third message in our series through Psalm 138 entitled “Praise Eruption!” So far we have seen David’s response to the doubt, paganism, and idolatry of his day first by making a bold declaration of intent to praise. This praise would be so clear and passionate as to serve notice to all the false gods who the real God really is.
Psalm 138:1–2 KJV
I will praise thee with my whole heart: Before the gods will I sing praise unto thee.
I will worship toward thy holy temple, And praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: For thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.
David’s next response was to recount his experience during the Evil Day. He cried out to God, God answered, and God strengthened his very soul.
Psalm 138:3 KJV
In the day when I cried thou answeredst me, And strengthenedst me with strength in my soul.
This morning we will discover that in the next layer of David’s praise eruption, the sweet psalmist told of a time, yet in the future, when the world’s leadership would someday praise God along with the rest of the believers. Think of that my friends. As the Gospel spreads, both the lowly and the affluent are won to the truth. Everyone that encounters faith in Christ bows the knee and the ground is level at the foot of the cross.
All the Kings Will Praise God
Psalm 138:4 (KJV)
All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O LORD, When they hear the words of thy mouth.
Psalm 72:11 KJV
Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: All nations shall serve him.
Psalm 102:15 KJV
So the heathen shall fear the name of the LORD, And all the kings of the earth thy glory.
Albert Barns makes this observation:
All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, etc. That is, kings, princes, and rulers shall learn the words of promise; shall be made acquainted with the words which thou hast graciously spoken, and with their fulfilment, and shall be led to praise thee. This refers to a time, of which frequent prophetic mention is made in the Scriptures, when kings and rulers shall be converted to the true religion, and when they shall act an important part, by their example and influence, in maintaining and diffusing it. Comp. Ps. 68:31, 32; Isa. 49:23.11 Barnes, A. (1870–1872). Notes on the Old Testament: Psalms (Vol. 3, p. 288). Blackie & Son.
The great preacher, Charles Spurgeon, preached these words about this passage:
According to the connection this is spoken of kings. “All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O Lord, when they hear the words of thy mouth. Yea, they shall sing in the ways of the Lord.” It will be a novel spectacle to see kings singing in the ways of the Lord. As a rule they have not much troubled themselves therewith, but they have often troubled those who love the ways of God, and opposed them, both by their laws and by their example. There will be another order of things in the earth yet. These days will be shortened for the elect’s sake, and the time shall come when kings shall fall down before the King of kings, and all people shall call Jesus blessed. Oh that the time may speedily arrive when a choir of kings shall with loud voice magnify the name of the Lord.11 Spurgeon, C. H. (1881). Singing in the Ways of the Lord. In The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Sermons (Vol. 27, p. 473). Passmore & Alabaster.
The Kings Will Praise In Response to Hearing God’s Word
Psalm 138:4 (KJV)
All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O LORD, When they hear the words of thy mouth.
37 The power of the word is not in people’s ability to summarize the message they’ve heard. Rather it is the power of God’s word piercing the soul.
R. C. Sproul
Saved from What? (2002)
Malachi 1:11 KJV
For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same My name shall be great among the Gentiles; And in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: For my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts.
Pastor John Phillips said this in his commentary about this verse:
The kings of the earth will hear the words of His mouth, as David says. They will say, “Never man spake like this man.” They will come, like the queen of Sheba, from the ends of the earth to see Him, to listen to Him. Each will return saying, “Behold, the half was never told me.”11 Phillips, J. (2012). Exploring Psalms 89–150: An Expository Commentary (Vol. 2, Ps 138:4–5). Kregel Publications; WORDsearch Corp.
Psalm 102:15–16 KJV
So the heathen shall fear the name of the LORD, And all the kings of the earth thy glory.
When the LORD shall build up Zion, He shall appear in his glory.
The Kings Will Sing In Response to God’s Revealed Glory
Psalm 138:5 KJV
Yea, they shall sing in the ways of the LORD: For great is the glory of the LORD.
God’s glory is and must forever remain the Christian’s true point of departure. Anything that begins anywhere else, whatever it is, is certainly not New Testament Christianity.1
A. W. Tozer
• There is coming a Day when all will turn to THE KING
Isaiah 57:15 KJV
For thus saith the high and lofty One That inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, With him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
This is looking forward to a time when Jesus reigns as King of Kings and the whole world will acknowledge it!
Philippians 2:9–11 KJV
Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
John Phillips masterfully captured the thought of this verse:
And they will sing! When the rulers of the world meet in conference now, they do not open their sessions with song. They neither sing nor pray. There is not much to sing about and most of them do not believe in prayer. The rulers and delegates of the nations meet to discuss the storm clouds that hang, now here, now there, over the world, or to discuss this crisis or that outrage or this famine or that economic woe. What with the hostilities, rivalries, and jealousies of both superpowers and lesser powers, there is not much to sing about (though there is plenty to pray about) when the nations convene in conference. They squabble now. They will sing then.11 Phillips, J. (2012). Exploring Psalms 89–150: An Expository Commentary (Vol. 2, Ps 138:4–5). Kregel Publications; WORDsearch Corp.
• They will respond to the revealed Glory of King Jesus.
For great is the glory of the Lord. Great is his character; great his dignity; great his honour; and all this will be seen to be so when those of most exalted rank thus worship and adore him. The most lofty on earth shall acknowledge that there is one who is more exalted than they are, and their own dignity and splendour shall thus contribute to deepen the impression of the honour and glory of God.11 Barnes, A. (1870–1872). Notes on the Old Testament: Psalms (Vol. 3, p. 289). Blackie & Son.
• By lifting up the name of the Lord in praise, and testimony, even the high and lofty of this world will hear our voices and see the glory of God, and turn to Him in the midst of our praise. Charles Spurgeon preached this admonition over 150 years ago:
Well, dear brethren, that time has not come yet, and therefore let us sing all the more. If the kings have not begun to sing, let us sing. And well we may. We have full permission to do it, for the next verse encourages us—“Though the Lord be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly.” He will be just as pleased with the song of the peasant as with that of the prince, with the psalm of the workman as with that of the monarch. We, too, may come, though obscure and unknown, and we may bring our two mites which make a farthing; and if they are all the praise our soul can give, the Lord will count that we have not given less than kings themselves. Let us make up for royal silence.
11 Spurgeon, C. H. (1881). Singing in the Ways of the Lord. In The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Sermons (Vol. 27, p. 473). Passmore & Alabaster.
Exported from Logos Bible Software, 1:38 PM February 16, 2023.