Psalm 145: Worship Canceled…?

• Read Psalm 145 from the ESV.
• Read my Psalm 145 poem from A New Song.

The other day I drove past a church with a sign in front of it that read “WORSHIP CANCELED.” Since this was during the virus outbreak, I know what they meant, but it got me thinking about whether worship could actually be canceled. I know a worship service can be canceled; I know church gatherings can be canceled; I know religious observances can be canceled, but I don’t think worship could ever be canceled. We don’t need gatherings, services, or formalized observances to actually worship God; we don’t even need an internet feed, but sometimes I wonder if we think we need all of those things.

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Prayer has often come slowly to me. I’m not a fan of public praying because a part of me feels like it’s a performance, the other part of me realizes that I quickly fall into a formula and my prayer seems to lose all depth and meaning. I grew up hearing about the A.C.T.S. formula for prayer – Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication – but being the non-conformist that I am, I’ve bristled against it whenever I’ve heard it used. But the past few weeks I’ve been thinking about the Lord’s Prayer and I’m realizing there is much more depth in his prayer than I’ve realized. I suppose when Jesus, the son of God, tells us how to pray, we should probably pay attention to what he says.

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As I sat down to write about Psalm 145, I realized that Psalm 145 had so much depth that we could take weeks dissecting it and still be nowhere near fully understanding it. Psalm 145 is the last acrostic psalm in The Psalms and is primarily a praise psalm. David, the author of Psalm 145, commands us to speak of God’s great works to the next generation and he declares that every work will praise God. David declares that God is gracious, merciful, and abides in steadfast love. God upholds us, strengthens us, raises us up, provides for us. He fulfills our desires, hears our cries, preserves us, and destroys the wicked. Most of Psalm 145 seems to be about worship.

(But a quick note about the wicked…they only mentioned once in Psalm 145, and their mention seems like a footnote at the end of the psalm. It’s as if David says, “Oh, by the way, remember those wicked people I wrote about in Psalm 1 – the ones I said were like chaff which the wind drives away – well, God destroys them. Just thought you’d want to know.” The evil ones are a footnote in Psalm 145, but don’t they seem so important in this present world? Don’t they keep our minds occupied? But in the big picture they are really nothing to be concerned about.)

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When I was looking over Psalm 145 I saw something I found very interesting: there are remarkable similarities between Psalm 145 and The Lord’s Prayer. Instead of trying to explain it to you, I’m going to post them both below. In bold you will find the words of The Lord’s Prayer (I’ve combined the prayers as found in Matthew 6 and Luke 11) and in italics, you will find the words of Psalm 145. I’ve arranged them so you can read a portion of The Lord’s Prayer and then what I think is the corresponding portion of Psalm 145. [Take note how much of Psalm 145, and thus The Lord’s Prayer, is taken up in worship.]

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
 A Song of Praise. Of David.
 I will extol you, my God and King, 
     and bless your name forever and ever. 
 Every day I will bless you 
     and praise your name forever and ever. 
 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, 
     and his greatness is unsearchable. 

Your kingdom come, may your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
 One generation shall commend your works to another, 
     and shall declare your mighty acts. 
 On the glorious splendor of your majesty, 
     and on your wondrous works, I will meditate. 
 They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds, 
     and I will declare your greatness. 
 They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness 
     and shall sing aloud of your righteousness. 
 The LORD is gracious and merciful, 
     slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 
 The LORD is good to all, 
     and his mercy is over all that he has made. 
 All your works shall give thanks to you, O LORD, 
     and all your saints shall bless you! 
 They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom 
     and tell of your power, 
     to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds, 
     and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. 
 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, 
     and your dominion endures throughout all generations.

Give us each this day our daily bread.
 The LORD is faithful in all his words 
     and kind in all his works.
 The LORD upholds all who are falling 
     and raises up all who are bowed down. 
 The eyes of all look to you, 
     and you give them their food in due season. 
 You open your hand; 
     you satisfy the desire of every living thing. 
 The LORD is righteous in all his ways 
     and kind in all his works.

And forgive us our debts and sins, as we ourselves also have forgiven our debtors and everyone who is indebted to us.
 The LORD is near to all who call on him, 
     to all who call on him in truth. 
 He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; 
     he also hears their cry and saves them.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil and the evil one.
 The LORD preserves all who love him, 
     but all the wicked he will destroy.

For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
 My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD, 
     and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.

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I’ve tried to write a conclusion a number of times but all I can think to write is that worship is never confined to a service, a gathering, or a social observance. Worship is when we respond to God’s greatness and his glory. You don’t have to wait for the next church service to occur before you can worship God, you can worship him where you are right now, and I think The Lord’s Prayer and Psalm 145 provide a wonderful guide for worship.