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Honor God
“Show favor to Yahweh, call in His name!
Make known to the peoples His deeds!”
(Psalm 105:1)
Psalm 105 is a psalm of praise to God for all He has done. In the Greek translation of the Old Testament, it is what is called an “Alleluia Psalm” and is clearly the basis for the festival hymn found in 1 Chronicles 16, which joins this psalm along with Psalm 96, which dates this psalm back to the Davidic reign. Often, people ask me, “Why not sing some of the other songs found in the Bible?” Yet, given that these other songs have commonly either been drawn from a psalm or are the basis for a psalm, why bother when the psalms serve the same purpose?
This is one of nine psalms (9,75,105,106,107,111,118,136,138) that begins with the word ידה (yadah), which, in the Hiphil stem, means to show favor or honor to someone (typically to God). Thus, this is a psalm of praise to be sung by the people to show their love and honor to God. And, what is the content of this psalm? The mighty works of God. In other words, one of the ways in which we show honor to God is by honoring His works, praising Him for his good providence, and worshipping Him for His faithfulness to His covenant.
But, you will notice something. It is not just that the people of God are to praise God for His works. The people of God are to call out to the peoples of the earth — to the pagan nations — and call upon them to praise God for His works. Even though the wicked, the reprobate, those dammed to eternal destruction, have no hope of grace, it is good and proper for them to give God honor for His faithfulness to us — to His people. This is a theme that we find throughout the psalms (Psalm 117 is a good example), but it is also something that should shake our practice in life.
Thus, the Christian can say to the idolater, “You should honor my God. My God has been faithful throughout the generations and your god can do nothing. So, repent and believe, but also praise Him. And praise Him even if you never repent and believe!” It is a gutsy way of speaking in our modern culture, but we basically are saying that the one we worship has been faithful to us; has the one you worship been faithful to you? In the end, false gods will always leave you wanting and lost. The God of creation will deliver His elect. The rest, He leaves to their own condemnation. He leaves them under His own wrath to demonstrate His power (Romans 9:22-23).
So, give God glory and honor by telling those you meet of the great and faithful deeds of our God.
Praying for the Peoples
“On behalf of this I bend my knees before my Father, from whom every family in heaven and on the earth is named,”
(Ephesians 3:14-15)
What is the “this” of which Paul is speaking? In context, Paul is referring to the trials and tribulations that the people of Ephesus (and by extension, the whole church) are facing and by which they will be refined in their faith. For it is God who has named every family or people — the Greek term here is πατριά (patria), meaning any body of people that can be connected by birth or lineage to a given line: families, peoples, nations, etc… Those in heaven (the elect who have died and entered glory) have been so named by God. Those remaining on earth (the elect who are the church militant along with those elect in whom God has yet to work to give them rebirth) also have been named by God. We have been so chosen and named by our Father in heaven because we are not our own, but belong to Him.
It should be noted that Paul is using a little wordplay here to reinforce his point. Paul bows his knees before his Father — πατἠρ (pater) — on behalf of the families — πατριά (patria) — of the heavens and earth. In a sense, he is saying, “I bow my knees to the Father on behalf of those who descend from fathers.” And, of course, the operable question with which we are left is whether we follow the Apostle’s model. Do you pray for the peoples? Do you pray for the lost? Do you pray for the church? Do you pray for your pastor? If not, you ought. You must.
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