Great is the Lord… in Real Life
September 17, 2026 | by: Dale Thiele | 0 Comments
Posted in: Pastoral Encouragement
Last week I shared some reflections on Psalm 145. It is a beautiful testimony to David’s passion to praise God for who He is and what He has done. Verse 3 stands out: “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.” And then in verse 4, David exclaims, “One generation shall commend your works to another.” I concluded my reflection on this psalm by saying, I want my life dedicated to the worship of the Lord. I want the whole faith community to join in with me to worship the Lord. I want the next generation to grow up knowing the wondrous works of God.
This week I want to look at this from a practical viewpoint. What does this look like in real life? If I am to “greatly praise…every day,” what do I do? How can or should one generation commend the works of God to another? Let me highlight several ways what the “Psalm 145 life” looks like.
- As an individual. The Psalm 145 life must start on the individual level. David says, “Every day I will bless you” (v. 2). This is a daily orientation of the heart and mind to center on God and his goodness. This takes discipline: intentional, habitual, diligent activity. Psalm 19 is a window into David’s daily habits. He viewed creation as a window on God’s glory and majesty (v. 1-6). This means his mind was trained to not see things only as they are physically, but as they point to the magnificent Creator. Then we hear his devotion to God’s Word in verses 7-11. Millenia before the printing press and personal hand-held computers, David’s access to a copy of God’s Word was limited. To meditate on the Word “day and night” (Ps. 1:2), David had to memorize Scripture. Then David highlights his prayer life in Psalm 19:12-14. He pleads the Lord’s help in keeping his heart pure and devoted to God. Without these disciplines that train the heart and mind to live Godward, one cannot develop the Psalm 145 life. You will not know the greatness of God. You will not be inclined to praise him every day. You will not be compelled to speak of his goodness to others. The Psalm 145 life doesn’t happen by accident.
- As connected with others. The Psalm 145 life is a community life, not an individualistic life. Yes, it starts on the individual level, but we are never to remain isolated. David speaks about this interaction in verses 4-7. As we are filled up in our personal disciplines, there is an overflow in our interactions with others. It starts in the family if you are married or have children. Deuteronomy 6:6-7 highlights this overflow from a filled-up heart. “And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” So families should have both spontaneous and scheduled times to “commend the works of God to one another.” This applies also to our relationships with other believers. Hebrews 3:13 says, “Exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today.’” The exhortation is a word of gospel encouragement. The Psalm 145 life only develops when we are in community, connecting on a regular basis, with other believers.
- As a church. David speaks of the formal gathering of God’s people in Psalm 145:10-11. “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.” In a nutshell, this is the mission of the church. Bless the Lord and speak of his glory. Or, as we like to say at Oak Hills, long to know and make known the astonishing grace of God. This is an outward facing mission, to declare the goodness of God beyond the community of saints. The Psalm 145 life develops within the church community, as the church faithfully does what the church is called to do. We don’t make known to the children of man the mighty deeds of God (v. 12), the greatest of which is the atoning sacrifice of Christ, unless the church is committed to proclaiming the truth of God and Christ from Scripture.
- As a church in context. I add this last observation because it pushes us to think of how the church operates in a specific location in order to fulfill her mission. In July 2024 I preached in two different churches in Ethiopia and then one church in Romania. Each church was different from the others and different from Oak Hills, and yet they were the same in a desire to speak of God’s glory. The context of each church shapes those differences. In each church I had a translator because the congregation did not understand English. But even in Ethiopia, the two churches had two different languages. The buildings were different. One church in Ethiopia was what we would call a church plant, a newly started church. Their meeting place was constructed of wood poles, bed sheets, and tarps. The other church in Ethiopia was constructed of cement blocks and a metal roof. The church in Romania was a beautiful sanctuary that survived the communist rule. The different styles of building reflect the maturity of the congregation and the community in which they minister. The church plant in Ethiopia had desires and plans to build a more permanent, established structure in their neighborhood.
The church’s building is part of the means for the church to fulfill her mission in the context where she is. In Ethiopia, a concrete block building served the church well in ministering in their neighborhood. In Romania, a more developed Western nation, a sanctuary with more beauty served their mission to speak of God’s glory in the city of Cluj. What about Oak Hills in Johnson County? We aim to minister to people in all walks of life: children, young people, singles, newly married, young families, older families, empty nesters, and those in their golden years. And we want a building that reflects the glory and majesty of God in our context. These considerations have been part of our conversations as we evaluate our current building and its effectiveness for carrying on the mission of Oak Hills. We have come to believe that in our context of Johnson County, and taking into consideration the needs for ministering effectively to people in all walks of life, we need a new building that is better suited for that ministry. While the right building doesn’t automatically develop the Psalm 145 life, the right building can aid and further our efforts to develop the Psalm 145 life at Oak Hills in Johnson County.
