Personal Praise

I will exalt you, my God the King;

I will praise your name for ever and ever.

Psalm 145:1

David begins his song by saying, “I will exalt you my God.” For David praise is personal and possessive. Literally, David uses the possessive pronoun “my” to refer to God. He says "He’s my God." God was a treasured possession to David and He ought to be a treasured possession for you as well.

This is a helpful reminder that God isn’t just the God of the universe. He isn’t just the Creator God that lives far off in the heavens somewhere. No, if you choose to follow Him, if you call yourself a Christian, then God, in Christ Jesus, is your personal God. David calls Him, "my God" and you would do well to do the same.

Next David calls God the King. He says, “I will exalt you, my God the King.” The great preacher Charles Spurgeon comments on this verse saying, “David as God’s king adores God as his king.”*  This is the king of Israel, the greatest king in Israel’s history up to this point, willingly acknowledging that there is a greater king whom he must obey.

No matter how high you climb in life, no matter how much authority you wield, there is always someone greater, God, the King of Kings, before whom you must bow. We live in a time in which the church thinks about God and relates to God predominantly as a friend. And it is true that in Jesus God has drawn near to believers and become our friend, but it’s also true that He is still the great king. He is not to be dismissed or disrespected. He is to be obeyed! God must be “the King” in your life.

In just eight words David has established that God is his personal God (He is beloved and treasured and to be worshipped) and that God is his King (He is his authority who is to be obeyed). And now in light of these truths He promises to priase God's name forever and ever. Let us do the same!

*Spurgeon, Charles Haddon. The Treasury of David: Volume 3. (Hendrickson Publishers) p375.