Great Is the Lord, and Greatly to Be Praised

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1. Observe

   What attributes of God appear in vv. 8-9 and 17?

   • Only justice
   • Gracious, merciful, slow to anger, of great loving kindness, good to all, tender mercies over all his works (v. 8-9); righteous in all his ways, loving in all his works (v. 17)
   • Only wrath
   • Only sovereignty

2. Observe

   What activities does the psalm describe as responses?

   • Silence
   • Generations commending works to another, declaring mighty acts, meditating on majesty, speaking of awesome acts, uttering memory of goodness, singing of righteousness, giving thanks, extolling, speaking of kingdom and power, all flesh blessing his holy name
   • Mere internal feeling
   • None

3. Interpret

   What does intergenerational praise-handoff look like?

   • Mere repetition
   • Each generation maintaining the praise tradition independently
   • Active commendation — the older generation deliberately telling, modeling, and explaining God's works to the younger, so that the younger's praise is informed and personal, not generic; this requires older believers willing to speak specifically of God's acts in their lives, and younger believers willing to listen and receive the tradition while making it personally their own; the handoff is relational and intentional, not automatic
   • Generations should be isolated

4. Interpret

   What are the implications of God's universal benevolence?

   • That salvation is universal
   • That divine character is selective
   • That God's goodness extends to all creation, not just to his elect — the sun shines on the just and unjust, rain falls on the righteous and wicked (Matt 5:45); this challenges narrow views of divine favor that limit God's care to one group; it grounds general grace and creation-care; it also distinguishes between God's general benevolence to all and his specific covenant love to his people, without diminishing either
   • Universal benevolence is false

5. Apply

   What does calling on God "in truth" mean?

   • Calling formally
   • Religious rote
   • Praying with honest content — actually meaning what one says, bringing the heart's real concerns rather than performing piety, addressing the actual God who exists rather than a mental projection of him, not hiding behind religious vocabulary; this is the opposite of formula prayer that bypasses the heart; truthful calling might require slower prayer, honesty about feelings, willingness to admit doubts, and refusal to pretend
   • Speaking only Scripture

6. Apply

   What practice helps daily praise as discipline?

   • Daily praise is impossible
   • Praise should only be spontaneous
   • Practices like a fixed morning routine of opening Scripture and prayer, a specific gratitude practice (naming three things at meals), an evening review of God's faithfulness in the day, memorization of praise psalms (like 145) for recitation, singing a hymn while doing routine tasks, or end-of-day prayer that closes the day in God's name; the goal is to make praise a structural part of the day rather than dependent on mood
   • Discipline destroys praise

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