Psalms 145

1 Let me give glory to you, O God, my King; and blessing to your name for ever and ever.

2 Every day will I give you blessing, praising your name for ever and ever.

3 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; his power may never be searched out.

4 One generation after another will give praise to your great acts, and make clear the operation of your strength.

5 My thoughts will be of the honour and glory of your rule, and of the wonder of your works.

6 Men will be talking of the power and fear of your acts; I will give word of your glory.

7 Their sayings will be full of the memory of all your mercy, and they will make songs of your righteousness.

8 The Lord is full of grace and pity; not quickly angry, but great in mercy.

9 The Lord is good to all men; and his mercies are over all his works.

10 All the works of your hands give praise to you, O Lord; and your saints give you blessing.

11 Their words will be of the glory of your kingdom, and their talk of your strength;

12 So that the sons of men may have knowledge of his acts of power, and of the great glory of his kingdom.

13 Your kingdom is an eternal kingdom, and your rule is through all generations.

14 The Lord is the support of all who are crushed, and the lifter up of all who are bent down.

15 The eyes of all men are waiting for you; and you give them their food in its time.

16 By the opening of your hand, every living thing has its desire in full measure.

17 The Lord is upright in all his ways, and kind in all his works.

18 The Lord is near all those who give honour to his name; even to all who give honour to him with true hearts.

19 To his worshippers, he will give their desire; their cry comes to his ears, and he gives them salvation.

20 The Lord will keep all his worshippers from danger; but he will send destruction on all sinners.

21 My mouth will give praise to the Lord; let all flesh be blessing his holy name for ever and ever.

Psalms 145 Commentary

Chapter 145

David extols the power, goodness, and mercy of the Lord. (1-9) The glory of God's kingdom, and his care of those that love him. (10-21)

Verses 1-9 Those who, under troubles and temptations, abound in fervent prayer, shall in due season abound in grateful praise, which is the true language of holy joy. Especially we should speak of God's wondrous work of redemption, while we declare his greatness. For no deliverance of the Israelites, nor the punishment of sinners, so clearly proclaims the justice of God, as the cross of Christ exhibits it to the enlightened mind. It may be truly said of our Lord Jesus Christ, that his words are words of goodness and grace; his works are works of goodness and grace. He is full of compassion; hence he came into the world to save sinners. When on earth, he showed his compassion both to the bodies and souls of men, by healing the one, and making wise the other. He is of great mercy, a merciful High Priest, through whom God is merciful to sinners.

Verses 10-21 All God's works show forth his praises. He satisfies the desire of every living thing, except the unreasonable children of men, who are satisfied with nothing. He does good to all the children of men; his own people in a special manner. Many children of God, who have been ready to fall into sin, to fall into despair, have tasted his goodness in preventing their falls, or recovering them speedily by his graces and comforts. And with respect to all that are heavy laden under the burden of sin, if they come to Christ by faith, he will ease them, he will raise them. He is very ready to hear and answer the prayers of his people. He is present every where; but in a special way he is nigh to them, as he is not to others. He is in their hearts, and dwells there by faith, and they dwell in him. He is nigh to those that call upon him, to help them in all times of need. He will be nigh to them, that they may have what they ask, and find what they seek, if they call upon him in truth and sincerity. And having taught men to love his name and holy ways, he will save them from the destruction of the wicked. May we then love his name, and walk in his ways, while we desire that all flesh should bless his holy name for ever and ever.

Chapter Summary

David's [Psalm] of praise. This psalm is rendered by Ainsworth "a hymn of David"; and the whole book of Psalms is from hence called "the Book of Hymns"; see Ephesians 5:19; It seems to have been a psalm David took great delight in, and it may be that he often repeated and sung it, as it was made by him with great care and contrivance, in a very curious manner, as well as he was assisted in it by divine inspiration; for it is wrote in an alphabetical order, each verse: beginning with the letter of the alphabet in course, and goes through the whole, excepting one letter; and very probably it was composed in this form that it might be the more easily committed to memory, and retained in it. The Jews have a very high opinion of it; their Rabbins say, that whoever says this psalm thrice every day may be sure of being a child of the world to come. This is mentioned by Arama and Kimchi; and which the latter explains thus, not he that says it any way, but with his mouth, and with his heart, and with his tongue. It seems to have been written by David after the Lord had granted him all his requests put up in the preceding psalms, and had given him rest from all his enemies; and when he turned his prayers into praises; for this psalm is wholly praise from one end to the other; and so are all the five following ones; they begin and end with "hallelujah": nor is there a single petition in them, as I remember; so that it may in some sense be said, "here the prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended." It no doubt, as Cocceius observes, belongs to the Messiah and his kingdom, which is everlasting, Psalm 145:13.