Psalms 145

The LORD Extolled for His Goodness.

1

A Psalm of Praise, of David.

1 I will ¹extol You, ²my God, O King, And I will ³bless Your name forever and ever.

2 Every day I will bless You, And I will ⁴praise Your name forever and ever.

3 ⁵Great is the LORD, and highly to be praised, And His ⁶greatness is unsearchable *.

4 One ⁷generation shall praise Your works to another, And shall declare Your mighty acts.

5 On the ⁸glorious splendor of Your majesty And ⁹on Your wonderful works, I will meditate.

6 Men shall speak of the power of Your ¹⁰awesome acts, And I will ¹¹tell of Your greatness.

7 They shall eagerly utter the memory of Your ¹²abundant goodness And will ¹³shout joyfully of Your righteousness.

8 The LORD is ¹⁴gracious and merciful; Slow to anger and great in lovingkindness.

9 The LORD is ¹⁵good to all, And His ¹⁶mercies are over all His works.

10 ¹⁷All Your works shall give thanks to You, O LORD, And Your ¹⁸godly ones shall bless You.

11 They shall speak of the ¹⁹glory of Your kingdom And talk of Your power;

12 To ²⁰make known to the sons of men Your mighty acts And the ²¹glory of the majesty of Your kingdom.

13 Your kingdom is an ²²everlasting kingdom, And Your dominion endures throughout all generations.

14 The LORD ²³sustains all who fall And ²⁴raises up all who are bowed down.

15 The eyes of all look to You, And You ²⁵give them their food in due time.

16 You ²⁶open Your hand And satisfy the desire of every living thing.

17 The LORD is ²⁷righteous in all His ways And kind in all His deeds.

18 The LORD is ²⁸near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him ²⁹in truth.

19 He will ³⁰fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He will also ³¹hear their cry and will save them.

20 The LORD ³²keeps all who love Him, But all the ³³wicked He will destroy.

21 My ³⁴mouth will speak the praise of the LORD, And ³⁵all flesh will ³⁶bless His holy name forever 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.

Cross References

• 1. Psalms 30:1; Psalms 66:17
• 2. Psalms 5:2
• 3. Psalms 34:1
• 4. Psalms 71:6
• 5. Psalms 48:1; Psalms 86:10; Psalms 147:5
• 6. Job 5:9; Job 9:10; Job 11:7; Isaiah 40:28; Romans 11:33
• 7. Psalms 22:30, 31; Isaiah 38:19
• 8. Psalms 145:12
• 9. Psalms 119:27
• 10. Deuteronomy 10:21; Psalms 66:3; Psalms 106:22
• 11. Deuteronomy 32:3
• 12. Psalms 31:19; Isaiah 63:7
• 13. Psalms 51:14
• 14. Exodus 34:6; Numbers 14:18; Psalms 86:5, 15; Psalms 103:8
• 15. Psalms 100:5; Psalms 136:1; Jeremiah 33:11; Nahum 1:7; Matthew 19:17; Mark 10:18
• 16. Psalms 145:15
• 17. Psalms 19:1; Psalms 103:22
• 18. Psalms 68:26
• 19. Jeremiah 14:21
• 20. Psalms 105:1
• 21. Psalms 145:5; Is 2:10, 19, 21
• 22. Psalms 10:16; Psalms 29:10; 1 Timothy 1:17; 2 Peter 1:11
• 23. Psalms 37:24
• 24. Psalms 146:8
• 25. Psalms 104:27; Psalms 136:25
• 26. Psalms 104:28
• 27. Psalms 116:5
• 28. Deuteronomy 4:7; Psalms 34:18; Psalms 119:151
• 29. John 4:24
• 30. Psalms 21:2; Psalms 37:4
• 31. Psalms 10:17; Proverbs 15:29; 1 John 5:14
• 32. Psalms 31:23; Psalms 91:14; Psalms 97:10
• 33. Psalms 9:5; Psalms 37:38
• 34. Psalms 71:8
• 35. Psalms 65:2; Psalms 150:6
• 36. Psalms 145:1, 2

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "majesty of Your splendor"
• [b]. Or "strength"
• [c]. Or "bubble over with"
• [d]. Lit "His"
• [e]. Lit "His"
• [f]. Lit "a kingdom of all ages"
• [g]. Lit "wait;" or "hope for"

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.