Psalms 145

This noble doxology worthily heads the series of Psalms of praise with which the “Book of Praises” ends. “Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever and ever,” is the thought which it expands. It is addressed to Israel’s God as the supreme King, whose kingdom is universal and eternal; it celebrates His majesty, greatness, and goodness; His providential care for all His creation; His constant love towards those who love and fear Him. Its most striking feature is its universalism. If Israel begins the chorus of praise (Psalms 145:1) it will not be content until all mankind join in it (Psalms 145:21). Jehovah’s goodness embraces all His creation; and the whole of creation responds with its hymn of praise. The speaker is Israel; or at any rate the Psalmist so completely identifies himself with the whole nation as to lose sight of the limitations of his own individual personality. The unceasing praise contemplated in Psalms 145:1-4 is that of the nation, in which as one generation passes away, another takes up the strain to hand it on in turn to its successor. The Psalms of this group (145–150) were evidently composed for liturgical use. They are connected by many similarities of thought and language, and probably belong to the same period. The Maccabaean age, to which Psalms 149 has very commonly been referred, is excluded by the fact that, according to the newly-discovered Hebrew text of Ecclesiasticus (see p. 776), Psalms 147, 148 were known to the author, and must at the latest be older than b.c. 180. The clearest indications of date seem to be furnished by Psalms 147, which may have been written for the Dedication of the walls of Jerusalem under Nehemiah; and allusions in Psalms 146 may also be explained from the circumstances of that period. To this date then the whole group may best be referred. The times of Simon ben Johanan described in Sirach 50 might also be suggested as a possible date, whether Simon I (b.c. 310–291) or Simon II (b.c. 219–199) is meant; but our knowledge of that period is extremely scanty. For details see the introduction to each Psalm. This is the only Psalm which bears the title Tehillâh, ‘a Praise,’ from which the Hebrew title of the whole Psalter Tehillîm, ‘Praises’ is derived. It is alphabetic in form, each verse of two lines beginning with a letter of the alphabet in regular order (see Introd. p. lxiv). The verse beginning with Nûn is wanting between Psalms 145:13-14. It may have been omitted by the poet for some special reason, but hardly for that which the Talmud (Berachoth 4 b) assigns, viz. that the ill-omened words of Amo 5:2, “Fallen is the daughter of Israel,” begin with Nûn. More probably it was accidentally lost. A Nûn verse is found in the LXX, but its genuineness is disputed. See notes on Psalms 145:13. This Psalm has naturally been largely used for liturgical purposes. It is recited twice in the Daily Morning Service and once in the Evening Service of the synagogue. It is said in the Talmud (Berachoth 4 b) that “Whoever repeats it three times a day may be sure that he is a child of the world to come.” It was the Psalm at the midday meal in the ancient Church, and Psalms 145:15-16 form part of the grace which has been used in colleges for centuries. St Chrysostom speaks of the use of it in the Eucharistic service, especially on account of Psa 145:15 (Bingham, Antiq. Xv. Psalms 145:10). It is one of the Proper Psalms for Whitsunday; and it is especially appropriate for that festival, as celebrating the universality and eternity of the kingdom of God.

Psalms 145:1-2

1, 2. Cp. Psalms 30:1; Psalms 34:1; Psalms 34:3; and generally the doxology in 1 Chronicles 29:10 ff.

Psalms 145:3

3. There can be no worthier object of praise than Jehovah. The verse re-echoes Psalms 48:1 a; Psalms 96:4 a; Job 11:7 ff.; Isaiah 40:28. greatly to be praised] Better, exceeding worthy to be praised. In most editions of the Prayer Book this verse reads Great is the Lord, and marvellous, worthy to be praised. The comma after marvellous does not appear in the MS annexed as the authoritative copy to the Act of Uniformity of 1662, but was wrongly introduced into the earliest printed copies by the printers, who failed to see that marvellous was an adverb, as in Psalms 31:23.

Psalms 145:4

4. shall praise] R.V. shall laud, as the word is a different one from that in Psalms 145:2. The verbs might be rendered as optatives: let one generation laud … and declare &c., but the rendering of the A.V. is preferable. thy mighty acts] of deliverance, Psalms 20:6; Psalms 106:2.

Psalms 145:5

5. The glorious splendour of thy majesty And all thy marvellous works shall be my theme. Splendour, glory, majesty, are the attributes of God as King. Cp. Psalms 145:12; Psalms 21:5; Psalms 104:1; Psalms 96:6. For the word rendered shall be my theme, lit. I will busy myself with, discourse concerning, see note on Psalms 105:2. thy wondrous works] The Heb. text reads the matters or details (γִּ ?αְ ?ψֵ ?ι) of My marvellous works (cp. Psalms 65:3; Psalms 105:27); but the LXX represents a verb (ιְ ?γַ ?αֵּ ?ψεּ), so that the verse would run, Of the glorious splendour of thy majesty do men talk, and of all thy marvellous works will I discourse. This reading improves the rhythm, and makes the structure of the verse correspond exactly to that of Psa 145:6. The further alteration of the first person in Psalms 145:5 b, 6 b to the third in the LXX they will discourse … they will declare is unnecessary. Worship in P.B.V. = honour. Cf. Luke 14:10.

Psalms 145:6

6. Jehovah, Who is “the great, mighty, and terrible God” (Deuteronomy 10:17), manifests Himself not only in ‘mighty acts’ of deliverance (Psalms 145:4), but in ‘terrible acts’ of judgement, which inspire His enemies with terror, and His people with reverence. Cp. Psalms 65:5. Might is a different word from that in Psalms 145:4; Psalms 145:12, and may be rendered strength, to bring out the connexion of the two words with the epithets strong and mighty in Psalms 24:8. thy greatness] So the Q’rç, as in Psalms 145:3. But the K’thibh, ‘great deeds,’ suits the parallelism better. Cp. 1 Chronicles 17:19; 1 Chronicles 17:11 (R.V.).

Psalms 145:7

7. They shall abundantly utter] Lit. pour forth as a perpetual stream of praise, as in Psalms 119:171. thy great goodness] Cp. Psalms 31:19; Isaiah 63:7. shall joyfully sing of thy righteousness] i.e. God’s faithfulness to His revealed character. Cp. Psalms 143:1, note; Psalms 51:14.

Psalms 145:8

8. Taken almost verbatim from Exodus 34:6, Jehovah’s great revelation of Himself as a God of condescending grace and infinite compassion, Whose Will is love, and Whose wrath is only manifested in the last resort against the hardened and impenitent. Cp. Psalms 103:8; Psalms 86:15; Joe 2:13; Jonah 4:2; Nehemiah 9:17; Nehemiah 9:31. of great mercy] Lit. great in lovingkindness.

Psalms 145:9

9. Jehovah is good to all] Not merely, as P.B.V., unto every man, but as the parallelism of the next line shews, to all creation. tender mercies] Compassions.

Psalms 145:10

10. All thy works shall give thanks unto thee] Responding to Jehovah’s goodness and compassion. The works of creation are meant, which bear witness to the sovereignty of their Creator by their obedience to His laws, to His goodness by their manifold beauty, to His greatness by their immeasurable vastness and infinite variety. thy saints] Thy beloved, or, thy godly ones; those who are the objects of Thy lovingkindness, or who reflect Thy character in their own. See Appendix, Note I.

Psalms 145:11

11. thy power] Thy might, as in Psalms 145:4; Psalms 145:12.

Psalms 145:12

12. his mighty acts] Somewhat awkwardly, to our ideas, the Psalmist passes from the second person to the third. The LXX removes the difficulty by reading the second person; hence, through the Vulg., the P.B.V. “that thy power, thy glory, and mightiness of thy kingdom might be known unto men.”

Psalms 145:13

13. This verse is found also, in Aramaic, in Daniel 4:3, cp. 34 (Aram. Dan. 3:33, Daniel 4:31). an everlasting kingdom] Lit. a kingdom of all the ages, past alike and future. With the LXX βασιλείαπάντωντῶναἰωνων, cp. 1 Timothy 1:17 τῷβασιλεῖτῶναἰώνων, ‘unto the king of the ages.’ See also Psalms 10:16; Psalms 29:10; Exodus 15:18; Jeremiah 10:10. throughout all generations] In (or over) generation and generation, each successive generation. The verse beginning with Nϋn, which is missing in the Hebrew text, is thus supplied in the LXX and Versions dependent on it, and in the Syr.; Faithful Is the Lord in [all] his words, And holy in all his works[86]. [86] πιστὸςΚύριοςἐν [πᾶσιν, ΰc.a RT] τοῖςλόγοιςαὐτοῦ, καὶὅσιοςἐνπᾶσιτοῖςἔργοιςαὐτοῦ. The Heb. found in the lower margin of one late Heb. MS πֶ ?ΰֱ ?ξָ ?οιְ ?δֹ ?εָ ?δαְּ ?λָ ?μΞγְּ ?αָ ?εָ ?ιεεְ ?ηָ ?ρִ ?ιγαְּ ?μΞξַ ?ςֲ ?ωָׂ ?ιε is probably only a re-translation from the LXX.If this verse is genuine, it must have been lost at an early date, for it is not found in any of the later versions[87]. Against its genuineness it is argued that the first line is suggested by the occurrence of the word for ‘faithful’ (nĕ ?’emβn) in the same position in Psalms 111:7 b, and by the language of Deu 7:9, and that the second line is simply taken from Psalms 145:17. It may however be genuine. It is not likely that the Nϋn verse was originally omitted: it was not necessary for the LXX to supply it: and the Psalm contains many imitations and is not free from repetitions. [87] The verse is given in Lagarde’s ed. of Jerome’s Version; but it is not found in some good MSS and is obelised in others, and is probably an interpolation from the Vulg. with which it agrees exactly.

Psalms 145:14

14. all that fall] Or, all that are falling. But cp. Psalms 37:17; Psalms 37:24. raiseth up] An Aramaic word, found in the Heb. of the O.T. only here and in Psalms 146:8.

Psalms 145:15

15. The picture of God as the great householder distributing their portions to all His household is repeated from Psalms 104:27. Cp. Matthew 6:26. The next verse also is based upon Psalms 104:28.

Psalms 145:16

16. satisfiest the desire of every living thing] This rendering probably gives the right sense. Cp. Psalms 104:28, on which it is based, “thou openest thine hand, they are satisfied with good.” Cp. Psalms 145:19. The word rendered desire may however mean the good will, favour of God (Psalms 106:4): hence R.V. marg., satisfiest every living thing with favour.

Psalms 145:17

17. righteous] True to His character. Cp. Psalms 145:7. holy] So the LXX, ὅσιος, which is used of God in the N.T. in Revelation 15:4; Revelation 16:5. But the word chβsξd as applied to God (here and in Jeremiah 3:12 only) means full of lovingkindness, loving. See App., Note I.

Psalms 145:18

18. nigh unto all them that call upon him] To answer and help. Cp. Deuteronomy 4:7; Psalms 34:18; Psalms 119:151. in truth] The hypocrite finds no favour with Him. Cp. Isaiah 10:20; John 4:23-24.

Psalms 145:19-20

19, 20. Fear and love are the inseparable elements of true religion. Fear preserves love from degenerating into presumptuous familiarity: love prevents fear from becoming a servile and cringing dread.

Psalms 145:20

20. all the wicked will he destroy] See note on Psalms 143:12. The victory of good must ultimately involve the defeat and destruction of evil.

Psalms 145:21

21. Israel’s own resolution is fixed; but nothing less can satisfy its aspirations than a universal and unending chorus of praise from all mankind, evoked by the revelation of His absolute and perfect holiness.