Psalms 145
ConstablePsalms 145:1-2
David resolved to praise the Lord daily and forever. The reasons follow.
“When one has come to the point of knowing the Lord in a personal way, the desire to sing His praise and sing it often becomes very strong.” [Note: Leupold, p. 975. Observant Jews used to repeat this psalm three times a day: twice in the morning and once in the evening. [Note: Ibid.]
Psalms 145:3-7
David said parents would declare God’s great acts to their children. He himself would meditate on the Lord’s majesty and His wonderful works. People would retell His awesome deeds and would praise the Lord for His greatness, goodness, and righteousness.
“The text calls for a sacred fluency, and I would exhort you liberally to exercise it when you are speaking on the goodness of God.” [Note: C. H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, 2:316.
Psalms 145:8-9
These verses are a classic expression of praise for God’s character. David moved from considering the greatness of God’s acts to reflecting on His motivating attitudes.The same statement in Hebrew occurs in six other places in the Old Testament (Exodus 34:6; Nehemiah 9:17; Psalms 86:15; Psalms 103:8; Joe 2:13; Jonah 4:2). God’s grace is His favor and divine enablement that He gives to those who do not deserve it. His mercy is the forbearance He demonstrates to those who deserve His wrath. He is patient with those who arouse His anger with their sinning. His loyal love is amazingly strong and long-lasting. He is good to everyone, even sending rain and many other blessings on the unjust as well as the just.
Psalms 145:10
Moreover, He exercises His powerful works under the constraints of His mercy. Because of these things, all of God’s works and people will praise Him.
Psalms 145:11-13
God’s faithful and consistent control of all things, from one generation to the next, call for praise of His eternal reign. He rules over all with power and glory. People speak of the great King and His kingdom because of all His wondrous acts. The universal rule of God is in view here rather than the Davidic kingdom.
Psalms 145:13-16
The NASB translators did not translate the last portion of Psa 145:13. It reads, “The LORD is faithful to all His promises and loving toward all He has made” (NIV). The Septuagint translators supplied this verse to fill out the acrostic, the line beginning with the Hebrew letter nun being absent in the Hebrew text.
God consistently sustains the fallen, uplifts the oppressed, and provides for all. Therefore, every person looks to God for His provision of his or her needs. Since God’s dominion is everlasting, He cares for His creatures faithfully and lovingly all the time.
Psalms 145:17-21
- God’s responsiveness to prayer 145:17-21 Everything the Lord does is right. Kindness also marks all His deeds. He is attentive to those who pray to Him sincerely. He will grant the petitions of believers and will deliver them in times of need. He will protect those who love Him, but will destroy those who do not. For these reasons, David said he would praise Yahweh, and all people will bless Him forever.
This psalm is a great catalogue of reasons to praise God. Like the other acrostic psalms, it is a model for us to use in recalling many of the things about God for which we should praise Him.