Bible Commentaries
Psalms 145

Verses 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.]

Verses 1-7

1. God’s powerful acts 145:1-7

Verses 1-21

Psalms 145

This acrostic psalm begins a series of six psalms, the last six in the Psalter, which are especially full of praise to God. The title, "a psalm of praise," occurs only here in the Book of Psalms. The word "praise" appears 46 times in the last six psalms. In this psalm David praised God for His powerful acts, for His mercy and grace, for His everlasting kingdom, and for His response to those who pray to Him. As such it resembles history psalms, but its genre is most similar to the psalms of descriptive praise.

"In the psalm there is no development of plot or building of intensity. Indeed, it is essentially static in form, articulating what is enduringly true of the world. What is true at the beginning of the psalm is still true at the end. What is true from beginning to end is that Yahweh securely governs, and that can be counted on. We are given a series of affirmations that could be rearranged without disrupting the intent. . . . This is Israel in its most trustful, innocent, childlike faith." [Note: Brueggemann, pp. 28-29.]

Verses 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.]

Verses 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; Joel 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.

Verses 8-10

2. God’s mercy and grace 145:8-10

Verse 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.

Verses 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.

Verses 11-16

3. God’s eternal kingdom 145:11-16

Verses 13-16

The NASB translators did not translate the last portion of Psalms 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.

Verses 17-21

4. 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.