Psalm 145
21 verses · Acrostic psalm of praise
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and Your dominion endures through all generations. The LORD is faithful in all His words and kind in all His actions.
Introduction
David, the Alphabet of Praise, Book 5: The return and the great Hallelujah, Poetry, Psalms Overview.
This is David's last psalm in the Psalter and the only one headed simply as a praise. He built it as an alphabet, one line for each Hebrew letter, so that it could be learned by heart and handed on. Listen for the circle of voices widening as it goes, from one man to each generation to every creature, and for the words God spoke of Himself at Sinai standing at its centre. It prepares the way for the five psalms of praise that close the book.
Context
- Who
- Israelite households where faith was passed on by being said aloud at the table
- Where
- One generation standing in front of the next and handing over what it knows about God
- When
- The united monarchy under David. The heading reads Praise by David, which places it in his reign, about 1010 to 970 BC; it is the last psalm in the book to carry his name
Historical context
This is the only psalm whose heading calls it simply a praise, and the Hebrew name of the whole book, tehillim, comes from that word. It is David's last psalm in the Psalter, standing immediately before the five that close it. It is an alphabet poem, one line for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet in order, built so that a family could learn it and keep it. One letter is missing in the Hebrew text that was handed down, since no line begins with nun. A copy of the Psalms found at Qumran in cave 11 has a line in that slot, and so do the Septuagint, the Syriac and the Vulgate, which is why most modern Bibles print it with a note. The centre of the psalm is the sentence God spoke about Himself to Moses at Exodus 34:6 after the golden calf, which Israel quoted the way a nation quotes its constitution.
Significance
The first hearers were being handed a vocabulary. The psalm gives them the words for God's greatness, His goodness, His kingdom and His kindness to everything He made, in an order they could not lose. Every human kingdom they knew had a last king, and this one is called an everlasting kingdom, which was a strange thing to sing under any empire.
This chapter in Jewish lifeWhat this chapter is in Jewish life and reading.
What is done
Psalm 145 closes the third Davidic collection, which the book's structure file gives as Psalms 108 to 110 and 138 to 145, and it is the psalm with the clearest daily practice attached to it in the whole of this range. Radak records the practice and the promise the Sages attached to it, and then guards it against being said by rote: "Anyone who recites 'A Praise of David' every day is assured of a place in the World to Come. They did not mean merely reciting it, but reciting it with one's mouth, heart, and tongue" (Radak on Psalms 145:1:1, Sefaria Community Translation, CC0). The corpus ties the first verse of the psalm to Berakhot 4b:16 and Jerusalem Talmud Berakhot 9:1:5, and the twenty-first verse to Pesachim 117a:22. Radak also reads the psalm as the opening of a set: these six psalms to the end of the book are all praises, this one beginning and ending with the word for praise and the other five beginning and ending with Hallelujah.
How it is read
The psalm is the last of the acrostics, and the book's structure file records that its nun verse is absent from the Hebrew text and present in the Dead Sea Scroll and the Greek. Both commentators in the corpus meet that gap and give the same rabbinic answer. Radak says the letter was omitted and "we do not know why", then reports that the Sages explained it by the line in Amos about the fallen virgin of Israel. Rashi gives the same explanation and adds the turn the psalm makes after it: David saw a serious downfall in that letter, "and he returned and supported her with the holy spirit" in the verse about the LORD supporting all who fall (Rashi on Psalms 145:14:1, the Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg, CC-BY). Radak reads the rest of the psalm as a doctrine of providence over every living thing. He reads the blessing of every day as this world and the praise for ever as the world to come, takes the eyes of all that wait as every kind waiting for food in its own season, and works the hard case of animals that prey on each other, holding that God feeds the predator too and has set in advance how each creature dies. On the eighteenth verse he makes the reach of the promise explicit: God is near to all who call on Him, "from whichever people that they may be", provided the call is true in mouth and heart. Ibn Ezra carries one comment with no English version and stands as a citation, at Ibn Ezra on Psalms 145:9:1.
What the rabbis say
The corpus records forty locators on this chapter, twenty-nine Midrash and eleven Talmud. The opening verse is taken up at Berakhot 4b:16, Jerusalem Talmud Berakhot 9:1:5 and Ein Yaakov, Berakhot 1:18. The greatness that cannot be searched out is taken up at Bereshit Rabbah 87:5. The goodness of God to all is taken up at Avodah Zarah 4b:9 and Bava Metzia 85a:7, the supporting of all who fall at Aggadat Bereshit 49:1 and 49:2 and Berakhot 4b:22, and the eyes of all that wait at Ketubot 67b:6 and Ein Yaakov, Ketubbot 6:3. The nearness of God to all who call is taken up at Bamidbar Rabbah 11:7, Eikhah Rabbah 3:9 and Esther Rabbah 7:13. Each is a locator without text in the corpus.
Sources: Radak, Radak on Psalms 145:1:1, 145:2:1, 145:2:2, 145:13:1, 145:15:1, 145:17:1 and 145:18:1, Sefaria Community Translation, CC0; Rashi, Rashi on Psalms 145:4:1, 145:14:1, 145:16:1 and 145:21:1, the Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg, CC-BY; Ibn Ezra, Ibn Ezra on Psalms 145:9:1, cited only, no English version in the corpus; Babylonian Talmud, Berakhot 4b:16, 4b:19 and 4b:22, Avodah Zarah 4b:9, Bava Metzia 85a:7, Ketubot 67b:6, Pesachim 117a:22, Tractate Soferim 14:8; Jerusalem Talmud, Berakhot 9:1:5 and 4:1:5; Midrash, Bereshit Rabbah 87:5, 13:6, 20:9, 1:11 and 84:7, Aggadat Bereshit 49:1 and 49:2, Bamidbar Rabbah 11:7, Eikhah Rabbah 3:9, Esther Rabbah 7:13, Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 3:1; MannaFest, the collections of the Psalter and the acrostic note on Psalm 145, src/components/book/dossier-content/psalms-structure.ts, 2026.
Psalms 145:1-2
I will exalt You, my God and King: The psalm opens with a vow to exalt God as King. Spurgeon noted that the man who calls God his King is a king himself, and the blessing of the name runs forever and ever. Verse 2 sets the blessing to every day, whatever the day brings.
Psalms 145:1
I will extol thee, my God, O king. David as God's king adores God as his king. It is well when the Lord's royalty arouses our loyalty, and our spirit is moved to magnify his majesty. The Psalmist has extolled his Lord many a time before, he is doing so still, and he will do so in the future: praise is for all tenses. When we cannot express all our praise just now, it is wise to register our resolution to continue in the blessed work, and write it down as a bond, "I will extol thee."
Charles Spurgeon · The Treasury of David, Vol. 7 (1885)Particular Baptist
Every day I will bless You: Verse 1 blessed the name, and verse 2 blesses God Himself. Charles Spurgeon called that move the kernel of true devotion, for no one can extol an abstraction. Augustine told his hearers that praise meant to last forever must begin in this passing age, one day at a time.
Psalms 145:2
“Every day will I bless thee,.... For new mercies had every morning; for fresh supplies of grace every day, which all come from the fulness of Christ, to whom all grace is given, and from whence it is received, and in whom all spiritual blessings are, and by whom they are bestowed; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever; as long as he lived in this world, and to all eternity in the world to come.”
1 more voice on this verse
Psalms 145:2
“Every day will I bless thee. Whatever the character of the day, or of my circumstances and conditions during that day, I will continue to glorify God. Were we well to consider the matter we should see abundant cause in each day for rendering special blessing unto the Lord. All before the day, all in the day, all following the day should constrain us to magnify our God every day, all the year round. Our love to God is not a matter of holy days: every day is alike holy to holy men.”
Charles Spurgeon · The Treasury of David, Vol. 7 (1885)Particular Baptist
Psalms 145:3-4
Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised: The greatness is called unsearchable, and the word is cheqer, an inquiry or a measuring out. Henry said that where the bottom cannot be found by searching, a man sits down at the brink and adores the depth. One generation commends the works to the next.
Psalms 145:3
“Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised. Worship should be somewhat like its object—great praise for a great God. There is no part of Jehovah's greatness which is not worthy of great praise. In some beings greatness is but vastness of evil: in him it is magnificence of goodness. Praise may be said to be great when the song contains great matter, when the hearts producing it are intensely fervent, and when large numbers unite in the grand acclaim.”
Charles Spurgeon · The Treasury of David, Vol. 7 (1885)Particular Baptist
1 more voice on this verse
Psalms 145:3
“You cannot, then, heretic [Arian], build up a false doctrine on the basis of an analogy of human procreation. Nor can you gather the means for such a purpose from our discussion, for we cannot embrace the greatness of infinite godhead, "of whose greatness there is no end," in our limited speech. If you should seek to give an account of a human's birth, you must certainly point to a time. But the divine generation is above all things. It reaches far and wide, and it rises high above all thought and feeling.”
Ambrose of Milan · written before 397 · Exposition of the Christian Faith 1.10.63patristic
One generation will commend Your works: The singer began in the first person in verse 1, and Charles Spurgeon saw him reach here to every generation. Each generation adds its chapter. Adam Clarke noted that God's providential dealings keep happening, so they must be handed down by the telling of one generation to the next.
Psalms 145:4
“One generation shall praise thy works to another. There shall be a tradition of praise: melt shall hand on the service, they shall make it a point to instruct their descendants in this hallowed exercise. We look back upon the experience of our fathers, and sing of it; even thus shall our sons learn praise from the Lord's works among ourselves. Let us see to it that we praise God before our children, and never make them think that his service is an unhappy one. And shall declare thy mighty acts.”
Charles Spurgeon · The Treasury of David, Vol. 7 (1885)Particular Baptist
Psalms 145:5-7
the glorious splendor of Your majesty: The singer says he will meditate and will declare, and the people in verses 6 and 7 proclaim and extol. Henry held the goodness and the righteousness of verse 7 together, reward for the faithful and punishment for the rebel. The word abundant belongs to the goodness.
Psalms 145:5
I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty. 'Tis fit a king should speak of the majesty of the King of kings. David cannot give over the worship of God into the hands of others, even though all generations should undertake to perpetuate it: he must have his own individual share in it, and so he saith, "I will speak." What a speaker! for he no sooner begins than he heaps up words of honour—"the glorious honour of thy majesty", or "the beauty of the honour of thy majesty."
Charles Spurgeon · The Treasury of David, Vol. 7 (1885)Particular Baptist
the power of Your awesome deeds: The awesome deeds are God's acts of judgment. Charles Spurgeon observed that men talk of such deeds even when they fall silent over His mercies. Augustine held praise which proclaims the everlasting kingdom must tell of the fearful works, so the hearer learns what to seek and what to shun.
Psalms 145:6
“And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts. If unobservant of other matters these acts of judgment shall seize their attention and impress their minds so that they must talk about them. Did not men in our Saviour's day speak of the falling tower of Siloam and the slaughtered Galileans? Are there not rumours of wars, when there are not even whispers of other things? Horrible news is sure to spread: under mercies men may be dumb, but concerning miseries they raise a great outcry.”
Charles Spurgeon · The Treasury of David, Vol. 7 (1885)Particular Baptist
1 more voice on this verse
Psalms 145:6
“He would give glory to God, not only in his solemn devotions, but in his common conversation. If the heart be full of God, out of the abundance of that the mouth will speak with reverence, to his praise, upon all occasions. What subject of discourse can we find more noble, more copious, more pleasant, useful, and unexceptionable, than the glory of God?”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
the fame of Your abundant goodness: The Hebrew verb behind extol means to gush like a spring, and Albert Barnes read it as a full heart overflowing. The word behind fame is memory, which Jamieson, Fausset and Brown took as what causes a deed to be remembered. They read righteousness as goodness kept to the covenant.
Psalms 145:7
“But, whenever we utter God's great goodness, we must not forget, at the same time, to sing of his righteousness; for, as he is gracious in rewarding those that serve him faithfully, so he is righteous in punishing those that rebel against him. Impartial and inflexible justice is as surely in God as inexhaustible goodness; and we must sing of both together, Rom. xi.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
1 more voice on this verse
Psalms 145:7
“They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness. They shall pour forth grateful memories even as springs gush with water, plenteously, spontaneously, constantly, joyously. The Lord's redeemed people having been filled with his great goodness, shall retain the happy recollection of it, and shall be moved often and often to utter those recollections. Not content with a scanty mention of such amazing love, they shall go on to an abundant utterance of such abundant favour. It shall be their delight to speak with one another of God's dealings with them, and to compare notes of their experiences.”
Charles Spurgeon · The Treasury of David, Vol. 7 (1885)Particular Baptist
Psalms 145:8-9
The LORD is gracious and compassionate: Verse 8 repeats what the LORD said of Himself at Exodus 34:6, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion. Spurgeon heard the words the LORD used with Moses in it. Verse 9 widens it to all, with compassion resting on everything He has made.
Psalms 145:8
“The Lord is gracious. Was it not in some such terms that the Lord revealed himself to Moses? Is not this Jehovah's glory? To all living men his aspect: he is gracious, or full of goodness and generosity. He treats creatures with kindness, his subjects with consideration, and his saints favour. His words and ways, his promises and his gifts, his plans and his poses all manifest his grace, or free favour. There is nothing suspicious, diced, morose, tyrannical, or unapproachable in Jehovah, —he is condescending and kind. And full of compassion.”
Charles Spurgeon · The Treasury of David, Vol. 7 (1885)Particular Baptist
The LORD is good to all: John Gill read the all of this verse as the chosen people, loved and redeemed by Christ. Charles Spurgeon read it as every creature: the sun shines and the rain falls on the fields of those who slander God. Adam Clarke read it as widely as Spurgeon.
Psalms 145:9
“The Lord is good to all,.... Which is to be understood not of the general and providential goodness of God to all men, to all his creatures, and the works of his hands; but of the special goodness of Christ before mentioned, Psa 145:7; which extends to all the chosen people of God; who are all loved by Christ, redeemed by him, justified and glorified by him; and to Gentiles as well as Jews; for whom he tasted death, laid down his life a ransom for them, and became the propitiation for their sins.”
1 more voice on this verse
Psalms 145:9
“The Lord is good to all. No one, not even his fiercest enemy, can this; for the falsehood would be too barefaced, since the very existence lips which slander him is a proof that it is slander. He allows his live, he even supplies them with food, and smooths their way with many forts; for them the sun shines as brightly as if they were saints, and the rain waters their fields as plentifully as if they were perfect men. Is not this goodness to all?”
Charles Spurgeon · The Treasury of David, Vol. 7 (1885)Particular Baptist
Psalms 145:10-13
All You have made will give You thanks: The praise comes from everything He has made and from His saints, and it turns to the kingdom. Verse 13 calls the kingdom everlasting and the dominion lasting through all generations. Henry set it against the thrones of earthly princes, which totter.
Psalms 145:10
“All thy works shall praise thee, O Lord. There is a something about every creature which redounds to the honour of God. The skill, kindness, and power manifested in the formation of each living thing is in itself to the praise of God, and when observed by an intelligent mind the Lord is honoured thereby. Some works praise him by their being, and others by their well being; some by their mere existence, and others by their hearty volition. And thy saints shall bless thee. These holy ones come nearer, and render sweeter adoration.”
Charles Spurgeon · The Treasury of David, Vol. 7 (1885)Particular Baptist
tell of the glory of Your kingdom: The speakers are the saints of verse 10. Charles Spurgeon observed that God's works praise Him and cannot crown Him, and the crowning is left to holy hearts that tell of His kingdom. In a sermon on this verse he added that a saint is often discovered by his conversation.
Psalms 145:11
“They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom. Excellent themes for saintly minds. Those who bless God from their hearts rejoice to see him enthroned, glorified, and magnified in power. No subject is more profitable for humility, obedience, hope, and joy than that of the reigning power of the Lord our God. His works praise him, but they cannot crown him: this remains for holy hands and hearts. It is their high pleasure to tell of the glory of his kingdom in its justice, kindness, eternity, and so forth.”
Charles Spurgeon · The Treasury of David, Vol. 7 (1885)Particular Baptist
to make known to men Your mighty acts: The telling of verse 11 aims at all mankind. Charles Spurgeon observed men carve their heroes' deeds on brass while the LORD's acts are written on sand, washed from memory. Albert Barnes found the ground of the Christian missionary's desire to carry these truths to the ends of the earth.
Psalms 145:12
“To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts. These glorious deeds ought to be known to all mankind; but yet few reckon such knowledge to be an essential part of education. As the State cannot teach these holy histories the people of God must take care to do it themselves. The work must be done for every age, for men have short memories in reference to their God, and the doings of his power.”
Charles Spurgeon · The Treasury of David, Vol. 7 (1885)Particular Baptist
The LORD is faithful in all His words: This line stands for nun, the letter of this acrostic missing from the printed Hebrew Bible. Adam Clarke noted the Syriac, the Septuagint and the Vulgate carry a verse for that letter, and one manuscript at Trinity College, Dublin, has it. Verse 13 then carries two letters, mem and nun.
Psalms 145:13
“The thrones of earthly princes totter, and the flowers of their crowns wither, monarchies come to an end; but, Lord, thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. God will govern the world to the end of time, when the Mediator, who is now entrusted with the administration of his kingdom, shall deliver it up to God, even the Father, that he may be all in all to eternity.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
1 more voice on this verse
Psalms 145:13
Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. His meditation has brought him near to God, and God near to him: he speaks to him in adoration, changing the pronoun from "his" to "thy." He sees the great King, and prostrates himself before him. It is well when our devotion opens the gate of heaven, and enters within the portal, to speak with God face to face, as a man speaketh with his friend. The point upon which the Psalmist's mind rests is the eternity of the divine throne, —"thy reign is a reign of all eternities."
Charles Spurgeon · The Treasury of David, Vol. 7 (1885)Particular Baptist
Connectionsacrostic
The LORD upholds all who fall: Those who fall the LORD upholds, and those bowed down He lifts. The verb behind upholds is samak, to prop up a weight. Both verbs are participles, a form for action going on, so the upholding and the lifting are continuous.
Psalms 145:14
“Whoever finds the healing of correction to be difficult should flee to the mercy of God for help and beg that the chains of evil habit be broken away from them, for "the Lord lifts up all who collapse and raises up all who have been broken down." No, the prayer of a believer will not be empty, since our merciful God "will accomplish the intentions of those who fear him." He will give what has been asked for, since he provided the inspiration to ask it.”
Leo the Great · written before 461 · SERMON 36:4.2patristic
1 more voice on this verse
Psalms 145:14
“The Lead upholdeth all that fall. Read this verse in connection with the preceding, and admire the unexpected contrast: he who reigns in glorious majesty, yet condescends to lift up and hold up those who are apt to fall. The form of the verb shows that he is always doing this; he is Jehovah upholding. His choice of the fallen, and the falling, as the subjects of his gracious help is specially to be noted.”
Charles Spurgeon · The Treasury of David, Vol. 7 (1885)Particular Baptist
Psalms 145:15-16
The eyes of all look to You: The eyes of all look up and the food comes in its season. Verse 16 has the hand opened and the desire of every living thing satisfied. Spurgeon read the open hand as giving easily and at once.
Psalms 145:15
“The eyes of all wait upon thee. They have learned to look to thee: it has become their nature to turn to thee for all they want. As children look to a father for all they need, so do the creatures look to God, the all sufficient Provider. It were well if all men had the eye of faith, and if all waited therewith upon the Lord. And thou givest them their meat in due season. They wait, and God gives.”
Charles Spurgeon · The Treasury of David, Vol. 7 (1885)Particular Baptist
You open Your hand: Matthew Henry joined this verse to verse 19, where He fulfills the desires of those who fear Him. The God who satisfies every living thing will care the more for His own. Henry reasoned from the birds to the children.
Psalms 145:16
“Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing. You alone provide, O Jehovah! Thou doest it liberally, with open hand; thou doest it easily, as if it were only to open thine hand; thou doest this at once as promptly as if all supplies were ready to hand. Living things have needs, and these create desires; the living God has suitable supplies at hand, and these he gives till inward satisfaction is produced, and the creature sighs no longer.”
Charles Spurgeon · The Treasury of David, Vol. 7 (1885)Particular Baptist
Psalms 145:17-20
The LORD is righteous in all His ways: The LORD is called righteous and kind in everything He does. Verse 18 puts Him near everyone who calls on Him in truth, and Gill read that nearness as nearness of place and presence. Verse 20 keeps all who love Him and destroys all the wicked.
Psalms 145:17
“The Lord is righteous in all his ways,.... Christ is righteous in all the ways of providence, in which he is jointly concerned with his Father: there are some of the ways of providence, which are now intricate and perplexed, are unsearchable and past finding out, and cannot be easily reconciled to the justice and faithfulness of God, respecting the prosperity of the wicked and the afflictions of the righteous; but these will before long be made manifest, and they will appear to be just and true.”
1 more voice on this verse
Psalms 145:17
“The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works. His ways and works are both worthy to be praised. Jehovah cannot be unjust or impure. Let his doings be what they may, they are in every case righteous and holy. This is the confession of the godly who follow his ways, and of the gracious who study his works. Whatever God is or does must be right.”
Charles Spurgeon · The Treasury of David, Vol. 7 (1885)Particular Baptist
who call out to Him in truth: The words in truth set the condition on the nearness. Augustine said many call on God to get His gifts, and he took calling in truth as asking for God Himself. Matthew Henry pictured the LORD always within call of such prayers.
Psalms 145:18
“The Lord is nigh - Whoever calls upon God in truth, with a sincere and upright heart, one that truly desires his salvation, to that person God is nigh. The following verse shows he is not only near to praying people, but 1. He will hear their cry. 2. Fulfil their desires. 3. Save them. Reader, lift up thy soul in prayer to this merciful God.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Psalms 145:18
“In this appears the grace of his kingdom, that his subjects have not only liberty of petitioning, but all the encouragement that can be to petition. The grant is very rich, that God will be nigh to all that call upon him; he will be always within call of their prayers, and they shall always find themselves within reach of his help.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
the desires of those who fear Him: Verse 18 promised nearness, and verse 19 names what it does. Charles Spurgeon observed those who honour God's will find Him honouring theirs, because a holy heart desires what a holy God can give. Augustine said the Physician hears to save, though the saving may wait for the last time.
Psalms 145:19
“He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: that is, those who reverence his name and his law. Inasmuch as they have respect unto his will, he will have respect unto their will. They shall have their way for they have his way in their hearts. A holy heart only desires what a holy God can give, and so its desire is filled full out of the fullness of the Lord. He also will hear their cry, and will save them. Divinely practical shall his nearness be, for he will work their deliverance.”
Charles Spurgeon · The Treasury of David, Vol. 7 (1885)Particular Baptist
1 more voice on this verse
Psalms 145:19
“He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him,.... That have the true fear of God put into their hearts; that fear him not with a servile, but godly fear; that fear the Lord and his goodness, and are true worshippers of him in a spiritual and evangelic manner; for the fear of God includes the whole worship of him, private and public: and the Lord grants to such whatever they desire of him, in his fear, under the direction of his spirit, according to his will, and in submission to it.”
The LORD preserves all who love Him: Adam Clarke set two Hebrew words: the LORD is shomer, the keeper of those who love Him, and shamid, the destroyer. The first marks a keeping that goes on continually. Matthew Henry joined the clauses, for one means of preserving His people is destroying the wicked who would harm them.
Psalms 145:20
“The Lord preserveth - He is the keeper of all them that love him. But all the wicked will he destroy - They call not upon him; they fight against him, and he will confound and destroy them. There is something curious in the שומר shomer, the keeper or guardian of the pious; he is שמיד shamid, the destroyer of the wicked. The first word implies he is continually keeping them; the second, that he causes the others to be destroyed.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Psalms 145:20
“This magnifies his goodness in the protection of the righteous, that with their eyes they shall see the reward of the wicked ( Ps. xci. 8 ); and God will by this means preserve his people, even by destroying the wicked that would do them a mischief.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
My mouth will declare the praise of the LORD: The mouth that speaks the praise is one mouth, and the blessing is asked of every creature. The Hebrew reads kol basar, all flesh. Spurgeon called every other creature a debtor who owes the same song.
Psalms 145:21
“My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord. Whatever others may do, I will not be silent in the praise of the Lord: whatever others may speak upon, my topic is fixed once for all: I will speak the praise of Jehovah. I am doing it, and I will do it as long as I breathe. And let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever. Praise is no monopoly for one, even though he be a David; others are debtors, let them also be songsters.”
Charles Spurgeon · The Treasury of David, Vol. 7 (1885)Particular Baptist
How this psalm is built
The form: A tehillah, the only psalm whose heading calls it simply a praise, and an acrostic built so a household could learn it, as Hippo classes it.
The patterns in this chapter
| Device | What it does | Where to see it |
|---|---|---|
| The alphabet, with one letter missing | Each verse opens with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and the scheme counted from the store's own tagged Hebrew shows twenty one of the twenty two letters opening a line. Nun has no verse: verse 13 opens with mem and verse 14 with samek. Adam Clarke sets out the witnesses in detail. The Syriac, the Septuagint, the Vulgate, the Ethiopic, the Arabic and the Anglo-Saxon all carry a nun line that no printed Hebrew Bible has. One manuscript in Trinity College, Dublin, supplies it at the foot of the page.Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible, 1832, on Psalm 145:13. | Psalm 145:1, Psalm 145:13, Psalm 145:14, Psalm 145:21 |
| I will, and they will | The psalm alternates between one voice and everyone else. I will exalt You at verse 1 and every day I will bless You at verse 2. Then one generation commends Your works to the next at verse 4, then I will meditate at verse 5, then they will proclaim at verse 6. Spurgeon reads verse 4 as a tradition of praise, each generation handing on the service as a point of duty.Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 7, 1885, on Psalm 145:4. | Psalm 145:1, Psalm 145:4, Psalm 145:6, Psalm 145:10 |
| The word all, fifteen times | The second half of the psalm is governed by one word. Counted over the Berean text in the site's store, all stands fifteen times in this chapter, from verse 9 to verse 20. Good to all, compassion on all He has made, all You have made will give thanks, all generations. He upholds all who fall, the eyes of all look to Him, He is righteous in all His ways and near to all who call on Him. The word is what turns a psalm about God's greatness into a psalm about His reach.Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 7, 1885, on Psalm 145:10. | Psalm 145:9, Psalm 145:14, Psalm 145:15, Psalm 145:17, Psalm 145:18 |
| Majesty, then a hand opened | The psalm sets its largest claims beside its smallest acts on purpose. Spurgeon says of verse 14 that it should be read in connection with verse 13 and its unexpected contrast admired. The one who reigns in glorious majesty condescends to lift up those who are apt to fall. Verse 16 does the same, an open hand satisfying the desire of every living thing.Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 7, 1885, on Psalm 145:14. | Psalm 145:13, Psalm 145:14, Psalm 145:16 |
The structure
9 more paragraphs on the patterns
The acrostic is the structure, and the scheme is counted rather than described. Running the site's own script over the store's tagged Hebrew gives twenty one of the twenty two letters opening a line of this chapter, with nun absent. The alphabet begins after the two words of the superscription inside verse 1 and ends at verse 21 with taw.
The debate
The missing nun verse is the psalm's contested point and the witnesses are not all on one side. The Hebrew text the Masoretes handed on has no nun line: verse 13 is mem and verse 14 is samek.
A nun line stands in the Septuagint, the Syriac, the Vulgate and the Psalms scroll from cave 11 at Qumran. It reads that the LORD is faithful in all His words and kind in all His actions.
Clarke sets out those witnesses and takes the absence as a fault in transmission, arguing that the alphabet is incomplete without it. The opposite position is that the Hebrew is what was written and the versions supply a line that fits the pattern, which is what a scribe or a translator would do. The Berean Standard Bible prints the line as the second half of verse 13 on the witness of the versions and the scroll. The site's page on the acrostic psalms gives the witnesses in full.
The prophecy and the New Testament's use
No New Testament writer quotes Psalm 145. Its language returns at Revelation 15:3, where the song of Moses and of the Lamb calls God's works great and wonderful and His ways just and true, which is the pairing of verse 17. The kingdom that is an everlasting kingdom at verse 13 is the phrase the New Testament uses for the reign that does not end, and it was a strange thing to sing under any empire.
Where to go next
The site's page on the acrostic psalms sets the nine alphabetic psalms side by side with their gaps and irregularities, and gives the missing nun its own section.
Key words
The words this chapter repeats, each one a lemma of the store’s tagged Hebrew however the chapter inflects it, with the verses it stands in. The grammar words are struck out, and the eight terms the psalm says the word of God by stand in the figure above the patterns rather than here. Every row opens that word’s own page.
| Word | Said | No.Strong’s | Meaning | Where it stands |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| גְּדוּלָה | gᵉdûwlâh | H1420 | greatness | 3, 6 |
| חָסִיד | châçîyd | H2623 | pious | 10, 13, 17 |
| עַד | ʻad | H5703 | perpetuity | 1, 2, 21 |
| מַלְכוּת | malkûwth | H4438 | royalty | 11, 12, 13 |
| גְּבוּרָה | gᵉbûwrâh | H1369 | might | 4, 11, 12 |
| הָדָר | hâdâr | H1926 | glory | 5, 12 |
Show the next 11 words
| Word | Said | No.Strong’s | Meaning | Where it stands |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מַעֲשֶׂה | maʻăseh | H4639 | deed | 4, 9, 10, 13, 17 |
| דּוֹר | dôwr | H1755 | generation | 4, 13 |
| בָרַךְ | bârak | H1288 | to bless | 1, 2, 10, 21 |
| כָּבוֹד | kâbôwd | H3519 | glory | 5, 11, 12 |
| עוֹלָם | ʻôwlâm | H5769 | forever | 1, 2, 13, 21 |
| הָלַל | hâlal | H1984 | to shine | 2, 3 |
| יְהֹוָה | Yᵉhôvâh | H3068 | LORD | 3, 8, 9, 10, 13, 14 and 4 more |
| שֵׁם | shêm | H8034 | name | 1, 2, 21 |
| גָּדוֹל | gâdôwl | H1419 | great | 3, 8 |
| דָבַר | dâbar | H1696 | to speak | 11, 21 |
| אָמַר | ʼâmar | H559 | to say | 6, 11 |
3 other published counts of these terms
- 21 of 22, with nun absent MannaFest, counted by scripts/derive-acrostic-scheme.mjs over the store's tagged Hebrew, counted in the Masoretic text as tagged in the site's verse_words rows.
- 21 MannaFest, counted in the Berean Standard Bible in the site's store.
- 15, in verses 9 to 20 MannaFest, counted in the Berean Standard Bible in the site's store.
Keep studying
Studies5
Words12
Subjects1
Sources for this chapter
The summary
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.
The form and classifications
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible, 1832, on Psalm 145:4; Augustine of Hippo, Expositions on the Psalms, on Psalm 145:1 and Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, 1885, on Psalm 145:6.
The exposition
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes; Augustine of Hippo; Charles Spurgeon; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
The painting
The Hunters in the Snow. Pieter Brueghel the Elder, 1565. Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.