Psalm 145

Psalms 145:1

“I will extol thee, my God, O King,.... Or "the King" (a), the King Messiah, who is by way of eminency called "the King", as in Psa 21:”

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."

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.”

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.”

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.”

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.”

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.”

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."

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.”

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?”

Psalms 145:6

“Of his goodness; this is his glory, Exod. xxxiii. It is what he glories in ( Exod. xxxiv. 6, 7 ), and it is what we must give him the glory of: They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness,”

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.”

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.”

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.”

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.”

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?”

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.”

Psalms 145:10

“Do not throw yourselves back in your seats and say, "This will be a sermon for saints and, therefore, we may be excused from listening to it." Do you not see that the first clause gives you a fair word and a kindly hint? "All Your works shall praise You, O Jehovah." Through this you may enter, as by an open door, for if you are not Jehovah's saints, you are His works and are bound to praise His name! In these days of harvest and full summertime, every created thing appears to praise God by its very existence.”

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.”

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.”

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."

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.”

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.”

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.”

Psalms 145:14

“If those who were bowed down by oppression and affliction are raised up, it was God that raised them. And, with respect to all those that are heavy-laden under the burden of sin, if they come to Christ by faith, he will ease them, he will raise them. Secondly, He is very ready to hear and answer the prayers of his people,”

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.”

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.”

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.”

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.”

Psalms 145:18

“The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him,.... He is not only nigh unto them in relation, being their near kinsman, brother, father, husband, and head, but with respect to place and presence; not in a general way, as he is the omnipresent God, and so nigh to all, and from whose presence there is no fleeing; but in a special way, he is so nigh to them as he is not unto others, Deu 4:”

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.”

Psalms 145:18-19

“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.”

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.”

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.”

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.”

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.”

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.”