Psalms 145:1
in Psalms 145I will exalt You, my God and King; I will bless Your name forever and ever.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
I will extol thee, my God, O King; And I will bless thy name for ever and ever.
KJV
I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever.
⋯
This verse in Psalms 145
Commentary
10 notes on this verseI 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:
This site's exposition
I will exalt You, my God and King
on Psalms 145:1-2
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.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
The title is, "Praise, to David himself." Praise to Christ Himself. And since He is called David, who came to us of the seed of David, yet He was our King, ruling us, and bringing us into His kingdom, therefore "Praise to David himself" is understood to mean, Praise to Christ Himself. Christ according to the flesh is David, because He is the Son of David: but according to His Divine Nature He is the Creator of David, and Lord of David. "I will exalt Thee, my God, my King; and I will bless Thy Name for the age, and age upon age" (ver. 1). Ye see that the praise of God is here begun, and this praise is carried on even to the end of the Psalm.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
I will speak well of thee, as thou hast made thyself known, and will therein express my own high thoughts of thee and endeavour to raise the like in others." When we speak honourably of God, this is graciously interpreted and accepted as an extolling of him.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
), but conclude them with it, as he does here, because we shall presently have occasion to begin again. As the end of one mercy is the beginning of another, so should the end of one thanksgiving be.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
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."
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." See how David testifies his devotion and adherence to his God by the pronoun "my", how he owns his allegiance by the title "king", and how he goes on to declare his determination to make much of him in his song. And I will bless thy name for ever and ever. David determined that his praise should rise to blessing, should intelligently spend itself upon the name or character of God, and should be continued world without end. He uses the word "bless" not merely for variation of sound, but also for the deepening and sweetening of the sense. To bless God is to praise him with a personal affection for him, and a wishing well to him: this is a growingly easy exercise as we advance in experience and grow in grace. David declares that he will offer every form of praise, through every form of existence. His notion of duration is a full one—"for ever" has no end, but when he adds another" ever" to it he forbids all idea of a close. Our praise of God shall be as eternal as the God we praise.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
I will extol thee - I will raise thee on high, I will lift thee up. I will bless thy name - לעולם ועד leolam vaed, for ever and onward, in this and the coming world. This sort of expressions, which are very difficult to be translated, are on the whole well expressed by those words, in a hymn of Mr. Addison: - Through all eternity to thee A joyful song I’ll raise But O, eternity’s too short To utter all thy praise! This contains a strong hyperbole; but allowable in such cases.
I will extol thee - I will raise thee on high, I will lift thee up. I will bless thy name - לעולם ועד leolam vaed, for ever and onward, in this and the coming world. This sort of expressions, which are very difficult to be translated, are on the whole well expressed by those words, in a hymn of Mr. Addison: - Through all eternity to thee A joyful song I’ll raise But O, eternity’s too short To utter all thy praise! This contains a strong hyperbole; but allowable in such cases.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
I will extol thee ... - I will lift thee up; I will lift up thy name and praise, so that it may be heard afar. And I will bless thy name forever and ever - I will bless or praise thee. I will do it now; I will do it in all the future. I will do it in time; I will do it in eternity. See the notes at Psa 30:1.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Tehillah (A Praise): These six psalms until the end of the book are all praises of the Blessed God and His glory. Therefore, they begin and end with praise, reflecting the greatness of praise. This psalm starts with the word "Tehillah" in the first verse and also concludes with "Tehillah" in the last verse. The other five psalms start and end with "Hallelujah," all highlighting the greatness of praise. When will the praise of God be truly great?
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֲרוֹמִמְךָ֣ | ʾaromikha | I will exalt you | H7311 → | 190 times |
| אֱלוֹהַ֣י | ʾelohai | O God my | H430 → | 2601 times |
| הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| וַאֲבָרֲכָ֥ה | vaavarakhah | and I will bless | H1288 → | 330 times |
| שִׁ֝מְךָ֗ | shimkha | name your | H8034 → | 864 times |
| לְעוֹלָ֥ם | leolam | for ever | H5769 → | 438 times |
| וָעֶֽד׃ | vaed | and ever | H5703 → | 49 times |
אֲרוֹמִמְךָ֣I will exalt you
ʾaromikhaH7311 →190 times
אֱלוֹהַ֣יO God my
ʾelohaiH430 →2601 times
הַמֶּ֑לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
וַאֲבָרֲכָ֥הand I will bless
vaavarakhahH1288 →330 times
שִׁ֝מְךָ֗name your
shimkhaH8034 →864 times
לְעוֹלָ֥םfor ever
leolamH5769 →438 times
וָעֶֽד׃and ever
vaedH5703 →49 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 34:1I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise will always be on my lips.
it leads to
- 1 Thessalonians 5:18
Give thanks in every circumstance, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
- Colossians 3:17
And whatever you do, in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
- Psalms 145:1–2
I will exalt You, my God and King; I will bless Your name forever and ever.
- Ephesians 5:20
always giving thanks to God the Father for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
- Psalms 71:8
My mouth is filled with Your praise and with Your splendor all day long.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:18
Through
Psalms 45:6Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever, and justice is the scepter of Your kingdom.
it leads to
- Hebrews 1:8–9
But about the Son He says: “Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever, and justice is the scepter of Your kingdom.
- Psalms 93:2
Your throne was established long ago; You are from all eternity.
- Hebrews 1:8–9
Through
Matthew 25:34Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
it leads to
- 1 Peter 1:19–20
but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or spot.
- 1 Peter 1:19–20
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
On this verse
On this chapter
About Psalms
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 145; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 7; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.