Psalms 145:1 - Meaning and Application

This psalm is titled as David’s psalm of praise, which likely means he wrote it and loved to sing it often. It was a familiar companion to him wherever he went. In this first part of the psalm, David praises God’s glorious qualities. In the later part, he praises God’s kingdom and the way he rules it.

David first shows who should give glory to God. Whatever others do, he himself will be much taken up with praising God. He stirs himself to this good work and gives himself fully to it. It is both his duty and his joy. He says, “I will extol you and bless your name” (Psalm 145:1). To extol means to speak highly of someone. David means he will speak well of God as God has made himself known, and he will try to lift up the same thoughts in others.

He repeats this purpose again and again. “I will bless you, I will praise your name” (Psalm 145:2). That repetition shows how warm his heart is toward this work, how firmly he has decided to keep doing it, and how often he actually does it. He also says, “I will speak of your honor” (Psalm 145:5) and, “I will declare your greatness” (Psalm 145:6). He would give God glory not only in worship, but also in ordinary conversation. If the heart is full of God, the mouth will speak with reverence and praise at many times. What better topic could there be than the glory of God? It is noble, full, pleasant, useful, and beyond criticism.

David also shows his resolve to keep praising God. He says, “Every day will I bless you.” Praising God should be our daily work. No day should pass, even a busy day or a sad one, without it. We should count it one of our most necessary tasks and one of our sweetest comforts. God blesses us every day and does us good, so we have good reason to bless him every day and speak well of him.

He also means to continue in this forever. “I will bless you forever and ever” (Psalm 145:1, 2). This means, first, that he meant to keep praising God for the rest of his life. Second, that the psalms he wrote would keep being used by the church to praise God through the ages (2 Chronicles 29:30). Third, that he hoped to praise God forever in the life to come. Those who make praise their steady work on earth will have it as their endless joy in heaven.

David is also sure that others will join him. When he declares God’s greatness, people will speak of it too (Psalm 145:6). They will “abundantly utter” it, or pour it out (Psalm 145:7), praising God with a flowing and gracious speech that is better than polished oratory. David’s zeal would stir many others, and it has done so. He also expects praise to continue after his own time. “One generation shall praise your works to another” (Psalm 145:4). The older generation will tell the younger one what they have seen and heard. They will fully and carefully declare God’s mighty acts (Psalm 78:3). Then the rising generation will follow their example. So the death of God’s worshipers will not lessen his worship. A new generation will rise in their place and keep this good work going, in some measure, until the end of time.

David next tells what we must give God glory for. We must declare that the Lord is great. His presence is limitless, his power cannot be resisted, his brightness is too much for us, his majesty is awe-inspiring, his rule has no bounds, and his authority cannot be questioned. So there is no doubt, the Lord is great, and if he is great, then he is greatly to be praised with all our being and with all possible reverence. His greatness cannot be fully grasped, because it is beyond search. No one can fully understand or explain how great God is. That only gives us more reason to praise him. When we cannot find the bottom by searching, we must stand at the edge and worship the deep things of God (Romans 11:33).

God is great in his majesty above the heavens, where he has set his glory. When we speak of his greatness, we must also speak of the glorious honor of his majesty, the splendor of his majesty (Psalm 145:5). He shines so brightly in the upper world that even the angels are dazzled and cover their faces before him. His works are also wonderful in this lower world. The keeping, sustaining, and ruling of all creatures show that their Maker is very great. So when we declare his greatness, we must notice the clear proof of it and tell of his mighty acts (Psalm 145:4), his wonderful works (Psalm 145:5), and the power of his awesome acts (Psalm 145:6). We should see God acting in all the events of this world. Different means are used, but God directs all things as the highest ruler. He performs all things.

Much of his power appears in his providence, his wise care and rule over the world. These are mighty acts, beyond the strength of any creature to match. Much of his justice also appears there. They are awesome acts, bringing fear to the godly and dread to sinners. We should talk about these things whenever we can. We should notice God’s finger, his hand, and his arm in all of them, so that we may wonder at him.

We must also give God glory for his goodness, because that is part of his glory (Exodus 33:19). It is what he takes delight in showing (Exodus 34:6, 7), and it is what we must praise him for. “They shall abundantly utter the memory of your great goodness” (Psalm 145:7). God’s goodness is great goodness. Its riches can never be used up, and they can never be reduced, because he will always be as rich in mercy as he ever was. It is memorable goodness, something we should keep before us and hold in mind, because it deserves to be remembered forever.

The memory we keep of God’s goodness should also be spoken out. We should pour it out freely, like people who are full of it and want others to know it and feel it too. But whenever we speak of God’s great goodness, we must also sing of his righteousness at the same time. He is gracious in rewarding those who serve him faithfully, and he is righteous in punishing those who rebel against him. God’s steady justice is as certain as his endless goodness, and we must celebrate both together (Romans 11:22).

There is a fountain of goodness in God’s nature (Psalm 145:8). The Lord is gracious to those who serve him. He is full of compassion for those who need him, slow to anger toward those who have offended him, and rich in mercy to all who seek him and ask for it. He is ready to give, and ready to forgive, more ready than we are to ask or even to repent.

There are also streams of goodness in all the ways God governs and cares for the world, as Psalm 145:9 says. Because he is good, he does good. He is good to all, to all his creatures, from the highest angel to the smallest worm, except for devils and damned sinners, who have shut themselves out from his goodness. His tender mercies are over all his works.

All his works, all his creatures, receive the benefits of his merciful care and kindness. His mercy reaches them all, and he hates nothing that he has made. Yet his works of mercy shine above all his other works and show his glory more clearly than any of them. In nothing will God’s glory be so bright forever as in the people of mercy, those chosen for glory. And to God’s goodness the saints will sing everlasting hallelujahs.