“THE PSALMIST’S PRAISE OF THE LORD’S GREATNESS” PSALM 145:1-21

In this wonderful psalm of praise by David, he begins this mighty psalm by extolling the Lord’s greatness, in that verses 1-2 state: “I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever.  Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever.”  Our God is so worthy of our praise and we ought to praise Him continually, for Psalm 113:1-3 says: “Praise ye the Lord. Praise, O ye servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord.   Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and for evermore.  From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the Lord’s name is to be praised.”

According to verse 3, the unusual greatness of the Lord is incomprehensible and is beyond our trying to measure it!  The greatness of the Lord is seen by His mighty acts that should be declared from one generation to another as instructed in verse 4:   “One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts”  Yes, every generation should testify to the greatness of the Lord to another generation how the Lord has manifested His awesome deeds in history (vv. 4-7).  We need to especially tell others how the Lord has saved us from the depth of sin, and given us a new standing in Jesus Christ (II Corinthians 5:21).

In verses 8-10, David acknowledges that God’s greatness is evident because He is gracious and compassionate to all.  We should be thankful that we serve a God who is rich in mercy as the psalmist portrays Him: “The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.   The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all His works” (vv. 9-10).  Again, we should be grateful for God’s display of these wonderful attributes.

Also, the psalmist affirms that we should praise God because of His kingdom.   His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom (vv. 11-13), for each generation should know about the majesty of His kingdom.  David declares in verses 14-16 that God is faithful to His promises, even uplifting and providing for all.  David concludes this blessed psalm (vv. 17-21) by praising God’s righteousness as He lovingly favors His people by saying: “My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord: and let all flesh bless His holy name for ever and ever” (v. 21).

May God Bless!