Psalms 145:1-21
1 I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever.
2 Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever.
3 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.
4 One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.
5 I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works.a
6 And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts: and I will declareb thy greatness.
7 They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness.
8 The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of greatc mercy.
9 The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.
10 All thy works shall praise thee, O LORD; and thy saints shall bless thee.
11 They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power;
12 To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom.
13 Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominiond endureth throughout all generations.
14 The LORD upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down.
15 The eyes of all waite upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season.
16 Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.
17 The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holyf in all his works.
18 The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.
19 He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them.
20 The LORD preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy.
21 My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD: and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.
This is the last of the acrostic or alphabetical psalms, and should therefore contain twenty two verses, corresponding with the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet. But the verse which begins with the letter נ nun, has been lost from the Hebrew text, and is not found in any printed copy of the Hebrew bible. It is preserved however by the LXX, the Vulgate, and other Versions, and is as follows: “The Lord is faithful in all his words, and merciful in all his works.” This should form Psalms 145:14 of the psalm, and would thus complete the number of twenty two verses.
REFLECTIONS.
The character of this psalm as a devotional piece stands high. No one properly acquainted with David's history, and with his own heart, can possibly read it without being kindled with devotion. A review of God's perfections, of his works, and signal providence, must at all times affect and interest the heart. He had a divine right to say that the Lord was good to all, both temporally and spiritually. See how he cares for tender insects, and gives them food in summer, and shelter in winter. Much more then are his mercies over man.
This psalm closes with very comfortable inferences. The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him. He will fulfil their desire: in a thousand places he has promised so to do, and his attributes incline him to it. He has already given his only-begotten Son, the greatest of all gifts, and he will not withhold the least; but will pardon and purify. All his saints, however tried, however persecuted, bear witness that the Lord heareth prayer. Yea, he preserveth all them that love him, as he most wonderfully preserved David; and he never suffers a saint to die, but when his death is better than life. Then the hand, or the circumstance, which inflicts the blow, is of small moment.
On the contrary, the Lord will destroy all the wicked. Look at David's enemies: see them fall on Gilboa; see them fly with Absalom, and perish in the wood of Ephraim. So, oh my soul, shall all thy spiritual foes fall before thee; and so shall all the enemies of the Lord, and of his Christ, perish in their own ways.