Psalm 145--Great Is the LORD

Psalm 145
English Standard Version

Great Is the LORD
A Song of Praise. Of David.
145 I will extol you, my God and King,
    and bless your name forever and ever.
2 Every day I will bless you
    and praise your name forever and ever.
3 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised,
    and his greatness is unsearchable.

4 One generation shall commend your works to another,
    and shall declare your mighty acts.
5 On the glorious splendor of your majesty,
    and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
6 They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds,
    and I will declare your greatness.
7 They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness
    and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

8 The LORD is gracious and merciful,
    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 The LORD is good to all,
    and his mercy is over all that he has made.

10 All your works shall give thanks to you, O LORD,
    and all your saints shall bless you!
11 They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom
    and tell of your power,
12 to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds,
    and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
    and your dominion endures throughout all generations.

[The LORD is faithful in all his words
    and kind in all his works.]
14 The LORD upholds all who are falling
    and raises up all who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all look to you,
    and you give them their food in due season.
16 You open your hand;
    you satisfy the desire of every living thing.
17 The LORD is righteous in all his ways
    and kind in all his works.
18 The LORD is near to all who call on him,
    to all who call on him in truth.
19 He fulfills the desire of those who fear him;
    he also hears their cry and saves them.
20 The LORD preserves all who love him,
    but all the wicked he will destroy.

​21 My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD,
    and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.

---

This is a song of praise and exultation from David for how great the LORD is.  He is telling the people of Israel to worship the LORD for He is God and King and greatly to be praised.  David tells every generation to pass on to the future generations all the great and wonderful things that the LORD has done for them.  Not every generation is going to experience the Exodus, but every generation can be told of the Exodus and how the LORD redeemed Israel as a people for Himself and made them a nation set apart from all the other nations of the world.  In this way, we will tell the generations and the world of His goodness and righteousness.

It is that grace and mercy that David focuses on for the rest of the Psalm.  The LORD is gracious and merciful, abounding in steadfast love.  These are not the characteristics of the pagan gods and goddesses of the surrounding nations.  The LORD alone has cut a covenant with His people that He will never break because He has sworn by Himself--there was nothing greater He could swear by, for He made everything else seen and unseen and they are inferior to Him and His great Name.  Though we break covenant with the LORD many times over, He never breaks covenant with us and welcomes us back home as sons (see the Parable of the Lost Son), even though we don't deserve that kind of love, grace, or mercy.

For this reason and 10,000 more reasons, all of creation worships the LORD and all of His saints (the people He has declared righteous and made holy unto Himself) will bless the LORD.  We will speak of the glory of His Kingdom (and of its King) as His ambassadors and tell of His great power.  His kingdom is everlasting, and His dominion endures throughout all generations.

The next phrase is one we're not 100% sure is in the original text, but there's no reason to not sing His praise for this reason too--"The LORD is faithful in all His words and kind in all His works."  He is always faithful to do what He promises, and His saints realize His lovingkindness every day.  Those who are still under His wrath may not recognize His kindness and mercy, but even His correction is kind, for He is longsuffering and not wanting any to perish but wants all to repent and have eternal life.

The LORD is a champion and advocate for those who are downtrodden and have been brought low by life's circumstances.  He makes sure they have food to eat and takes care of them in the same way that He cares for all the wild animals.  The LORD cares about all living things, but cares much more about man, who was made in His image.  Jesus argues from the lesser to the greater that if the lilies of the field and the birds of the air are taken care of by our Heavenly Father, how much more will He care for us (and give the Holy Spirit to those who ask of Him)?

Everything the LORD does is right.  He can literally do no wrong.  He is kind in all His works (there it is again, as David is focused on the way the LORD acts kindly towards him).  The LORD is ever-present, is attentive too us, and is right there to provide help and aid when we need Him.  He is always close to us waking alongside us as we try to walk where He leads us.  He is our Shepherd that leads us, feeds us and defends us from the predators.

The LORD fulfills the desires of the heart for those who delight in Him and fear Him.  As we become more like Jesus and our desires become His desires, it pleases the Father to give us the things that He would give His son, for the Father does not withhold good gifts from His children, even His adopted children.  We cry out to Him and He saves us.  Not only does He save us in our current circumstances, but He keeps us until the Day of the LORD when we will be presented blameless because of the finished work of Christ, and He will make good on every promise that has been made to us--though we deserve none of them.  Therefore, we look forward to the coming kingdom where we will be one with the Father and the Son and will be free from the very presence of sin.  There will be no more night and there will be no separation of day and night or land and sea, for we will all be united together as one people in one place, though we are from every tribe, tongue and nation--the LORD has made us who were not a people a people unto Himself.  The LORD will also destroy all the wicked things.  They will have no place in the coming Kingdom as His kingdom and His people will be incorruptible because there will be no more sin and no more temptation to sin.

David then proclaims that for all these reasons and more, he will always praise the LORD, and he calls on the rest of the world to join him in his praise and adoration.  Though we live thousands of years later, we too can join in this song. with him.