Psalm 145 A psalm of praise of David. (New Living Translation)
1 I will exalt you, my God and King, and praise your name forever and ever.
2 I will praise you every day; yes, I will praise you forever.
3 Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness.
4 Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts; let them proclaim your power.
5 I will meditate on your majestic, glorious splendor and your wonderful miracles.
6 Your awe-inspiring deeds will be on every tongue; I will proclaim your greatness.
7 Everyone will share the story of your wonderful goodness;
they will sing with joy about your righteousness.
8 The Lord is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.
9 The Lord is good to everyone. He showers compassion on all his creation.
10 All of your works will thank you, Lord, and your faithful followers will praise you.
11 They will speak of the glory of your kingdom; they will give examples of your power.
12 They will tell about your mighty deeds and about the majesty and glory of your reign.
13 For your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. You rule throughout all generations.
The Lord always keeps his promises; he is gracious in all he does.
14 The Lord helps the fallen and lifts those bent beneath their loads.
15 The eyes of all look to you in hope; you give them their food as they need it.
16 When you open your hand, you satisfy the hunger and thirst of every living thing.
17 The Lord is righteous in everything he does; he is filled with kindness.
18 The Lord is close to all who call on him, yes, to all who call on him in truth.
19 He grants the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cries for help and rescues them.
20 The Lord protects all those who love him, but he destroys the wicked.
21 I will praise the Lord, and may everyone on earth bless his holy name forever and ever.
Context: Psalm 145 is located in Book 5 of the 5 “books” of the Psalms, immediately preceding the Hallelujah Psalms that end the Psalter, 146-150. It is a Hebrew acrostic poem. Each of the 21 lines begins with a subsequent letter of the Hebrew alphabet in its quest to praise God from alpha to omega … but it’s all Greek to me! Interestingly, there are 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet which means that when the verses were assigned (verses were not inserted in the original manuscripts, they were inserted by translators to aid the reader) one of the “letters” was lost in translation, perhaps between verses 13 and 14 which leaves verse 13 longer than each of the other verses. In some ancient manuscripts, 13b was not included. Acrostic poetry was used as an aid to memorization in a world where there were few people who could read, and there were no bibles or personal reading materials for those who could.
From her writings, we learn from Nancy deClaissé-Walford, Professor of Old Testament and Biblical Languages at McAfee School of Theology, that Psalm 145 was recited daily along with the Shema: Deuteronomy 6:4-5: "Hear, O Israel, the LORD is our God; the LORD alone. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might." Psalm 145 is found in the Dead Sea Scrolls, in the Jewish Book of Prayer more than any other psalm, and is referred to in the Babylonian Talmud as essential reading for the faithful Jew.
Psalm 145 is comprehensive in its praise and it is also progressively expansive, moving from personal praises to praises that are increasingly communal. We find praises directed to God and praise about God directed to the community. We sense that the writer of Psalm 145 knows God intimately, and we hear both his awe of God and his trust in God. The psalm is attributed to David, the man after God’s own heart so this makes sense. The psalmist invites us all to join him in his praise as he ends this psalm with a plea that “everyone on earth” will always and forever praise God. When was the last time you spent time in prayer simply praising God for who God is?
The image of God that emerges in the center of Psalm 145 (v 10-13) is the glorious King who reigns on heaven and on earth, now and forever. But this King is one that is not only mighty and great, he is also “merciful and compassionate.” One wonders if David, the earthly king sees himself as a reflection of the Heavenly King.
David talks about the “everlasting” kingdom in verse 13. Jesus talked about eternal life and the kingdom of God, too. He says, “anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” (Luke 18:17) Do you sense that kind of child-likeness in David? Are you able to approach the "kingdom" like a child? What does that look like for you?
Going Deeper: What does the psalmist tell us about God through the Psalm? In verse 4, we find a plea for each “generation” to pass along the stories of God. Who told you stories about God as you were growing up? What was your favorite bible story? Why did you enjoy that particular story … what did you learn about God from it? If you didn’t grow up hearing about God … who did tell you the stories and what have they meant for your faith journey?
What about you? Think about your story. Are you sharing the stories of God with the next generation? If you aren’t, what would you share about God’s faithfulness and who would you share this good news with?
How creative can you be? Create an adapted acrostic prayer using Images of God. For example, I might pray: Awesome God, I praise you. Beautiful Lord, make me yours. Caring Spirit, fill me with love ...
Try it! Write it! Pray it! And Praise God through it!
A________________________________________ B________________________________________
C________________________________________ D________________________________________
E________________________________________ F________________________________________
G________________________________________ H________________________________________
I ________________________________________ J_________________________________________
K________________________________________ L________________________________________
M________________________________________ N________________________________________
O________________________________________ P________________________________________
Q________________________________________ R________________________________________
S________________________________________ T________________________________________
U________________________________________ V________________________________________
W________________________________________ X________________________________________
Y________________________________________ Z________________________________________
Pondering: Read the heart of Psalm 145 through Verses 10-13 below from The Message, a contemporary paraphrase by Eugene Peterson OR use the acrostic poem you wrote …
10-11 Creation and creatures applaud you, God; your holy people bless you.
They talk about the glories of your rule, they exclaim over your splendor,
12 Letting the world know of your power for good, the lavish splendor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is a kingdom eternal; you never get voted out of office.
God always does what he says, and is gracious in everything he does.
Lectio=Listen to the words. Read the words slowly, repeating them again and again, allowing them to linger on the tongue, savoring their beauty ...
Meditatio=Prayerfully listen as you read until a small portion of the psalm (a word or a thought or a phrase) begins to draw you deep within. Turn your “portion” over and over in your mind and consider what God may be inviting you to think or feel or do or be … Write down what Spirit has given you so you can remember. Stay with your “portion” and commit it to memory as your thought for the day …
Praying:
Oratio=Spend some time in prayer responding to God’s invitation … allow prayers of confession, petition, intercession, thanksgiving, praise, or ... to emerge in this time you are spending with God.
Contemplatio=When you runs out of words to say, simply rest in the presence of God, lingering with God in loving companionship … Amen!
Take this link for a nice YouTube video for Michael W. Smith's Great is the Lord inspired by The Psalms
Take this link for a worship video from Applegate Psalms Project with Psalm 145 as its inspiration
Take this link for a video with really great Images of God
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