Psalm 145 is a hymn. The Israelites said it at the autumn festival. It focuses on the kingship of the Lord. It praises God for the blessing of a rich harvest and for the saving history of Israel.
The psalm is an acrostic, except with a missing “nun” in the Massoretic text, but present in the LXX, Syriac, and one Hebrew manuscript. The acrostic pattern draws the attention of many listeners and aids in alerting them to the concepts taught. The downside is that such a pattern can lead to disjointedness and repetition. Among other acrostic psalms are 25, 111, 112 and 119. Psalm 145's acrostic literary device, which goes sequentially from 'aleph to tav (the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet), may be a way of saying that the Lord (his goodness, along with his works), encompasses everything from A to Z and thus is to be acknowledged with abundant praise. Similarly, the "I am the Alpha and the Omega" passages of Revelation (1:8; 21:6; 22:13) mean "I am A to Z and everything in between." (Alpha and omega are the first and last letters, respectively, of the 24-letter Greek alphabet.) we also find acrostic biblical poetry in Proverbs 31:10-31 (the wise/capable woman/wife) and in each of chapters 1-4 of Lamentations.
The central theme of this psalm, that which ties all the statements together, is plainly stated in the superscription: "Praise (tehillah). Of David," which is the only psalm identified this way. Its plural, tehillim (praises or songs of praise), is the Hebrew title for the book of Psalms as a whole. These nouns are etymologically related to the Hebrew verbal root halal which means to give thankful praise to or to glorify; it can also mean to sing a song of praise. Our "Hallelujah!" comes directly from the imperative hallelu-yah ("Praise Yah!"/ "Praise the LORD!"). "Yah" is a short form of "Yahweh," the personal name of the God of Israel. In the book of Psalms, Psalm 145 has an ideal position as it comes immediately before Psalms 146-150 ("The Hallelujah Psalms"), each of which begins and ends with the Hebrew word hallelu-yah. The Talmud says, "Everyone who repeats the Tehillah of David thrice a day may be sure that he is a child of the world to come." The psalm is extensively used in morning and evening services in synagogues. And in the early church, it was the Scripture text used at the midday meal.
Psalm 145: 1-5, in a segment that extends to verse 13a, a keynote of the psalm, focuses on the call to offer praise to God, acknowledging the glory of the Lord. Multiple themes run throughout the psalm. Words such as “praise,” “extol,” “bless” (you or your name), “laud,” “celebrate” and “sing aloud” appear in verses 1-4, 7, 10. Verses 1-3 is an introduction. 1 I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever.God is the reigning monarch who receives praise from the people of God. Our praise for our majestic God will never end; it is “forever and ever,” recurring in the final verse to form an inclusio for this psalm, given emphasis to this theme. 2 Every day I will bless you, and praise your name forever and ever. 3 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised. We find the phrase as well in Psalm 48:1; 96:4; Daniel 4:1-3 (words of Nebuchadnezzar of all people!). I Chronicles 16:23-25a's inviting words declare: "Sing to the LORD, all the earth. Tell of his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples. For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised." Further, his greatness is unsearchable. In verses 4-7, the person becomes aware of the presence of God through recounting the saving history. 4 One generation shall laud your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts. The concept is that of passing on a praise-filled witness to others. One generation declares God's praises and mighty deeds to another (as Exodus 13:14; Deuteronomy 4:7-9; 6:4-7). They continue to pass on the heritage of praise. God is known through the acts of God, and proclaiming them is a form of praise. 5 On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate. Devout people will not only declare but will meditate on divine goodness and proclaim and sing about him to others. Meditating on the many reasons for praise offered in this psalm, pausing to ponder and give steady attention to these divine realities, keeps us from trivializing the Lord in thought and speech.
In Psalm 145: 17-20, a segment that began in verse 13b, the psalm ponders the parental care of God, giving examples of the powerful deeds of the Lord and the gracious acts of the Lord. In the wisdom-like verses 17-20, the Lord looks after godly people who love him and follow his ways. 17 The Lord is just in all his ways, and kind (hasid) in all his doings. Especially in verses 7-9, 13 and 17 (as in Exodus 34:6-7a), the Old Testament can describe the Lord as being gracious, merciful, slow to anger, and acting with steadfast/covenant love (hesed), compassion (etymologically related to a word for womb, and see Psalm 25:6 for a similar juxtaposition of hesed and "compassion"), kindness, faithfulness, goodness, righteousness and justice. A provocative thought is that if God were vengeful, even for a brief moment, we would never have life, place, or being. In God we find endless friendship, space, life, and being.[1] When discussing the essence of deity, these attributes characterize the working of God with humanity. Revelation discloses the attributes of the essence of God as the attribute of divine love. The attributes are concrete aspects of the reality of divine love. Goodness, grace, righteousness, faithfulness, wisdom, and patience are different aspects of the reality of divine love. Love is not an abstract master concept, but the reality itself that unites all the aspects. In the attribute of God of patience, Israel perceived an essential element of the electing love of God in this divine overlooking of human weakness and failing. This quality made possible a new beginning for the people after every disaster and judgment. They also understood it was dangerous to abuse this divine overlooking. One can refer to to patience of God only in the light of the threat of divine wrath.[2] In Psalm 145: 18-20, continuing wisdom-like sayings, those who call upon the Lord with a single heart receive the gift of the presence of God. 18 The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. God is "too high above us to understand and too deep within us to escape."[3]19 He fulfills the desire of all who fear him; he also hears their cry, and saves them. 20 The Lord watches over (shamar, as in Psalm 121:5-8 and Numbers 6:24) all who love him. To love God and to fear God both frequently mean to obey God. But all the wicked he will destroy.
In the wisdom-like verses 17-20, the Lord looks after godly people who love him and follow his ways. 17 The Lord is just in all his ways, and kind (hasid) in all his doings. Especially in verses 7-9, 13 and 17 (as in Exodus 34:6-7a), the Old Testament can describe the Lord as being gracious, merciful, slow to anger, and acting with steadfast/covenant love (hesed), compassion (etymologically related to a word for womb, and see Psalm 25:6 for a similar juxtaposition of hesed and "compassion"), kindness, faithfulness, goodness, righteousness, and justice. A provocative thought is that if God were vengeful, even for a moment, we would never have life, place, or being. In God we find endless friendship, space, life, and being.[4] When discussing the essence of deity, these attributes characterize the working of God with humanity. Revelation discloses the attributes of the essence of God as the attribute of divine love. The attributes are concrete aspects of the reality of divine love. Goodness, grace, righteousness, faithfulness, wisdom, and patience are various aspects of the reality of divine love. Love is not an abstract master concept, but the reality itself that unites all the aspects. In the attribute of God of patience, Israel perceived an essential element of the electing love of God in this divine overlooking of human weakness and failing. This quality made possible a new beginning for the people after every disaster and judgment. They also understood it was dangerous to abuse this divine overlooking. One can refer to to patience of God only in the light of the threat of divine wrath.[5] In Psalm 145: 18-20, continuing wisdom-like sayings, those who call upon the Lord with a single heart receive the gift of the presence of God. 18 The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. God is "too high above us to understand and too deep within us to escape."[6] 19 He fulfills the desire of all who fear him; he also hears their cry, and saves them. The prayer is efficacious. 20 The Lord watches over ((shamar, as in Psalm 121:5-8 and Numbers 6:24) ) all who love him. To love God and to fear God both frequently mean to obey God. But all the wicked he will destroy. Many psalms end this way, recognizing that the barrier to many good things in life are the result of wickedness.
Psalm 145: 21 concludes the psalm with a theme with which the psalm began in its praise and blessing the Lord forever. 21 My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord, and all flesh ("every creature" (NIV and NJB), "all (his) creatures" (GNT and Tanakh), and "every living thing" (CEB)) will bless his holy name forever and ever. Observing the Lord's character and awe-inspiring mighty works leads the psalmist and all of God's creation to offer exuberant, joyful praise to the Lord. In Genesis 9, God's after-the-flood promises are for "all flesh," "every living creature" and all the "earth," not just for human beings. In Genesis 9:10-17, every verse uses one or more of these expressions. In Romans 8, the apostle Paul associates the deliverance of all creation with God's anticipated final redemption of the children of God in Jesus Christ. See also Revelation 5:13 in the light of Revelation 4:11. Thus, all of God's intricately linked creation can and will praise God. As in Reginald Heber's hymn, "Holy, Holy, Holy," "All thy works shall praise thy name, in earth, and sky and sea."
[1] I saw no kind of vengeance in God, not for a short time, nor for long. For, as I see it, if God were vengeful, even for a brief moment, we would never have life, place or being. In God is endless friendship, space, life and being. --Julian of Norwich, Meditations with Julian of Norwich (Bear & Company, 1983), 82.
[2] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 1, 360, 432, 439.
[3] Harry Emerson Fosdick used to open his pastoral prayers this way.
[4] I saw no kind of vengeance in God, not for a short time, nor for long. For, as I see it, if God were vengeful, even for a brief moment, we would never have life, place or being. In God is endless friendship, space, life and being. --Julian of Norwich, Meditations with Julian of Norwich (Bear & Company, 1983), 82.
[5]
[6] Harry Emerson Fosdick used to open his pastoral prayers this way.
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