145:1 I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever.
145:2 Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever.
145:3 Great is the LORD [an expression of wonder at how God accomplishes His purposes], and greatly to be praised [He is worthy of praise]; and his greatness is unsearchable [impossible to grasp; cf. Ps. 139:6].
145:4 One generation [each generation is responsible for teaching the next about God and for bearing testimony to His greatness] shall praise [proclaim] thy works [God’s provisions in the ordinary] to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts [God’s provisions in the extraordinary].
145:5 I will speak of [note the things that prompt praise and testimony…] the glorious honour [splendor] of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works.
145:6 And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible [awesome] acts [works]: and I will declare thy greatness.
145:7 They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness.
145:8 [cf. Ex. 34:6-7; Ps. 103:8] The LORD is gracious [giving us what we do not deserve], and full of compassion; slow to anger [God is patient with sinners—to a point], and of great mercy [or faithful love].
145:9 The LORD is good to all [although all do not recognize and respond to His goodness]: and his tender mercies are over all his works.
145:10 All thy works shall praise thee, O LORD; and thy saints shall bless thee.
145:11 They [the “saints” mentioned in 145:10] shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom [refers to God’s sovereignty over all creation], and talk [as opposed to remaining silent; cf. Jn. 9:25] of thy power;
145:12 To make known [to inform] to the sons of men [to all people] his mighty acts [how God has brought victory at different times], and the glorious majesty of his kingdom.
145:13 Thy kingdom [in contrast to the various kingdoms of the world] is an everlasting [in contrast to the temporary kingdoms of this world] kingdom, and thy dominion [God’s rule] endureth throughout all generations.
145:14 The LORD upholdeth [to help, sustain, bear up] all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down [expression pictures slaves being subjected to harsh treatment by evil taskmasters; the oppressed].
145:15 The eyes of all [including Gentiles] wait upon [look to] thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season.
145:16 Thou openest thine hand [His giving heart is behind His open hand], and satisfiest the desire [refers to basic needs, that which makes life possible] of every living thing [includes animals as well as people].
145:17 The LORD is righteous [God always does the right thing, in the right way, with the right motive, at the right time] in all his ways [describes His works in creation and history; righteousness pertains to what God is (grace emphasizes what He does)], and holy in all his works.
145:18 The LORD is nigh [near and ready to help] unto all them that call upon him [God is only a prayer away], to all that call upon him in truth.
145:19 He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him [those who respect and have a reverential fear of Him]: he also will hear their cry, and will save them.
145:20 The LORD preserveth [to guard, keep, watch over, stay with] all them that love him: but all the wicked [those who do not love God and are out of touch with Him; those who follow their own course instead of God’s] will he destroy.
145:21 My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD: and let all flesh [all creation] bless his holy name for ever and ever.
