David’s last psalm carrying his own name in its title, and the only one he calls simply “praise.” Structured as a full Hebrew acrostic, one verse for every letter of the alphabet, as if praise this complete needed the entire alphabet just to hold it.
A study in Psalm 145 · Arthur Baldwin · StandUp4Jesus.Org · 13 min read
I Will Extol Thee, My God, O King
“I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever. Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever.”
Psalm 145:1-2
David calls God “my God, O king,” an interesting reversal from the man who was himself Israel’s own king — before he says anything else in this alphabet-long psalm, he first settles who actually occupies the throne.
“Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.”
Psalm 145:3
“Unsearchable” is an honest admission built right into the praise — David is not claiming to have found the limits of God’s greatness, only that he has looked, and found none.
One Generation Shall Praise Thy Works To Another
“One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts. I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works.”
Psalm 145:4-5
David writes with an audience beyond his own lifetime in view — this psalm was composed to be handed forward, one generation actively teaching the next, rather than kept as a single man’s private devotion.
“And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts: and I will declare thy greatness. They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness.”
Psalm 145:6-7
“Terrible acts” and “great goodness” sit side by side without tension — the same God capable of the acts that inspire terror is, in David’s own words, the same God whose goodness deserves to be sung.
The LORD Is Gracious, And Full Of Compassion
“The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.”
Psalm 145:8-9
“Over all his works” refuses any limit — not mercy reserved for Israel alone, or for the deserving alone, but tender mercy spread as broadly as creation itself extends.
Thy Kingdom Is An Everlasting Kingdom
“All thy works shall praise thee, O LORD; and thy saints shall bless thee. They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power; to make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom.”
Psalm 145:10-12
“To make known to the sons of men” states the purpose behind all the praise already sung — not simply an expression of gratitude between David and God, but a message deliberately meant for everyone else listening in.
“Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.”
Psalm 145:13
David, who had personally watched Saul’s kingdom fail, states the one exception to every failing human throne — a kingdom that does not merely last a long time, but simply does not end.
The LORD Upholdeth All That Fall
“The LORD upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down.”
Psalm 145:14
The psalm turns here from cosmic kingship to something far more personal — not only the ruler of an everlasting kingdom, but the one who notices, specifically, whoever has already fallen down inside it.
Thou Openest Thine Hand
“The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season. Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.”
Psalm 145:15-16
“Every living thing,” not only every person, widens this promise past humanity entirely — the same open hand that feeds a nation of worshipers also feeds whatever else waits, simply, to be fed.
“It is God who supplies the daily needs of all His creatures. In the beautiful words of the psalmist— ‘The eyes of all wait upon Thee; And Thou givest them their meat in due season. Thou openest Thine hand, And satisfiest the desire of every living thing.’”
Ellen G. White · Steps to Christ, p. 9
White quotes this passage as the opening argument of her very first chapter on God’s love — before any mention of sin, the cross, or repentance, she starts with the ordinary, daily proof this psalm already names: every meal any creature has ever eaten is itself a small, repeated evidence of exactly this open hand.
The LORD Is Nigh Unto All Them That Call Upon Him
“The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works. The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.”
Psalm 145:17-18
“In truth” is the one qualifier attached to this promise — not distance from a formal prayer or a careless one, but nearness reserved for whoever calls out honestly, whatever the words happen to be.
“Faithful among the faithless, uncorrupted by the prevailing apostasy, he steadfastly adhered to the worship of the one true God. ‘The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon Him, to all that call upon Him in truth.’”
Ellen G. White · Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 125
White applies this exact promise to Abraham, standing alone against the idolatry of his own father’s household — nearness to God, in her account, was never a matter of Abraham being surrounded by other believers. It was a matter of who he called on, in a world where almost no one else did.
“He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them. The LORD preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy.”
Psalm 145:19-20
The one sober note in an otherwise unbroken celebration of God’s goodness arrives here at the very end — the same nearness offered freely to everyone who calls in truth is, just as plainly, not extended to those who refuse Him.
“My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD: and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.”
Psalm 145:21
The alphabet that carried this whole psalm runs out here, but the invitation David closes with does not — “all flesh,” not only his own mouth, called to keep blessing this same name long after his own twenty-one verses have ended.
