A psalm of praise. Of David.
The last Davidic psalm in the psalter has 22 pairs of lines of constant, steady praise of God.
This psalm is an acrostic psalm. It has 21 verses, each beginning with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet. As the Hebrew alphabet has 22 letters, one letter (נ, nun) and one verse was missing in Hebrew manuscripts and many English translations. That verse has been recovered (from some ancient Hebrew manuscripts, including the Dead Sea Scrolls) and is now included by the NIV as the second half of verse 13.
Psalm 145:1-2, I exalt You
I will exalt you, my God the King;
I will praise your name for ever and ever.
Every day I will praise you
and extol your name for ever and ever.
David begins with promises to constantly praise God. He weaves in three Hebrew words, rum, barak and halal. The verb rum (רוּם) means to exalt, lift up; the verb barak ( בָרַךְ) means to bless/praise, and halal (הָלַל, from which we get the word hallelujah) means to praise, extol.
Psalm 145:3-7, Most worthy
Great is the LORD
and most worthy of praise;
his greatness no one can fathom.
One generation will commend your works to another;
they will tell of your mighty acts.
They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty,
and I will meditate on your wonderful works.
They will tell of the power of your awesome works,
and I will proclaim your great deeds.
They will celebrate your abundant goodness
and joyfully sing of your righteousness.
David praises God's greatness and says that each generation will pass on news about this greatness to the next generation. Now 100+ generations from David, the praise continues, carried partly by this very song.
The stream of words
greatness, majesty, mighty acts, splendor, wonderful works,...
introduces us to the many Hebrew words that can be used to describe YHWH: God is great, gadol (גָּדוֹל), from which comes the feminine noun gedullah (גִּדוּלָה) meaning greatness, majesty, dignity; David then commends or glories in (habach , שָׁבַח) God and His strength, power, mighty acts (gebaruh, גְּבוּרָה.)
Psalm 145:8-9, Slow to anger
The LORD is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and rich in love.
The LORD is good to all;
he has compassion on all he has made.
YHWH is not just powerful but gracious, caring, and compassionate. Verse 8 echoes Exodus 34:6. , praising God for His love and patience, His graciousness in anger. (Not everyone is excited about this character of God: see Jonah 4:2.)
Psalm 145:10-13a, Glory of Your kingdom
All you have made will praise you, O LORD;
your saints will extol you.
They will tell of the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your might,
so that all men may know of your mighty acts
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures through all generations.
God is not only great and powerful but has invited human beings into His kingdom and if creating an everlasting kingdom that runs through all generations. (A version of verses 12-13a is spoken by King Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4:3.)
Psalm 145:13, Faithful and loving
The LORD is faithful to all his promises
and loving toward all he has made.
The first letter of verse 13 begins with מ, mem, and the first letter of verse 14 begins with ס, samekh, skipping nun. But some ancient texts and some ֹof the Qumran Dead Sea Scrolls have a verse that begin with nun and translates to the two lines above. Modern texts such as the NIV have inserted this verse to the end of verse 13.
Psalm 145:14, Lifting those who fall
The LORD upholds all those who fall
and lifts up all who are bowed down.
The theme of a human kingdom, begun in verse 10, continues with praise for YHWH who lifts up the vulnerable and inadequate. The NET in verse 14 translates the last stich as
"and lifts up all who are bent over,"
a rather poignant description of us vulnerable struggling humans.
Psalm 145:15-16, Satisfied desires
The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food at the proper time.
You open your hand
and satisfy the desires of every living thing.
God's good ness includes food at the proper time (the "daily bread" of Matthew 6:11) and numerous blessings for every living being.
Psalm 145:17-20, Near and listening
The LORD is righteous in all his ways
and loving toward all he has made.
The LORD is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;
he hears their cry and saves them.
The LORD watches over all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.
YHWH listens, is near, saves those who call on Him but destroys the wicked.
Psalm 145:21, Sing praises, every creature
My mouth will speak in praise of the LORD.
Let every creature praise his holy name
for ever and ever.
The last verse begins with a Hebrew word derived from tehillah, (תְּהִלָּה) 8416, a feminine noun, meaning songs of praise. (based on the word halal, appearing earlier.) It is from this word, tehillah, that we get Tehillim, the Hebrew title for the Psalms.
Some Hebrew Vocabulary
I don't have the energy to list all the praise words in this psalm, but here are a few:- rum (רוּם) is to exalt,
- barak ( בָרַךְ) is to bless/praise,
- halal ( הָלַל) is to praise, extol.
- God is great gadol, (גָּדוֹל) of which comes gedullah (גִּדוּלָה), a feminine noun meaning greatness, majesty, dignity,
- shabach ( שָׁבַח) is to commend, glory in,
- gebaruh, (גְּבוּרָה) strength, power, mighty acts,
- tehillah, (תְּהִלָּה), a feminine noun meaning song of praise.
First published December 1, 2025; updated December 1, 2025
