A psalm of praise. Of David.
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.Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
his greatness no one can fathom.
One generation commends your works to another;
they tell of your mighty acts.
They speak of the glorious splendour of your majesty –
and I will meditate on your wonderful works.
They tell of the power of your awesome works –
and I will proclaim your great deeds.
They celebrate your abundant goodness
and joyfully sing of your righteousness.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.
All your works praise you, Lord;
your faithful people extol you.
They tell of the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your might,
so that all people may know of your mighty acts
and the glorious splendour of your kingdom.
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures through all generations.The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises
and faithful in all he does.
The Lord upholds all who fall
and lifts up all who are bowed down.
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.The Lord is righteous in all his ways
and faithful in all he does.
The Lord is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
He fulfils 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.My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord.
(Ps. 145:1-21 NIV)
Let every creature praise his holy name
for ever and ever.
The theme of this Psalm is the praise of the Great God and King. The name of the LORD is exalted as the name of the covenant LORD speaks to us of His covenant faithfulness. There are so many things in life that remain uncertain but the covenant faithfulness of God remains unchanging and unchangeable. As the faithfulness of God remains the same, the Psalmist therefore vows to sing God’s praise every day and for ever and ever.
The Lord is great but the full extent of that greatness no one can fathom. Generation after generation will perpetuate the memory of the great works of the Lord. Each generation will speak of the majesty of God. The Psalmist vows to meditate upon God’s works. The Lord’s works are awesome. God is a good God and He possesses an abundance of goodness. There is abundance in God’s mercy. God is righteous and just. God is slow to become angry with us. God is rich in love showing compassion to the whole of creation. The whole creation praises the Lord. The Kingdom of God will be glorious, and God’s people will populate that Kingdom. If we look at how the Lord has furnished the creation we see the beauty all around us and we are looking at a fallen creation with a mind that has been shaped by the Fall. When sin has been banished and the Lord exalted, what will the glorious splendour of the Kingdom of God be like? This kingdom will be an everlasting Kingdom, the Lord will be king and will hold that role for all eternity. The Lord’s dominion will endure forever.
The Lord will keep all His promises and will demonstrate His love to all. The future is glorious and great will be the beauty of the people of God.
But now for a little while we must endure weakness, suffering and our constant failure. But through this little while, the Lord upholds all those who fall and lifts up those who are bowed down with the burden of life. The Lord supplies our daily needs. All eyes look towards the Lord, and God provides food at the proper time. The Lord provides for the creation. He opens his hand and satisfies the desires of every living thing.
The Lord looks after the righteous. God deals with us in righteousness and He lovingly cares for us. When we call to the Lord He draws near to us. The Lord will preserve the righteous and destroy the wicked.
The Psalmist vows to praise the Lord and he calls on all creation to join in and praise the name of the Lord.
Prayer
Lord we thank You for Your great works of salvation. We thank You for mercy and love that has been abundantly meted out towards us. Lord help us to sing Your praise; help us to meditate upon Your great works so that we will fill our hearts with reasons for singing Your praise. Lord hear our prayer for Christ the Saviour’s sake. Amen.