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Psalm 145[a]

The Greatness and Goodness of God

Praise. Of David.

I will extol you, my God and king;
    I will bless your name forever and ever.
Every day I will bless you;
    I will praise your name forever and ever.(A)
Great is the Lord and worthy of much praise,(B)
    whose grandeur is beyond understanding.
One generation praises your deeds to the next
    and proclaims your mighty works.(C)
They speak of the splendor of your majestic glory,
    tell of your wonderful deeds.(D)
They speak of the power of your awesome acts
    and recount your great deeds.(E)
They celebrate your abounding goodness
    and joyfully sing of your justice.
The Lord is gracious and merciful,
    slow to anger and abounding in mercy.(F)
The Lord is good to all,
    compassionate toward all your works.(G)
10 All your works give you thanks, Lord
    and your faithful bless you.(H)
11 They speak of the glory of your reign
    and tell of your mighty works,
12 Making known to the sons of men your mighty acts,
    the majestic glory of your rule.
13 Your reign is a reign for all ages,
    your dominion for all generations.(I)
The Lord is trustworthy in all his words,
    and loving in all his works.
14 The Lord supports all who are falling
    and raises up all who are bowed down.(J)
15 The eyes of all look hopefully to you;
    you give them their food in due season.(K)
16 You open wide your hand
    and satisfy the desire of every living thing.
17 The Lord is just in all his ways,
    merciful in all his works.(L)
18 The Lord is near to all who call upon him,
    to all who call upon him in truth.(M)
19 He fulfills the desire of those who fear him;
    he hears their cry and saves them.(N)
20 The Lord watches over all who love him,
    but all the wicked he destroys.(O)
21 My mouth will speak the praises of the Lord;
    all flesh will bless his holy name forever and ever.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 145 A hymn in acrostic form; every verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Acrostic poems usually do not develop ideas but consist rather of loosely connected statements. The singer invites all to praise God (Ps 145:1–3, 21). The “works of God” make God present and invite human praise (Ps 145:4–7); they climax in a confession (Ps 145:8–9). God’s mighty acts show forth divine kingship (Ps 145:10–20), a major theme in the literature of early Judaism and in Christianity.

145 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.

Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.

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.

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.

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.

10 All thy works shall praise thee, O Lord; and thy saints shall bless thee.

11 They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power;

12 To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom.

13 Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.

14 The Lord upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down.

15 The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season.

16 Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.

17 The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.

18 The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.

19 He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them.

20 The Lord preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy.

21 My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord: and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.