Psalm 145

¹⁷ The Lord is righteous in all His ways,
Gracious in all His works.

¹⁸ The Lord is near to all who call upon Him,
To all who call upon Him in truth.

¹⁹ He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;
He also will hear their cry and save them.

²⁰ The Lord preserves all who love Him,
But all the wicked He will destroy.

²¹ My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord,
And all flesh shall bless His holy name
Forever and ever.

It is an acrostic Psalm, the verses beginning in the Hebrew with the successive letters of the alphabet. Somehow the couplet for the fourteenth letter, Nun, has dropped out of the text as it has come down to us. The Septuagint, however, supply the omission thus: “The Lord is faithful in His words, and holy in all His works.” The place of this verse is between verses 13 and 14 in our English Bibles. — Meyer, page 176.

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This psalm is structured as an alphabetic acrostic … although excluding the 14th letter, which further enables the organization of this psalm into three stanzas of seven verses each. These numerical elements of the psalm’s structure in turn reinforce and sharpen our understanding of its content—to wit: that each of the three stanzas describe the complete/perfect (=”7″) expression of a distinct aspect of “God’s name,” all three of which serve as the collective basis for blessing him to the utmost/superlative (=”3″) degree. — Wechsler, page 347.

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The repetition at the end of the psalm of David’s opening declaration, “And I will bless They name forever and ever,” underscores the them of the psalm itself. So too, the specific reference to “God’s name” (rather than just “God”) indicates a specific thematic focus on God’s “reputation” as based on His manifest deeds of deliverance and victory (both spiritual and physical). … Especially prominent in this section is the notion of God’s “greatness,” as borne out by the three-fold use of the Hebrew root g-d-l (“to be great”): in v.3 (“Great is the LORD … His greatness is unsearchable”) and v.6 (“I will tell of They greatness). — Wechsler, pages 347-348.

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[Verses 8-14] emphasize the glory of God’s name (i.e., reputation) as manifest in His dominion—specifically, His dominion as characterized by (1) the glory (vs.11a, 12b) and everlasting extent (v.13) of that over which He rules (i.e., His kingdom in vs. 11-13); (2) the rule itself, which, like the Ruler, is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and great in lovingkindness; and (3) the “citizens” of His kingdom, who are described as “recipients of hesed). Wechsler, page 348.

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Saints (v.10) — This title (Heb. hasid) is related to “steadfast love (Heb. hesed), and therefore denotes primarily those who have been the object of the covenant love of the Lord; it then advances to include also the thought of their responsive love toward Him. — Guthrie, page 544.

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David concludes (vs.15-21) on the specific ways in which God’s hesed, referenced in the previous section, is expressed towards the citizens of His kingdom—both now as well as in the hereafter—to wit: He supplies their need for physical sustenance in due time (v.15); even more, He satisfies their desire (vs. 16 and 19); He is near to them (an allusion to Deuteronomy 4:7, signifying special access to God on the basis of relationship); He saves them; and He keeps (or “preserves,” “guards”) them, meaning that, from the moment that their status as “citizens” in God’s kingdom is granted, as expressed through their faith here and now, He maintains that status forever. — Wechsler, pages 348-349.

Williams’ take:

In Psalm 22:25, Messiah said, “My praise shall be of Thee in the great congregation.” This vow He here fulfills on ascending the throne of Jehovah at Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 29:23). As Viceroy He acts for God the Great King, addressing Him as “My God the King.” Before Him stands “the great congregation” composed of the princes and people of Israel, and the representatives of all nations. This mighty anthem is then sung. Messiah leads the song, and the great congregation responds. The subjoined arrangement has been suggested:

Messiah sings: “I will extol Thee,” etc., (vs.1-2).
The great congregation responds: “Great is Jehovah,” etc., (vs.3-4).
Messiah sings: “I will speak,” etc., (v.5).
The congregation responds, “and men shall speak” etc., (v.6).
Messiah sings: “Yea, I will declare,” etc., (v.6).
The congregation responds: “They shall abundantly” etc., (vs.7-20).
Messiah sings: “My mouth shall speak” etc., (v.21).
The response: “And all flesh shall bless,” etc., (v.21). — Williams, page 412.