Bible Commentaries
Psalms 145

Verse 1

Title. David's [Psalm] of praise. No other Psalm so entitled. An Acrostic Psalm. See App-63 .

God. Hebrew. Elohim. App-4 .

name. See note on Psalms 20:1 .

Verse 3

the LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah. App-4 .

Verse 5

glorious, &c. Hebrew = the majesty of the glory of Thine honour. wondrous works = instances or examples of Thy wonders. Hebrew - words of Thy wonders.

Verse 6

And men = And they. See Structure (4-7, above).

terrible. See note on Psalms 111:9 .

Verse 7

abundantly utter = pour forth.

Verse 8

gracious, &c. Compare Exodus 34:6 , Exodus 34:7 .

of great mercy = great in lovingkindness, or grace.

Verse 9

to all. Septuagint reads "to them that wait on Him".

tender mercies = compassions.

Verse 10

saints = favoured or beloved ones. Compare Psalms 16:10 .

Verse 11

power. Sing, of the Hebrew word "mighty acts" (Psalms 145:4 ).

Verse 12

men. Hebrew. 'adam (with Art.) = mankind. App-14 .

Verse 13

an everlasting kingdom = a kingdom for all ages. Looking backward (eternal, Psalms 77:5 ) as well as forward (everlasting, Psalms 77:7 ). These words, "Thy kingdom [O Christ] is an everlasting kingdom", were (up to 1893) to be seen on the wall of one of the largest Mosques in Damascus. Formerly it was a Temple of Rimmon. It was turned into the (Christian) Church of St. John the Baptist by Arcadius, later it was made into a Mosque by Caliph Walid I (705-717). It was destroyed by fire on Oct 14, 1893, and subsequently rebuilt. ( Enc. Brit vol. 7, p. 785, Camb. (11th) edition.)

generations. Following this verse (13) the Primitive Text read: "Faithful is Jehovah in all His words And holy in all His works", the verse beginning with the missing letter (Nun) = Neeman (= faithful). It is found in some codices, with Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate, Arabic, and Ethiopic Versions. The Structure (13-20, above) thus confirms the Ancient Versions.

Verse 14

fall = are ready to fall.

raiseth up. Occurs only here and Psalms 146:8 .

Verse 15

eyes of all wait. Figure of speech Prosopopoeia. App-6 .

Verse 16

Thou. This is emphatic in Sept, Syriac, and Vulgate. Compare Psalms 104:26 .

hand. Figure of speech Anthropopatheia. App-6 .

Verse 17

holy = gracious.

Verse 18

nigh: i.e. nigh to help. Compare Psalms 34:18 ; Psalms 119:151 .Deuteronomy 4:7 .

unto all. Note the Figure of speech Anadiplosis ( App-6 ) in the repetition, "to all that call" (for emphasis).

Verse 19

their cry: i.e. for help in distress.

Verse 20

wicked = lawless. Hebrew. rasha. App-44 .

Verse 21

let all flesh = all flesh shall, as in Psalms 145:10 ; thus completing and perfecting the Structure above.

all flesh. Figure of speech Synecdoche (of the Part), App-6 , put for all men.

holy. See note on Exodus 3:5 .

ever and ever. Many codices, with one early printed edition, here add: "And we will bless Jah: From henceforth even for ever, Praise ye Jah. "Compare Psalms 115:18 .