Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Psalms 145:16

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Psalms 145:16. Thou openest thine hand — What a hand is this that holds in it all the food that meets the desires and necessities of the universe of creatures! A very large volume might be written upon this: The proper kinds of food for the various classes of animals.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Psalm 145-146 God is gracious and merciful

The book of Psalms closes with six hymns of general praise. The first of these is David’s ‘Song of Praise’ and in the Hebrew is an acrostic. The other five have no titles, but each begins and ends with the words ‘Praise the Lord’.
God is great and worthy to be the object of people’s praise, day and night, for ever and ever (145:1-3). Those who know God’s greatness should meditate upon it and proclaim it to others (4-7). Not only is God great, but he is full of goodness, showing covenant faithfulness to his people and gracious love to people everywhere (8-9). Those who have tasted his love should show their gratitude by praising him and telling others of his mighty works. In this way they will help spread his rule to the lives of others (10-13a).
The generous help and free gifts of God are always available to all his creatures (13b-16). He is on the side of those who call upon him, honour him and love him, but he is against those who in their sin reject the offer of his mercy (17-20). All creation, and in particular his people, should bring him unending praise (21).
No matter how stable people may appear to be, they can never be fully relied upon. They do not have unlimited power and their lives may be cut short at any time (146:1-4). God, on the other hand, can be relied upon, for he is the all-powerful Creator and his life never ends (5-6). Also, he has special care for those suffering from poverty, injustice, physical handicaps and social insecurity (7-10).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

THE UNIVERSALITY OF GOD’S BLESSINGS

“The eyes of all wait for thee; And thou givest them their food in due season. Thou openest thy hand and satisfiest the desire of every living thing. Jehovah is righteous in all his ways, And gracious in all his works. Jehovah is nigh unto all them that call upon him, To all that call upon him in truth. He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him; He will also hear their cry and save them. Jehovah preserveth all them that love him; But all the wicked will he destroy. My mouth shall speak the praise of Jehovah; And let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.”

“All wait… every living thing… all that call upon him… all that call upon him in truth… all them that love him… all the wicked… all flesh” It is clear that the universality of God’s involvement with his creation is in focus here. He feeds every living creature; he is especially solicitous for the well-being of those who love him and those who call upon him sincerely. He is even concerned with “all” the wicked. Not a one of them shall escape the special attention that God has in mind for evil men.

Many of the sentiments of these verses find echoes in the New Testament, Christ mentioned the sparrow that cannot fall to ground without the knowledge of God.

The logic of the last commandment here is convincing. Since all living things owe their lives and their continued existence upon earth to God’s special loving care, then, “Let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.”

It is a fact that challenges the attention of thoughtful men that God indeed maintains every species of life which he has created. Take a look at those tiny little hummingbirds, or the robust red-breasted robins, or any type of living creature on earth, and then remember that for countless generations God has preserved, maintained, and continued them upon the earth. Furthermore, this has sometimes been done in spite of men and in the face of their efforts to destroy a given species. It is remarkable that men’s efforts have so often been checkmated, and that human efforts have really been responsible for the extinction of very few orders of living creatures, the dodo bird being one exception. Why is this? God takes care of His creation.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

Thou openest thine hand - By the mere opening of the hand all needful gifts are bestowed on the creatures dependent on thee. The same words are found in Psalms 104:28; see the notes at that passage.

And satisfiest the desire of every living thing - All kinds of creatures - people, fowls, beasts, fishes, insects - the innumerable multitudes that swarm on the earth, in the air, in the waters. In Psalms 104:28, it is, “They are filled with good.” The meaning is essentially the same. Of course this is to be taken in a general sense. It cannot mean that absolutely no one ever needs, or ever perishes from want, but the idea is that of the amazing beneficence and fullness of God in being able and willing to satisfy such multitudes; to keep them from perishing by cold, or hunger, or nakedness. And, in fact, how few birds perish by hunger; how few of the infinite number of the inhabitants of the sea; how few animals that roam over deserts, or in vast plains; how few people; how few even of the insect tribes - how few in the world revealed by the microscope - the world beneath us - the innumerable multitudes of living things too small even to be seen by the naked eye of man!

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

16.Thou openest thine hand, etc. The figure is a beautiful one. Most men pass over without observation the singular goodness of God apparent in this admirable ordering of things in nature, and David therefore represents him as stretching out his hand to distribute to the animals their food. We sinfully confine our attention to the earth which yields us our food, or to natural causes. To correct this error David describes God as opening his hands to put the food into our mouths. The word רצון, ratson, some render desire, as though he meant that God supplied each kind of animal with food according to its wish. And a little afterwards we do indeed find it used in that sense. Others, however, refer it rather to God’s feeding them of his mere good pleasure and kindness; it not being enough to say that our food is given us by God, unless we add, as in the second clause of the verse, that his kindness is gratuitous, and that there is no extrinsic cause whatever moving him to provide so liberally for every living creature. In that case the cause is put for the effect; the various kinds of provision being effects of his good pleasure — χαρισματα της χάριτος. If it be found that men and others of his creatures often suffer and die from want, this is to be traced to the change which has come upon nature by sin. The fair order which subsisted in it by God’s original appointment often fails since the fall through our sins, and yet in what remains of it, though marred, we may see the kindness of God referred to by David, for in the severest failures of crop, there is no year so barren and unproductive, that God may not be said to open his hand in it.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 145

I will extol thee, my God, O King; 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 ( Psalms 145:1-3 ).

Oh, the riches of His mercy and grace unto us! The greatness of God unsearchable.

One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts. I will speak of the glorious honor of thy majesty, and of your wondrous works. And men shall speak of the might of thy awesome acts ( Psalms 145:4-6 ):

The word terrible is an old English word, and it's our present usage of it doesn't do justice to the translation. Awesome is a word that we would use more accurately to describe the Hebrew word. "That Thy awesome acts."

and I will declare thy greatness. They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness. For the LORD ( Psalms 145:6-8 )

This is an Old Testament revelation.

is gracious, and full of compassion ( Psalms 145:8 );

That's not the God of the New Testament. That's the God of the Old Testament. The same God. There aren't two Gods.

slow to anger, great mercy. The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works. All thy works shall praise thee, O LORD; and thy saints shall bless thee. They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power; To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom. For thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations. The LORD upholds all that fall, and raises up all those that be bowed down ( Psalms 145:8-14 ).

"Humble thyself in the eyes of the Lord, He will lift you up" ( James 4:10 ). Here is the same idea here. The Lord raises up all of those that are bowed down. God withstands the proud. "He that exalteth himself shall be abased; but he that humbleth himself shall be exalted" ( Matthew 23:12 ). The Lord will uphold those that fall.

Paul said, "Who are you who judges another man's servant? Before his own master he either stands or falls. Yea, God is able to make him to stand" ( Romans 14:4 ). It's so comforting to me to know that in my weakness, God will hold me when I fall. He'll hold me up lest I fall.

The eyes of all wait upon thee; you give them their meat in due season. You open your hand, and satisfy the desire of every living thing. The LORD is righteous in all of his ways ( Psalms 145:15-17 ),

He's gracious. He's full of compassion. He's slow to anger. He's of great mercy. He's good to all. His tender mercies are over all of His works. And now, "The LORD is righteous in all of His ways."

and holy in all of his works ( Psalms 145:17 ).

Satan is constantly challenging the righteousness of God. How can a God of love allow children to be born blind? How can a God of love send men to hell? And all of these concepts that challenge the righteousness of God.

The LORD is near to all of those that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. He will fulfil the desire of those that reverence him ( Psalms 145:18-19 ):

"Delight thyself also in the Lord; He'll give you the desires of your heart" ( Psalms 37:4 ). He will fulfill the desire of those that reverence Him.

he also will hear their cry, and will save them. The LORD preserves all of them that love him: but all of the wicked he'll destroy. My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD: let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever ( Psalms 145:19-21 ). "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Psalms 145

This acrostic psalm begins a series of six psalms, the last six in the Psalter, which are especially full of praise to God. The title, "a psalm of praise," occurs only here in the Book of Psalms. The word "praise" appears 46 times in the last six psalms. In this psalm David praised God for His powerful acts, for His mercy and grace, for His everlasting kingdom, and for His response to those who pray to Him. As such it resembles history psalms, but its genre is most similar to the psalms of descriptive praise.

"In the psalm there is no development of plot or building of intensity. Indeed, it is essentially static in form, articulating what is enduringly true of the world. What is true at the beginning of the psalm is still true at the end. What is true from beginning to end is that Yahweh securely governs, and that can be counted on. We are given a series of affirmations that could be rearranged without disrupting the intent. . . . This is Israel in its most trustful, innocent, childlike faith." [Note: Brueggemann, pp. 28-29.]

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

3. God’s eternal kingdom 145:11-16

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

The NASB translators did not translate the last portion of Psalms 145:13. It reads, "The LORD is faithful to all His promises and loving toward all He has made" (NIV). The Septuagint translators supplied this verse to fill out the acrostic, the line beginning with the Hebrew letter nun being absent in the Hebrew text.

God consistently sustains the fallen, uplifts the oppressed, and provides for all. Therefore, every person looks to God for His provision of his or her needs. Since God’s dominion is everlasting, He cares for His creatures faithfully and lovingly all the time.

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

Thou openest thine hand,.... Not of providence, but of grace, in which all things are, and from whence they come; and which the Lord opens liberally and bountifully, and gives out all things richly to enjoy; all things pertaining to life and godliness; grace here, with all the supplies of it, and glory hereafter:

and satisfiest the desire of every living thing; not of every savage creature; every lion, bear, wolf, c. for then there would be no living in some parts of the world: nor of every carnal, lustful, worldly, and covetous man who never say they have enough, or are ever satisfied: but of everyone that is made spiritually alive, quickened by the Spirit and grace of God; these desire spiritual things, spiritual food, more grace and more communion with God, and conformity to Christ; and these desires are before the Lord; and sooner or later they are satisfied, they have what they desire; especially this will be their case, when they awake in the divine likeness. The words may be rendered, "and satisfies every living one with that which is acceptable [with] favour" i; with good will; with lovingkindness; which is better than life: so Naphtali is said to be "satisfied with favour",

Deuteronomy 33:23; as all living saints are or will be.

i רצון "re acceptabili", Gussetius, p. 803. "benedictione", V. L. "beneplacito", Piscator, Gejerus; "benevolentia", Cocceius.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      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.

      The greatness and goodness of him who is optimus et maximus--the best and greatest of beings, were celebrated in the former part of the psalm; here, in these verses, we are taught to give him the glory of his kingdom, in the administration of which his greatness and goodness shine so clearly, so very brightly. Observe, as before,

      I. From whom the tribute of praise is expected (Psalms 145:10; Psalms 145:10): All God's works shall praise him. They all minister to us matter for praise, and so praise him according to their capacity; even those that refuse to give him honour he will get himself honour upon. But his saints do bless him, not only as they have peculiar blessings from him, which other creatures have not, but as they praise him actively, while his other works praise him only objectively. They bless him, for they collect the rent or tribute of praise from the inferior creatures, and pay it into the treasury above. All God's works do praise him, as the beautiful building praises the builder or the well-drawn picture praises the painter; but the saints bless him as the children of prudent tender parents rise up and call them blessed. Of all God's works, his saints, the workmanship of his grace, the first-fruits of his creatures, have most reason to bless him.

      II. For what this praise is to be given: They shall speak of thy kingdom. The kingdom of God among men is a thing to be often thought of and often spoken of. As, before, he had magnified God's greatness and goodness in general, so here he magnifies them with application to his kingdom. Consider then,

      1. The greatness of his kingdom. It is great indeed, for all the kings and kingdoms of the earth are under his control. To show the greatness of God's kingdom, he observes, (1.) The pomp of it. Would we by faith look within the veil, we should see, and, believing, we should speak of the glory of his kingdom (Psalms 145:11; Psalms 145:11), the glorious majesty of it (Psalms 145:12; Psalms 145:12), for he has prepared his throne in the heavens, and it is high and lifted up, and surrounded with an innumerable company of angels. The courts of Solomon and Ahasuerus were magnificent; but, compared with the glorious majesty of God's kingdom, they were but as glow-worms to the sun. The consideration of this should strike an awe upon us in all our approaches to God. (2.) The power of it: When they speak of the glory of God's kingdom they must talk of his power, the extent of it, the efficacy of it--his power, by which he can do any thing and does every thing he pleases (Psalms 145:11; Psalms 145:11); and, as a proof of it, let them make known his mighty acts (Psalms 145:12; Psalms 145:12), that the sons of men may be invited to yield themselves his willing subjects and so put themselves under the protection of such a mighty potentate. (3.) The perpetuity of it, Psalms 145:13; Psalms 145:13. The thrones of earthly princes totter, and the flowers of their crowns wither, monarchies come to an end; but, Lord, thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. God will govern the world to the end of time, when the Mediator, who is now entrusted with the administration of his kingdom, shall deliver it up to God, even the Father, that he may be all in all to eternity. His dominion endures throughout all generations, for he himself is eternal, and his counsels are unchangeable and uniform; and Satan, who has set up a kingdom in opposition to him, is conquered and in a chain.

      2. The goodness of his kingdom. His royal style and title are, The Lord God, gracious and merciful; and his government answers to his title. The goodness of God appears in what he does,

      (1.) For all the creatures in general (Psalms 145:15; Psalms 145:16): He provides food for all flesh, and therein appears his everlasting mercy, Psalms 136:25. All the creatures live upon God, and, as they had their being from him at first, so from him they have all the supports of their being and on him they depend for the continuance of it. [1.] The eye of their expectation attends upon him: The eyes of all wait on thee. The inferior creatures indeed have not the knowledge of God, nor are capable of it, and yet they are said to wait upon God, because they seek their food according to the instinct which the God of nature has put into them (and they sow not, neither do they reap,Matthew 6:26), and because they take what the God of nature has provided for them, in the time and way that he has appointed, and are content with it. [2.] The hand of his bounty is stretched out to them: Thou givest them their meat in due season, the meat proper for them, and in the proper time, when they need it; so that none of the creatures ordinarily perish for want of food, no, not in the winter. Thou openest thy hand freely and liberally, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing, except some of the unreasonable children of men, that will be satisfied with nothing, but are still complaining, still crying, Give, give.

      (2.) For the children of men in particular, whom he governs as reasonable creatures.

      [1.] He does none of them any wrong, for (Psalms 145:17; Psalms 145:17) the Lord is righteous in all his ways, and not unrighteous in any of them; he is holy, and acts like himself, with a perfect rectitude in all his works. In all the acts of government he is just, injurious to none, but administering justice to all. The ways of the lord are equal, though ours are unequal. In giving laws, in deciding controversies, in recompensing services, and punishing offences, he is incontestably just, and we are bound to own that he is so.

      [2.] He does all of them good, his own people in a special manner.

      First, He supports those that are sinking, and it is his honour to help the weak, Psalms 145:14; Psalms 145:14. He upholds all that fall, in that, though they fall, they are not utterly cast down. Many of the children of men are brought very low by sickness and other distresses, and seem ready to drop into the grave, and yet Providence wonderfully upholds them, raises them up, and says, Return,Psalms 110:3. If all had died who once seemed dying, the world would have been very thin. Many of the children of God, who have been ready to fall into sin, to fall into despair, have experienced his goodness in preventing their falls, or recovering them speedily by his graces and comforts, so that, though they fell, they were not utterly cast down,Psalms 37:24. If those who were bowed down by oppression and affliction are raised up, it was God that raised them. And, with respect to all those that are heavy-laden under the burden of sin, if they come to Christ by faith, he will ease them, he will raise them.

      Secondly, He is very ready to hear and answer the prayers of his people, Psalms 145:18; Psalms 145:19. In this appears the grace of his kingdom, that his subjects have not only liberty of petitioning, but all the encouragement that can be to petition. 1. The grant is very rich, that God will be nigh to all that call upon him; he will be always within call of their prayers, and they shall always find themselves within reach of his help. If a neighbour that is near is better than a brother afar off (Proverbs 27:10), much more a God that is near. Nay, he will not only be nigh to them, that they may have the satisfaction of being heard, but he will fulfil their desires; they shall have what they ask and find that they seek. It was said (Psalms 145:16; Psalms 145:16) that he satisfies the desire of every living thing, much more will he fulfil the desire of those that fear him; for he that feeds his birds will not starve his babes. He will hear their call and will save them; that is hearing them to purpose, as he heard David (that is, saved him) from the horn of the unicorn,Psalms 22:21. 2. The proviso is very reasonable. He will hear and help us, (1.) If we fear him, if we worship and serve him with a holy awe of him; for otherwise how can we expect that he should accept us? (2.) If we call upon him in truth; for he desires truth in the inward part. We must be faithful to God, and sincere in our professions of dependence on him, and devotedness to him. In all devotions inward impressions must be answerable to the outward expressions, else they are not performed in truth.

      Thirdly, He takes those under his special protection who have a confidence and complacency in him (Psalms 145:20; Psalms 145:20): The Lord preserves all those that love him; they lie exposed in this world, but he, by preserving them in their integrity, will effectually secure them, that no real evil shall befal them.

      [3.] If any are destroyed they may thank themselves: All the wicked he will destroy, but they have by their wickedness fitted themselves for destruction. This magnifies his goodness in the protection of the righteous, that with their eyes they shall see the reward of the wicked (Psalms 91:8); and God will by this means preserve his people, even by destroying the wicked that would do them a mischief.

      Lastly, The psalmist concludes, 1. With a resolution to give glory to God himself (Psalms 145:21; Psalms 145:21): My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord. When we have said what we can, in praising God, still there is more to be said, and therefore we must not only begin our thanksgivings with this purpose, as he did (Psalms 145:1; Psalms 145:1), but conclude them with it, as he does here, because we shall presently have occasion to begin again. As the end of one mercy is the beginning of another, so should the end of one thanksgiving be. While I have breath to draw, my mouth shall still speak God's praises. 2. With a call to others to do so too: Let all flesh, all mankind, bless his holy name for ever and ever. Some of mankind shall be blessing God for ever; it is a pity but that they should be all so engaged.