Christianity

Psalms 145David's Psalm of Praise

Summary

Psalm 145, headed David's psalm of praise, is the last psalm attributed to David and an alphabetic acrostic in Hebrew. It extols God as king every day and forever, praising his greatness, mighty acts, goodness and righteousness. It describes him as gracious and full of compassion, good to all, upholding all who fall and raising those bowed down. The eyes of all wait upon him, and he opens his hand to satisfy every living thing. Jewish tradition recites it as the core of the Ashrei prayer.

Key verse

“The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.”

Psalms 145:18

Themes

Praise of God's Kingship
Goodness to All
Compassion
God Near to the Seeker

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

The LORD 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 also will hear their cry, and will save them.

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

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

Text: King James Version (1611/1769), public domain.

Across traditions

Judaism
Psalm 145 in the JPS 1917 Tanakh
Psalm 145 forms the heart of Ashrei, recited three times daily in Jewish prayer and framed by verses from Psalms 84, 144 and 115. A Talmudic saying (Berakhot 4b) assures a place in the World to Come to whoever recites it three times a day.
Islam
Surah Al-Fatiha (1): Praise and Mercy
Al-Fatiha begins with praise to the Lord of the Worlds, the Beneficent, the Merciful. It shares Psalm 145's blessing of God's name and its stress on mercy, and like Psalm 145 in Jewish practice it is recited many times each day in prayer.

Questions about Psalms 145

Why is a letter missing from the acrostic in Psalm 145?

In the standard Hebrew text no verse begins with the letter nun. A line beginning with nun appears in the ancient Greek translation and in a Psalms scroll from Qumran, and many modern translations add it after verse 13.

What does 'thou openest thine hand' mean in Psalm 145?

Psalm 145:16 pictures God opening his hand to feed every creature that waits on him. In Jewish practice worshippers concentrate especially on this verse when reciting Ashrei, since it speaks of God's provision for all life.