For those who may wish to ‘study’ this chapter, the following simple resources are provided for you. Each passage has a four-Part approach to help you take in and think further about what you have read.

Passage: Psa 145:1-12

1 I will exalt you, my God the King;
    I will praise your name for ever and ever.
2 Every day I will praise you
    and extol your name for ever and ever.

3 Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
    his greatness no one can fathom.
4 One generation commends your works to another;
    they tell of your mighty acts.
5 They speak of the glorious splendour of your majesty –
    and I will meditate on your wonderful works.
6 They tell of the power of your awesome works –
    and I will proclaim your great deeds.
7 They celebrate your abundant goodness
    and joyfully sing of your righteousness.

8 The Lord is gracious and compassionate,
    slow to anger and rich in love. 9 The Lord is good to all;
    he has compassion on all he has made.
10 All your works praise you, Lord;
    your faithful people extol you.
11 They tell of the glory of your kingdom
    and speak of your might,
12 so that all people may know of your mighty acts
    and the glorious splendour of your kingdom.

A. Find Out

1. What does David declare he will do? v.1,2
2. Of what specifically will he praise? v.3
3. What will each generation, and then David, do? v.4-7
4. What specifically about the Lord does David praise? v.8,9
5. What will the Lord’s people do? v.10,11
6. Why? v.12

B. Think:

1. What of the Lord’s character is spoken of here?
2. What else about Him is spoken here?
3. What is the outcome of this?

C. Comment:

                This appears a straight forward psalm of praise by David. Whereas the previous psalm seemed to be more warfare focused, this one seems a straight forward one praising the Lord far more generally.

                He sees God as his King (v.1) and so will praise and exalt Him for that, and he will keep on doing it, day after day for ever (v.2). The fact of God’s greatness is a cause of praise (v.3a) and it is a greatness that is so great that none of us can fully understand it (v.3b).

                His greatness so impacts the people of God that one generation will speak of His works to the next generation (v.4) tell of wonder of His glory revealed (v.5a). This causes David to think and meditate on this unfathomable splendour of God’s acts (v.5b).

                Each generation will tell of the incredible things that God has done (v.6a), and he, David, will join in declaring these things that God has done (v.6b). As they tell of these things they will celebrate God’s goodness and righteousness (v.7).

                This makes David think of God’s character, that He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love (v.8)  and this means He is good to all (v.,9) having compassion on all.  As a result the Lord will be praised, especially by His own people (v.10) who will speak about all His acts (v.11), and thus the world will know! (v.12)

D. Application:

1. God IS worthy of our praise.
2. The Lord wants the rest of the world to know Him as well.

Passage: Psa 145:13-21

13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
    and your dominion endures through all generations.

The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises
    and faithful in all he does.
14 The Lord upholds all who fall
    and lifts up all who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all look to you,
    and you give them their food at the proper time.
16 You open your hand
    and satisfy the desires of every living thing.

17 The Lord is righteous in all his ways
    and faithful in all he does.
18 The Lord is near to all who call on him,
    to all who call on him in truth.
19 He fulfils the desires of those who fear him;
    he hears their cry and saves them.
20 The Lord watches over all who love him,
    but all the wicked he will destroy.

21 My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord.
    Let every creature praise his holy name
    for ever and ever.

A. Find Out

1. What does he say about the Lord’s kingdom & the Lord? v.13,14
2. What else does the Lord do? v.15,16
3. What two further things does he know about the Lord? v.17
4. To whom is the Lord near? v.18
5. What does he do for whom? v.19,20
6. So how does he close this psalm? v.21

B. Think:

1. Go through and list the things the Lord does for His people.
2. What requirements are there on us?

C. Comment:

                The middle of this psalm refers to the Lord’s kingdom (or rule), that it is glorious (v.12) and everlasting (v.13). All that follows is an expression of the Lord’s activity, His rule if you like. Some of the things are things He just does, and others are conditional on us. There appear two parts and each starts with a description of the Lord. He is faithful and loving (v.13b) and He is righteous and loving (v.17).

                The first part (v.13-16) refers to what He does unconditionally: He upholds or picks up and supports those who fall or who are bowed down (v.14) by circumstances (implied) and He provides food (v.15) and meets all the needs of every living thing (v.16).

                The second part (v.17-20) speaks of conditional things He does, so we need to note the conditions as well. He is near (or comes or draws near) to those who call on Him in reality (v.18). For those who fear or respect Him, cry to Him and put their trust in Him (implied) He meets the desires of their cry (v.19) and saves them. Finally He watches over and (implied) guards and protects those who love Him. The conditions of blessing here are that we call on Him with a genuine open heart, we respect and trust Him, and we give Him our heart. The blessings are provision and protection. Does He not do these things for those who don’t trust or love Him? It is more a case of He is unable to because they will not let Him.

D. Application:

1. You desire the blessing of the Lord?
2. Put your whole trust in Him then.