This is a psalm of praise, either calling to praise, or expressing wishes for praise.  Like all similar Psalms, it discusses Jehovah's majesty and grace and from this discussion there logically flows the repeated calls to praise.  The grounds for praise are laid out and intertwined with the calls for praise. 

The wording in several verses suggest that this psalm can be legitimately called a kingdom poem and as such, it could be regarded as prophetic, looking forward to future earthly glory and the reign of God upon the earth.  

The five previous psalms to this current one (Ps. 145) are psalms of prayers and exemplifies the way we as Christians should look at offering our prayers and praises to God. The remaining six psalms in the book are then devoted to praises.  

Throughout Psalm 145, the writer David engages us to praise God along with him, mainly because, He, God Almighty is worthy to be praised.   

This psalm is most appropriate for those who think that everything is coming down on their shoulders and who feel they cannot take even another step. 

When we consider this psalm, we believe that God is able to carry us through all of the difficulties of life because of his great love and awesome power. 

The cure for weakness and faltering caused by troubles is to praise the name of God daily.  When one considers who God is daily, his greatness, his majesty, his compassionate grace, his wondrous acts, his fervent consistency, his amazing long-suffering and the nature of his royal reign, the act of praise is good and beneficial medicine for us and all is pleasing to God. 

Though outside of our lesson Scripture, verse 14 is particular to those who suffer.  It says:

“ The Lord upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down. The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou giveest them their meet in due season. Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.”

Verse1.  David is exuberant and expresses his delight clearly and unequivocally.  He uses the grammatical word form ‘I will’ which would bring to the Hebrew mind the divine “ I will be what I will be” the divine name. This name represents the Supreme Will of the Supreme Being and but now is used to express David's absolutely fixed and fundamental position. 

He will speak well of God and he will express his sublime thoughts of God.  This praising is repeated over and over again, indicating that David is excited, takes great pleasure in what he is doing and his heart is totally absorbed in this activity. 

His worship comes because this is his personal God, who is also King, a royal and glorious person.  

He states his position with respect to how he will praise and honor God, who is also his King.  The psalmist praised and worshipped God as the one and only true King.  To that end, he says he will continue to bless his King and God forever. David openly voices his commitment to praise God.  From the language and force of the text, he does not seem to mind whether people are present or not, just that he knows his God hears him and hence leading him along with the praise and blessing.   

This is David’s will.  It is a conscious, deliberate and emphatic position and this brings his a deep response of lifelong praise to the God he worshiped, for nothing less a sufficient.  His very introduction of the concept of the royal title of God, enables him to explore how God has revealed himself. 

By mentioning God as his King, David experiences his understanding that God is sovereign and as such should be honored and praised.

Verse 2.   David’s commitment to praising God’s name is not restricted only to the moment, but every day and forever and then into eternity.   David promises to praise God’s name as long as God provides him with breath. He is so enthusiastic about his relationship with God, that he keeps repeating his determination to praise God.

His worship begins with a Hebrew praise literally meaning “ In all of the day”,  that is continuously. His praise of God will always be in his mouth, so it is not reserved for a formal daily prayer or praise time. He praises frequently.  He is constant all through his life and no time will pass where, no matter how much work or sorrow he has, he will neglect to praise God.  David knows that God is blessing him and keeping him and giving him life every moment of the day and so he can do no less than having the praises of God continuously on his lips. 

We should learn from David’s example and understand the motivation  for what he is doing.  How can he do this?  We should understand as David did, that God is sovereign, that He has absolute control over all things at all times.  Nothing can happen or exist outside of His influence.   Knowing that, how can we not praise him as David did?  What need do we have to worry, if we know that God is looking after us and has everything under His control.  If we look to God as our strength and salvation, then we should be able to delight in what God has done for us and also be able to obey Him.

Verse 3.   This verse opens with a word which speaks of majesty, swelling, uplifting, magnifying and glorifying. 

This is the first ground of his praise. The statement of this verse is clear and obvious.  God is great! He is to be praised for his greatness. What attribute of God is it that convinces David of God’s greatness?  He could have seen the great wisdom of God.  It could be His power, faithfulness, holiness, grace and goodness or how He manifests Himself in His creation.  So great is God in all His attributes that David declares him to be unsearchable.  Man has no wisdom or knowledge that would enable him or any one, to come to an understanding of God.  Even God’s saints and angels do not completely understand Him and His actions to any real discernable extent, but we will have an eternity in order to learn able God. 

(See Psalm 48:1; 86: 10; 147:5 and with respect to God’s unsearchableness see Job 5:9; 9:10; 11:7; Isaiah 40:28; Romans 11:33.)

Verse 4.   God is so great, that David’s praise is inadequate and so he calls on all generations to join him in praising God as is their responsibility. 

They would have to agree that God's acts are mighty and praiseworthy and should be transmitted from one generation to the next. 

As one generation praises God’s work, so shall the next generation. All God’s acts shall be given to each generation, so that they may know who is their King.  They will learn who is their God and who is their salvation. As they learn of God's mighty acts, they should zealously and without hesitation declare them.  

It has been said that those who do not remember their past are doomed to repeat it.  This is a terrible circumstance to be in and specifically as it relates to God, it would be a terrible thing to forget who God is, for the very fact that he is capable of executing judgment and also for his ability to protect his people.   

We have seen that God has throughout Israel’s life had to remind them of how He had dealt with their forefathers and the promises He has kept to them.   

Remembering is crucial in serving God.  It gives us assurance that God is able and a context in which we might be able to understand why He acts the way He does, but more importantly, is that He has proven Himself, although He had no need to. 

In each generation from Adam’s to the present day, God has done what He needed to do, because such is His will to redeem man and His will shall be done.  His works of providence done in each age can be expressed to the following generation so that they may learn, understand, trust and obey our God and King.  This leads us to the only logical conclusion and course of action.   Declaring and praising God for His actions which prove Him and for the majesty of His works, from creation to redemption is obligatory.

Verse 5.   The declaration of God’s glory by succeeding generations as they contemplate God’s mighty works means that the praises to God would never cease, though David and believers of his generation would grow old and die.  David considers himself to be an important link in the chain of believers.  

This verse follows by beginning with the word pointing to the honor and glory or splendor of God's majesty and of the wonders, the supernatural nature of his works. 

His majesty is glorious and this is reflected in His creation.  As we look up to the stars above and stare at them, it might inspire us to create an epic poem or inspire us to some kind of greatness due to their splendor and magnificence.  What most people do not do is look beyond the creation and consider who might have created this awesome sight and who controls it from day to day.    

In the creation of the heavens that we can observe, or even that exist, God has provided us with just a sample of His glory and majesty.  The heavens declare his handiwork.  On earth the rising and setting of the Sun, the breeze that blows over us on a hot day to provide relief, the precious moments we have with family and friends, all speak to a wondrous  Creator.  

These are the gifts of God that declare His greatness and majesty.  We should as David does, consider who God is and not just the fact that He is God and our King, not just that He is sovereign, but all that these things entails, so that we may properly consider what He has done in His mighty miracles.   

From these contemplations we will be able to speak of God’s greatness.  This witness is not just personal, but corporate. 

Verse 6.   The alphabetic pattern continues (Vav) which is a prefix that attaches to the word:

“And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts..” 

To that end, all of God’s acts both wondrous and terrible glorify Him. The power that God wields is seen in the operations of His providence and in His execution of justice.  Even though we may not fully understand or appreciate all of God’s actions, we should do as David does until that day when we do understand.  We should praise God and declare His greatness to all.   

Verse 7.   This verse opens with a remember/memory focus.

Jehovah is a great and mighty King and he has great goodness and great righteousness to all his creatures. 

David cannot but help to say that he will confess God’s greatness to all.  This is a witness from man about his Lord and Saviour who is God and King.  Remembering and acknowledging God’s greatness could only be done properly if the Holy Spirit was upon David.  Other than that, he would not care to acknowledge God was what he was doing for His people.   

All people, believers and non-believers could also abundantly (literally, ‘bubble over profusely in uttering’) express God’s greatness.  In most cases it is the believers who would acknowledge God’s existence, providence, sovereignty and power, as they would see all that happens in their lives occurring as allowed by God’s will. 

God’s goodness is great because he brings a multitude of mercies.  We can never count God's blessings for they are too great. 

So David says that when the people consider God’s righteousness they will sing, that is, shout joyfully. 

Another focus area of David’s praise is God’s righteousness.  David knows that if God were truly to recompense or execute judgment for our sins, there would be no survivors.  God’s is yet merciful and longsuffering with our short-comings. 

God has not dealt with us as He should, but he deals with us according to His infinitely just, merciful, holy and gracious character.  He brings salvation to the saints, justifies them, but even though He eventually disciplines and destroys his unrepentant and wicked enemies, He still provides for them, speaks to them and constantly calls on them to repent so that they would be saved.

It comes from Exodus 34:6 and is considered to be one of the creedal statements of Israel and a favorite text quoted by the Jews after the exile, for it summarized God's constant goodness to them. 

We are dealing with Covenant love which was demonstrated time after time to the people of God. This love (“hesed”) shows itself to be slow to anger. 

This verse discusses the attributes that make God compassionate.  Covenant love is most important to the Creator, for this underlay how He deals with His people.  

Those who serve God understand and experience the fact that he is gracious and that is to say that he attempts to deal with us on our level to clear up our faults.  It is not to say that He is permissive, but God will display mercy.  To that end, God is very compassionate.  His mercy and compassion show no bounds when we consider all our sins, for God has the right to destroy us but stays His hand in order to improve us.   

His compassion also goes to those that need Him, His people, but it also extends to those individuals who still refuse to acknowledge Him as Lord.  He displays great mercy as previously mentioned.  We are born in sin and shaped in iniquity. Each day we tend to do things that displease the Lord.  From His perspective, this is very grievous.  However instead of punishing us, God uses our sin in order to teach us lessons that will improve our spiritual character and make us the children He desires.   If God had not been so compassionate and merciful, then He would not have crafted the plan of salvation and had Himself come as the sacrifice for our sins, in order to redeem us.  What more can be said.

Verse 9.   This alphabet word stands for good.

After telling us that God has great mercy, e realize what one writer means by his statement that when we look at His works, the works of his mercy seemed to outshine all his other works. 

Actually when we look at the bad people that he has saved and transformed into vessels of mercy ordained to glory, we understand why these people will sing praises to God through eternity, extolling God's divine goodness. 

God’s goodness is however so immense that even the people who are not owned by him, are the recipients of His goodness. 

God does not want to see any of His creation destroyed, especially man.  That is why He constructed the plan of salvation. Even before the creation of the world, He had His plan of redemption in place.  His mercy, goodness and grace extend to all.  Even when man had sinned, and sin entered into the world and nature itself took a turn for the worst, God still provided for man, even to the point of clothing Him.   

Even then, God showed concern for the animals and the plants of the world.  We should read God's saving work with Noah and his comments to Jonah.  His goodness extends to all men, women, plants and animals.  When Ishmael’s life was in danger and Abraham had to send him away, God had mercy on him and was looking out for him.  When Cain killed Abel, God had provisions in store to protect him.   

Justice and mercy from God, falls on the just and the unjust.  This is simply because God loves His entire creation. David realized this and many Christians who reach some level of maturity and are lead by the Holy Spirit see this and to that end follow God’s command to spread the gospel, in order to save those lives God would have us save.  And we should do it with joy, knowing God’s wrath, that we have helped a brother or a sister realize God’s goodness. 

The idea is that we have a kind, generous, King of creation who showers all of his creatures, the good and the bad with good bounty.

Verse 10.   This tenth letter of the alphabet begins with the root word for praise.

In view of what had been stated before, David now draws the conclusion that all should respond by thanking this very generous Creator. When we consider all that He has done, all of God’s works should praise His name.  Nature itself testifies of His greatness and in their own way continually glorifies God by their beauty and continued existence. In every way and in all its form, nature testifies to His praise. 

The saints have a special responsibility to bear the message of Jehovah's kingship to the world.  They have to publicly glory in him, and actively praise and bless him. 

With the praise and honor from his believers, we can bless the name of God.  The way we can do this is through our actions.  If we truly love God, our actions should be proof not just our utterances.   

When the saints talk of God's kingdom, they are speaking of the world being under God's control; that His kingdom will wipe out the kingdoms of the world and replace them.  The saints will talk of God's power to take over the world, despite the raging and plotting of evil rulers and demonic spirits. (See Psalm 2, Zechariah 13:2, Revelation 16:13-16 and 19:11-21, among other passages) 

The majesty of nature praises Him.  Who else could design sunsets with their array of colours, construct and display the power and splendor of, waterfalls?  Each of His creations testifies to the glory of His Kingdom and His power.  So too shall man praise and testify about God.  

 One important dimension of the display of His power is in dealing with the world now that sin has entered it.  God displayed His power when creating a special people for Himself, pulling them out of Egypt, providing a land and a King for them and part of all that, providing them with a Messiah, that would end up redeeming them. God through His promise to Jesus, also imparts to us the ability to conquer death.  In this alone we should praise God, as David did.  

Verse 12-13.   This letter of the alphabet is the prefix ‘to’. 

It points the saints in a direction that they must make known the glory of God's kingdom and majesty to all men on the earth. 

We see several things when we look at the majesty of God’s Kingdom.  Only God can make His throne in the heavens, such that it is high and lifted up and surrounded by an innumerable company of angels. At some point in time all the sons of men shall be invited to present themselves as subjects and subject themselves to the Lord.  Many times David echoes that he will praise and honor the name of the Lord forever and ever.  David knew that God’s Kingdom would never end.   

Whereas earthly kingdoms might seem to have some glory and are probably magnificent, they do not come close to matching the glory of the heavenly God.  In addition earthly kingdoms rise and fall in little more than heartbeats and so these earthly things are ultimately vain. 

In total contrast to these God’s kingdom, Messiah's kingdom is an everlasting kingdom and will never have any end. Even in its millennial phase it will be unbelievable.  To consider a time when there will be no more wars, the lion will lay down with the lamb, total peace, no sickness, no robbery and no oppression boggles the mind. This will be very great. God will govern the world and lead it into a time of peace.  His dominion or His sovereignty ensures this and since His counsels are unchangeable and uniform, it again is a testimony to Him.   

In addition, we know that even this millennial paradise will merge seamlessly into the most glorious eternal state as described in Revelation 20:11 through 22:5.

CONCLUSION

What can we say but how great THOU ART! 

God's kingdom has no frontiers and has no limits.

All creation depends on Jehovah and his work of Providence.  He is the only one who can relieve affliction and trouble and protect and feed the hunger of the world.

This is the royal work of God.  This is the loving, faithful care of God for his creation. 

Please do not flout His laws, for that will certainly mean providential judgment instead of providential care and protection. 

Love him, obey Him, and praise him for who He is.  Praise him for his transcendent power and for his graciousness.