Commentary - Psalm 145:3-7

Bird's-eye view

This portion of Psalm 145 is a cascade of praise. David, having received rest from his enemies, turns his prayers into pure adoration. This is not quiet, contemplative praise, but rather a loud, public, and multi-generational declaration of God's character and works. The central thrust is that God's greatness is so immense, so unsearchable, that it cannot be contained in one man or one generation. It must be passed on, declared, spoken of, recounted, poured forth, and shouted joyfully. The praise is grounded not in sentimental feelings, but in the objective reality of God's mighty deeds, His fearsome acts, His abundant goodness, and His perfect righteousness. This is what the righteous love to talk about.

We see a beautiful interplay between corporate and individual praise. "One generation shall laud," "men shall speak," and "they shall pour forth," but David also says, "I will muse," and "I will recount." This is how true worship works. It is a great chorus, a mighty river of praise flowing through history, and each believer has the high privilege of adding his own voice to it, meditating personally on the works of God and then declaring them publicly. The foundation of it all is God Himself, His majesty, His power, and His goodness. We praise Him by pointing to what He has done, because what He has done perfectly reveals who He is.

Outline

Clause-by-Clause Commentary

v. 3 Great is Yahweh, and highly to be praised, And His greatness is unsearchable.

The psalm begins with a foundational declaration. It is not that we praise God and therefore He becomes great. He is great. The verb is a statement of objective fact. Yahweh, the covenant God of Israel, is great. Because He is great, He is "highly to be praised." The praise is a necessary consequence of the greatness. It is the only sane and appropriate response. To see a great thing and not acknowledge its greatness is a form of blindness, or worse, rebellion. And so, when we see the Lord for who He is, praise is not a chore; it is an explosion. It is the fitting response to manifest glory.

But how great is He? David immediately tells us that we have a problem, but it is a good problem to have. "His greatness is unsearchable." You can't get to the bottom of it. You can't find the edges. Job asks, "Can you find out the deep things of God?" (Job 11:7). The answer is no. Paul cries out, "Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!" (Rom. 11:33). This is not a frustrating limitation; it is a glorious one. It means that our worship will never run out of fuel. We will never be able to say, "Well, I think I've finally comprehended God." No, when we have been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun, we'll have no less days to sing God's praise than when we'd first begun. His unsearchable greatness guarantees our eternal employment in the business of praise.

v. 4 One generation shall laud Your works to another, And shall declare Your mighty deeds.

Because God's greatness is unsearchable, the task of praising Him cannot be completed by one person or in one lifetime. It requires a relay. The baton of praise must be passed from one generation to the next. This is a central biblical command. "Tell your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children to another generation" (Joel 1:3). The faith is never more than one generation away from extinction, which means the praise is never more than one generation away from silence. Fathers are to teach their sons, who are to teach their sons.

And what is the curriculum? What is the content of this generational teaching? It is God's "works" and His "mighty deeds." We are not called to pass on abstract speculations about the divine essence. We are called to tell the stories. We are to declare what God has done. We tell of the creation. We tell of the flood. We tell of the call of Abraham, the exodus from Egypt, the conquest of Canaan. And supremely, we tell of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. God has given us the raw material for our praise in His mighty acts in history. We praise Him by pointing to what He does, because what He does reveals who He is. These mighty deeds are not just impressive displays; they are declarations of His character, His power, His justice, and His love.

v. 5 On the glorious splendor of Your majesty And on the words of Your wondrous deeds, I will muse.

Here the psalmist shifts from the corporate "one generation" to the individual "I." Public praise must be fueled by private meditation. Before you can declare, you must muse. To "muse" means to ponder, to meditate, to turn something over and over in your mind. And what is the object of this meditation? It is twofold. First, the "glorious splendor of Your majesty." This is the sheer reality of God's being, His intrinsic glory and honor. It is the weight of His presence. Second, it is "the words of Your wondrous deeds." This is God's revelation. It is the story of His works, the inspired record. We have these stories in Scripture. We are to meditate on the text.

So true worship is not empty-headed emotionalism. It is thoughtful. It is rooted in the truth of who God is and what He has said and done. The splendor of His majesty is seen in His wondrous deeds, which are communicated to us by His words. You cannot separate them. If you want your heart to be stirred in worship on Sunday morning, you must spend time during the week musing on the glorious splendor of His majesty as revealed in the words of His wondrous deeds.

v. 6 Men shall speak of the strength of Your fearsome acts, And I will recount Your greatness.

The meditation of the previous verse naturally overflows into speech. What is mused on in the heart comes out of the mouth. David says, "Men shall speak." This is the public testimony, the buzz in the marketplace, the conversation around the dinner table. And what will they speak of? "The strength of Your fearsome acts." The Hebrew word for "fearsome" is the same root as the word for "fear" in "the fear of the Lord." These are acts that inspire awe, reverence, and holy terror. Think of the plagues on Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea, the destruction of Jericho. Our God is not a tame God. He is not safe, but He is good. We live in a sentimental age that wants to domesticate God and turn Him into a cosmic teddy bear. But the Bible is having none of it. The saints of God are not afraid to speak of His fearsome acts, because they know that His terrible power is wielded on behalf of His people. The same power that is a terror to His enemies is a fortress for those who love Him.

And again, David brings it back to the personal. While men are speaking of God's fearsome acts, "I will recount Your greatness." To recount is to narrate, to give a detailed account. David is saying, "I will add my voice to the chorus. I will tell the story." This is the task of every believer. We are all called to be storytellers, recounting the greatness of our God to anyone who will listen.

v. 7 They shall pour forth the memory of Your abundant goodness And will shout joyfully of Your righteousness.

This verse describes the manner and the content of the praise. The praise is not a trickle; it is a flood. "They shall pour forth." The word suggests a spring bubbling up and overflowing. It is not forced or strained; it is an abundant, irrepressible outburst. And what are they pouring forth? "The memory of Your abundant goodness." God's goodness is not sparse. It is not just enough to get by. It is abundant, overflowing, lavish. When we remember what God has done, when we call to mind His countless acts of kindness, provision, and grace, the natural response is an outpouring of praise.

And this outpouring is not a somber affair. They "will shout joyfully of Your righteousness." The word for "shout joyfully" is a word for singing, for crying out in triumph. This is loud praise. This is exuberant praise. And the theme of the song is God's righteousness. We tend to think of righteousness as a stern, grim attribute. But for the believer, the righteousness of God is a cause for joyful shouting. Why? Because God's righteousness means He keeps His promises. It means He is true to His covenant. It means He will always do what is right. And supremely, in the gospel, we see that God's righteousness is the very thing that saves us. God is righteous, and therefore He punished our sin in Christ, so that He could be both "just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus" (Rom. 3:26). That is something to shout about.

Application

The first and most obvious application is that we must be people of praise. But this passage teaches us that praise is not primarily about our feelings, but about God's reality. We praise Him because He is great. Our praise should be grounded in the truth of who He is and what He has done. This means we must be students of Scripture. We cannot praise a God we do not know. We must muse on His wondrous deeds.

Second, we have a generational responsibility. Are we telling the next generation about the mighty acts of God? Are we teaching our children the stories of the Bible? Are we modeling a life of praise for them? The faith is passed down through the faithful proclamation of God's works. We cannot abdicate this duty.

Third, we must not shy away from the fearsome aspects of God's character. A God who is not fearsome to His enemies cannot be a true comfort to His friends. We must worship the whole God of the Bible, not a sanitized version of our own making. His fearsome power is our protection.

Finally, our praise should be joyful and abundant. When we remember the "abundant goodness" of God, especially His goodness to us in Christ, how can we not pour forth praise? When we consider His righteousness, that He has declared us righteous in His Son, how can we not shout for joy? Let us, then, add our voices to the great chorus, recounting His greatness, pouring forth the memory of His goodness, and shouting joyfully of His righteousness, until the whole earth is filled with His praise.