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Psalms 145:12 Bible in Basic English (BBE)

12 So that the sons of men may have knowledge of his acts of power, and of the great glory of his kingdom.

Cross Reference

Psalms 110:2-3 BBE

The Lord will send out the rod of your strength from Zion; be king over your haters. Your people give themselves gladly in the day of your power; like the dew of the morning on the holy mountains is the army of your young men.

Psalms 136:4-26 BBE

To him who only does great wonders: for his mercy is unchanging for ever. To him who by wisdom made the heavens: for his mercy is unchanging for ever. To him by whom the earth was stretched out over the waters: for his mercy is unchanging for ever. To him who made great lights: for his mercy is unchanging for ever. The sun to have rule by day: for his mercy is unchanging for ever. The moon and the stars to have rule by night: for his mercy is unchanging for ever. To him who put to death the first-fruits of Egypt: for his mercy is unchanging for ever: And took out Israel from among them: for his mercy is unchanging for ever: With a strong hand and an outstretched arm: for his mercy is unchanging for ever. To him who made a way through the Red Sea: for his mercy is unchanging for ever: And let Israel go through it: for his mercy is unchanging for ever: By him Pharaoh and his army were overturned in the Red Sea: for his mercy is unchanging for ever. To him who took his people through the waste land: for his mercy is unchanging for ever. To him who overcame great kings: for his mercy is unchanging for ever: And put noble kings to death: for his mercy is unchanging for ever: Sihon, king of the Amorites: for his mercy is unchanging for ever: And Og, king of Bashan: for his mercy is unchanging for ever: And gave their land to his people for a heritage: for his mercy is unchanging for ever. Even a heritage for his servant Israel: for his mercy is unchanging for ever. Who kept us in mind when we were in trouble: for his mercy is unchanging for ever. And has taken us out of the hands of our haters: for his mercy is unchanging for ever. Who gives food to all flesh: for his mercy is unchanging for ever. O give praise to the God of heaven: for his mercy is unchanging for ever.

Psalms 145:6-12 BBE

Men will be talking of the power and fear of your acts; I will give word of your glory. Their sayings will be full of the memory of all your mercy, and they will make songs of your righteousness. The Lord is full of grace and pity; not quickly angry, but great in mercy. The Lord is good to all men; and his mercies are over all his works. All the works of your hands give praise to you, O Lord; and your saints give you blessing. Their words will be of the glory of your kingdom, and their talk of your strength; So that the sons of men may have knowledge of his acts of power, and of the great glory of his kingdom.

Daniel 4:34-35 BBE

And at the end of the days, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifting up my eyes to heaven, got back my reason, and, blessing the Most High, I gave praise and honour to him who is living for ever, whose rule is an eternal rule and whose kingdom goes on from generation to generation. And all the people of the earth are as nothing: he does his pleasure in the army of heaven and among the people of the earth: and no one is able to keep back his hand, or say to him, What are you doing?

Acts 2:8-11 BBE

And how is it that every one of us is hearing their words in the language which was ours from our birth? Men of Parthia, Media, and Elam, and those living in Mesopotamia, in Judaea and Cappadocia, in Pontus and Asia, In Phrygia and Pamphylia, in Egypt and the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and those who have come from Rome, Jews by birth and others who have become Jews, Men of Crete and Arabia, to all of us they are talking in our different languages, of the great works of God.

Ephesians 1:19-21 BBE

And how unlimited is his power to us who have faith, as is seen in the working of the strength of his power, By which he made Christ come back from the dead, and gave him a place at his right hand in heaven, Far over all rule and authority and power and every name which is named, not only in the present order, but in that which is to come:

Ephesians 3:7-8 BBE

Of which I was made a preacher, through that grace of God which was given to me in the measure of the working of his power. To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, was this grace given, so that I might make clear to the Gentiles the good news of the unending wealth of Christ:

Revelation 19:15-16 BBE

And out of his mouth comes a sharp sword, with which he overcomes the nations: and he has rule over them with a rod of iron: and he is crushing with his feet the grapes of the strong wrath of God the Ruler of all. And on his robe and on his leg is a name, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Psalms 145

Commentary on Psalms 145 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary


Introduction

Hymn in Praise of the All-Bountiful King

With Psalms 144:1-15 the collection draws doxologically towards its close. This Psalm, which begins in the form of the beracha ( ברוך ה ), is followed by another in which benedicam (Psalms 145:1-2) and benedicat (Psalms 145:21) is the favourite word. It is the only Psalm that bears the title תּהלּה , whose plural תּהלּים is become the collective name of the Psalms. In B. Berachoth 4 b it is distinguished by the apophthegm: “Every one who repeats the תהלה לדוד three times a day may be sure that he is a child of the world to come ( בן העולם הבא ).” And why? Not merely because this Psalm, as the Gemara says, אתיא באלף בית , i.e., follows the course of the alphabet (for Ps 119 is in fact also alphabetical, and that in an eightfold degree), and not merely because it celebrates God's care for all creatures (for this the Great Hallel also does, Psalms 136:25), but because it unites both these prominent qualities in itself ( משׁום דאית ביה תרתי ). In fact, Psalms 145:16 is a celebration of the goodness of God which embraces every living thing, with which only Psalms 136:25, and not Psalms 111:5, can be compared. Valde sententiosus hic Psalmus est , says Bakius; and do we not find in this Psalm our favourite Benedicite and Oculi omnium which our children repeat before a meal? It is the ancient church's Psalm for the noon-day repast (vid., Armknecht, Die heilige Psalmodie , 1855, S. 54); Psalms 145:15 was also used at the holy communion, hence Chrysostom says it contains τὰ ῥήματα ταῦτα, ἅπερ οἱ μεμυημένοι συνεχῶς ὑποψάλλουσι λέγοντες· Οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ πάντων εἰς σὲ ἐλπίζουσιν καὶ σὺ δίδως τὴν τροφὴν αὐτῶν ἐν εὐκαιρίᾳ .

Κατὰ στοιχεῖον , observes Theodoret, καὶ οὗτος ὁ ὕμνος σύγκειται . The Psalm is distichic, and every first line of the distich has the ordinal letter; but the distich Nun is wanting. The Talmud ( loc cit. ) is of opinion that it is because the fatal נפלה (Amos 5:2), which David, going on at once with סומך ה לכל־הנפלים , skips over, begins with Nun . On the other hand, Ewald, Vaihinger, and Sommer, like Grotius, think that the Nun -strophe has been lost. The lxx (but not Aquila, Symmachus, Theodotion, nor Jerome in his translation after the original text) gives such a strophe, perhaps out of a MS (like the Dublin Cod. Kennicot , 142) in which it was supplied: Πιστὸς ( נאמן as in Psalms 111:7) κύριος ἐν ( πᾶσι ) τοῖς λόγοις αὐτοῦ καὶ ὅσιος ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς ἔργοις αὐτοῦ (according with Psalms 145:17, with the change only of two words of this distich). Hitzig is of opinion that the original Nun -strophe has been welded into Psalms 141:1-10; but only his clairvoyant-like historical discernment is able to amalgamate Psalms 145:6 of this Psalm with our Psalms 145. We are contented to see in the omission of the Nun -strophe an example of that freedom with which the Old Testament poets are wont to handle this kind of forms. Likewise there is no reason apparent for there fact that Jeremiah has chosen in Lamentations 2:1, Lamentations 3:1, and Lamentations 4:1 of the Lamentations to make the Ajin -strophe follow the Pe -strophe three times, whilst in Lamentations 1:1 it precedes it.


Verses 1-7

The strains with which this hymn opens are familiar Psalm-strains. We are reminded of Psalms 30:2, and the likewise alphabetical song of praise and thanksgiving Psalms 34:2. The plena scriptio אלוהי in Psalms 143:10; Psalms 98:6. The language of address “my God the King,” which sounds harsh in comparison with the otherwise usual “my King and my God” (Psalms 5:3; Psalms 84:4), purposely calls God with unrelated generality, that is to say in the most absolute manner, the King. If the poet is himself a king, the occasion for this appellation of God is all the more natural and the signification all the more pertinent. But even in the mouth of any other person it is significant. Whosoever calls God by such a name acknowledges His royal prerogative, and at the same time does homage to Him and binds himself to allegiance; and it is just this confessory act of exalting Him who in Himself is the absolutely lofty One that is here called רומם . But who can the poet express the purpose of praising God's Name for ever ? Because the praise of God is a need of his inmost nature, he has a perfect right to forget his own mortality when engaged upon this devotion to the ever-living King. Clinging adoringly to the Eternal One, he must seem to himself to be eternal; and if there is a practical proof for a life after death, it is just this ardent desire of the soul, wrought of God Himself, after the praise of the God of its life (lit., its origin) which affords it the highest, noblest delight. The idea of the silent Hades, which forces itself forward elsewhere, as in Psalms 6:6, where the mind of the poet is beclouded by sin, is here entirely removed, inasmuch as here the mind of the poet is the undimmed mirror of the divine glory. Therefore Psalms 145:2 also does not concede the possibility of any interruption of the praise: the poet will daily (Psalms 68:20) bless God, be they days of prosperity or of sorrow, uninterruptedly in all eternity will he glorify His Name ( אהללה as in Psalms 69:31). There is no worthier and more exhaustless object of praise (Psalms 145:3): Jahve is great, and greatly to be praised ( מהלּל , taken from Psalms 48:2, as in Psalms 96:4, cf. Psalms 18:4), and of His “greatness” (cf. 1 Chronicles 29:11, where this attribute precedes all others) there is no searching out, i.e., it is so abysmally deep that no searching can reach its bottom (as in Isaiah 40:28; Job 11:7.). It has, however, been revealed, and is being revealed continually, and is for this very reason thus celebrated in Psalms 145:4 : one generation propagates to the next the growing praise of the works that He has wrought out ( עשׂה מעשׁים ), and men are able to relate all manner of proofs of His victorious power which prevails over everything, and makes everything subject to itself ( גּבוּרת as in Psalms 20:7, and frequently). This historically manifest and traditional divine doxa and the facts ( דּברי as in Psalms 105:27) of the divine wonders the poet will devoutly consider. הדר stands in attributive relation to כּבוד , as this on its part does to הודך . Thy brilliantly gloriously (kingly) majesty (cf. Jeremiah 22:18; Daniel 11:21). The poet does not say גּם אני , nor may we insert it, either here in Psalms 145:5, or in Psalms 145:6, where the same sequence of thoughts recurs, more briefly expressed. The emphasis lies on the objects. The mightiness ( עזוּז as in Psalms 78:4, and in Isaiah 42:25, where it signifies violence) of His terrible acts shall pass from mouth to mouth ( אמר with a substantival object as in Psalms 40:11), and His mighty acts ( גּדלּות , magnalia , as in 1 Chronicles 17:19, 1 Chronicles 17:21) - according to the Kerî (which is determined by the suffix of אספּרנּה ; cf. however, 2 Samuel 22:23; 2 Kings 3:3; 2 Kings 10:26, and frequently): His greatness ( גּדלּה ) - will he also on his part make the matter of his narrating. It is, however, not alone the awe-inspiring majesty of God which is revealed in history, but also the greatness ( רב used as a substantive as in Psalms 31:20; Isaiah 63:7; Isaiah 21:7, whereas רבּים in Psalms 32:10; Psalms 89:51 is an adjective placed before the noun after the manner of a numeral), i.e., the abundant measure, of His goodness and His righteousness, i.e., His acting in inviolable correspondence with His counsel and order of salvation. The memory of the transcendent goodness of God is the object of universal, overflowing acknowledgement and the righteousness of God is the object of universal exultation ( רנּן with the accusative as in Psalms 51:16; Psalms 59:17). After the poet has sung the glorious self-attestation of God according to both its sides, the fiery and the light sides, he lingers by the light side, the front side of the Name of Jahve unfolded in Exodus 34:6.


Verses 8-13

This memorable utterance of Jahve concerning Himself the writer of Ps 103, which is of kindred import, also interweaves into his celebration of the revelation of divine love in Psalms 145:8. Instead of רב־חסד the expression here, however, is וגדול חסד ( Kerî , as in Nahum 1:3, cf. Psalms 89:29, with Makkeph וּגדל־ ). The real will of God tends towards favour, which gladly giving stoops to give ( חנּוּן ), and towards compassion, which interests itself on behalf of the sinner for his help and comfort ( רחוּם ). Wrath is only the background of His nature, which He reluctantly and only after long waiting ( ארך אפּים ) lets loose against those who spurn His great mercy. For His goodness embraces, as Psalms 145:9 says, all; His tender mercies are over all His works, they hover over and encompass all His creatures. Therefore, too, all His works praise Him: they are all together loud-speaking witnesses of that sympathetic all-embracing love of His, which excludes no one who does not exclude himself; and His saints, who live in God's love, bless Him ( יברכוּכה written as in 1 Kings 18:44): their mouth overflows with the declaration ( יאמרוּ ) of the glory of the kingdom of this loving God, and in speaking ( ידבּרוּ ) of the sovereign power with which He maintains and extends this kingdom. This confession they make their employ, in order that the knowledge of the mighty acts of God and the glorious majesty of His kingdom may at length become the general possession of mankind. When the poet in Psalms 145:12 sets forth the purpose of the proclamation, he drops the form of address. God's kingdom is a kingdom of all aeons, and His dominion is manifested without exception and continually in all periods or generations ( בּכל־דּור ודר as in Ps 45:18, Esther 9:28, a pleonastic strengthening of the expression בּדר ודר , Psalms 90:1). It is the eternal circumference of the history of time, but at the same time its eternal substance, which more and more unfolds and achieves itself in the succession of the periods that mark its course. For that all things in heaven and on earth shall be gathered up together ( ἀνακεφαλαιώσασθαι , Ephesians 1:10) in the all-embracing kingdom of God in His Christ, is the goal of all history, and therefore the substance of history which is working itself out. With Psalms 145:13 (cf. Dan. 3:33, Daniel 4:31, according to Hitzig the primary passages) another paragraph is brought to a close.


Verses 14-21

The poet now celebrates in detail the deeds of the gracious King. The words with ל are pure datives, cf. the accusative expression in Psalms 146:8. He in person is the support which holds fast the falling ones ( נופלים , here not the fallen ones, see Psalms 28:1) in the midst of falling (Nicephorus: τοὺς καταπεσεῖν μέλλοντας ἑδραιοῖ, ὥστε μὴ καταπεσεῖν ), and the stay by which those who are bowed together raise themselves. He is the Provider for all beings, the Father of the house, to whom in the great house of the world the eyes ( עיני with the second toneless, Ew. §100, b) of all beings, endowed with reason and irrational, are directed with calm confidence (Matthew 6:26), and who gives them their food in its, i.e., in due season. The language of Psalms 104:27 is very similar, and it proceeds here, too, as there in Psalms 104:28 (cf. Sir. 40:14). He opens His hand, which is ever full, much as a man who feeds the doves in his court does, and gives רצון , pleasure, i.e., that which is good, which is the fulfilling of their desire, in sufficient fulness to all living things (and therefore those in need of support for the body and the life). Thus it is to be interpreted, according to Deuteronomy 33:23 (after which here in the lxx the reading varies between εὐδοκίας and εὐλογίας ), cf. Acts 14:17, ἐμπιπλών τροφῆς καὶ εὐφροσύνης τάς καρδίας ἡμῶν . השׂבּיע is construed with a dative and accusative of the object instead of with two accusatives of the object (Ges. §139. 1, 2). The usage of the language is unacquainted with רצון as an adverb in the sense of “willingly” (Hitzig), which would rather be ברצונך . In all the ways that Jahve takes in His historical rule He is “righteous,” i.e., He keeps strictly to the rule (norm) of His holy love; and in all His works which He accomplishes in the course of history He is merciful ( חסיד ), i.e., He practises mercy ( חסד , see Psalms 12:2); for during the present time of mercy the primary essence of His active manifestation is free preventing mercy, condescending love. True, He remains at a distance from the hypocrites, just as their heart remains far from Him (Isaiah 29:13); but as for the rest, with impartial equality He is nigh ( קרוב as in Psalms 34:19) to all who call upon Him בּאמת , in firmness, certainty, truth, i.e., so that the prayer comes from their heart and is holy fervour (cf. Isaiah 10:20; Isaiah 48:1). What is meant is true and real prayer in opposition to the νεκρὸν ἔργον , as is also meant in the main in John 4:23. To such true praying ones Jahve is present, viz., in mercy (for in respect of His power He is everywhere); He makes the desire of those who fear Him a reality, their will being also His; and He grants them the salvation ( σωτηρία ) prayed for. Those who are called in Psalms 145:19 those who fear Him, are called in Psalms 145:20 those who love Him. Fear and love of God belong inseparably together; for fear without love is an unfree, servile disposition, and love without fear, bold-faced familiarity: the one dishonours the all-gracious One, and the other the all-exalted One. But all who love and fear Him He preserves, and on the other hand exterminates all wanton sinners. Having reached the Tav , the hymn of praise, which has traversed all the elements of the language, is at an end. The poet does not, however, close without saying that praising God shall be his everlasting employment ( פּי ידבּר with Olewejored , the Mahpach or rather Jethib sign of which above represents the Makkeph ), and without wishing that all flesh, i.e., all men, who αρε σὰρξ καὶ αἷμα , בּשׂר ודם , may bless God's holy Name to all eternity. The realization of this wish is the final goal of history. It will then have reached Deuteronomy 32:43 of the great song in Deut. 32 - Jahve one and His Name one (Zechariah 14:9), Israel praising God ὑπὲρ ἀληθείας , and the Gentiles ὑπὲρ ἐλέους (Romans 15:8.).