How Great Thou Art: Psalm 145

How Great Thou Art

Psalm 145

O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder

Consider all the works Thy hands have made,

I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy pow’r thru-out the universe displayed!

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee;

How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee;
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

“How Great Thou Art”

Psalm 145 is the last of the Davidic psalms in the psalter. It is an acrostic enumerating the greatness of our God. The psalm provides many descriptions of the Lord and His works, as well as giving us the actions of the Lord which should elicit praise from us. In the revelation of the magnificence of God and His works, this psalm shows that it is the response of our mouth which most readily shows the awe of our heart. “How great Thou art!” is the theme of this psalm. Rest and rejoicing are ours as we consider our great God and His wondrous works. The lists below categorize the descriptions of the Lord and His works, the actions of the Lord, and our response in light of those things. All are found in Psalm 145.

Descriptions of the Lord and His works:

He is great (145:3)—remarkable in magnitude and degree. So great is our God that David goes on to say that his “greatness is unsearchable.” It is so vast that it cannot be fully investigated. There is a mystery in the greatness of God because we cannot reach its depths.
His acts are mighty (145:4) showing forth His might, power, and strength.
There is a glorious splendor to His majesty (145:5)
He performs wondrous works and awesome deeds (145:5-6).
His goodness is abundant (145:7).
He is gracious, merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love (145:8). When God called Moses up to Mount Sinai and passed by him, this is how He described Himself (Exodus 34:1-6).
He is good to all, and His mercy is over all He has made (145:11). Our God is kind and benevolent.
His kingdom is glorious and everlasting, and His dominion is forever (145:11-12)
He is righteous in all His ways (145:17)
He is kind in all His deeds (145:17)

The actions of the Lord:

He upholds all who are falling (145:14). He sustains, upholds, and supports His children when they find themselves in a difficult place, when they feel they are "in a pit."
He raises up all who are bowed down (145:14).
He gives food in due season (145:15).
He opens His hand and satisfies the desire of every living thing (145:16).
He fulfills the desire of those who fear Him (145:19).
He hears their cry (145:19)
He saves them (145:19)
He preserves, watches over, all who love Him (145:20).

The response of God's people to who He is and what He does:

extol Him and bless His name forever (145:1).
bless Him every day and praise Him forever (145:2)
commend His works to the next generation (145:4).
declare His mighty acts (145:4).
meditate on His wondrous works (145:6)
speak of the might of His deeds (145:6)
declare His greatness (145:6)
pour forth the fame of His abundant goodness (145:7)
sing of His righteousness (145:7)
give thanks to Him (145:10)
speak of the glory of His kingdom (145:11)
tell of His power (145:11)
make known to others His mighty deeds and the glorious splendor of His kingdom (145:12)
look to Him (145:15)
call on Him in truth (145:18)
fear Him (145:19)
love Him (145:20)
speak His praise (145:21)
bless His holy name (145:21)

It is amazing to me how many of the above actions involve our mouths. Let's meditate on the greatness of the Lord and respond by extolling Him with our mouths.

145:1-3 I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.

Meditate on the greatness of the Lord, and how His greatness is unsearchable.

Praise Him because He, our God and King, is great and greatly to be praised.

Let’s pray:

▫️We would extol Him and bless His name every day and forever. We would daily consider the greatness of our God.

145:4-7 One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts. On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate. They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds, and I will declare your greatness. They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

Meditate on the mighty acts and awesome deeds He has accomplished and His abundant goodness.

Praise Him for His work on our behalf, not only in redeeming us from sin and Satan, but His many kindnesses to us daily.

Let’s pray:

▫️We would take opportunities to commend His works to the next generation.

▫️We would regularly meditate on the glorious splendor of His majesty and on His wondrous works.

▫️We would speak of the might of His awesome deeds and declare His goodness, and our mouths would be filled with a song of His righteousness.

145:8-9 The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.

Meditate on the words the Lord used to describe Himself: gracious, merciful, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love.

Praise Him because He has faithfully, generation after generation, been true to the declaration of who He is.

Let’s pray:

▫️We would respond in heartfelt obedience to the grace and mercy of our Lord.

▫️We would look for the evidence of His goodness to us and rejoice in His steadfast love toward us.

145:10-13 All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord, and all your saints shall bless you! They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom and tell of your power, to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations. [The Lord is faithful in all his words and kind in all his works.]

Meditate on the glory of His kingdom and power, and that His dominion endures forever.

Praise Him that as King He has subdued us to Himself, rules and defends us, and restrains and conquers all His and our enemies (WCF, question 26).

Let’s pray:

▫️Our hearts would be filled with true adoration for our King that would overflow in thanking and blessing Him.

▫️We would speak of the glorious splendor of His kingdom and tell of His power. The Lord would make an opportunity for us today to do this.

▫️We would rejoice that the Lord rules and reigns supreme.

145:14-21 The Lord upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing. The Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works. The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them. The Lord preserves all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy. My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord, and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.

Meditate on the faithfulness of the Lord.

Praise Him because of His tender care for His children. He upholds, raises up, provides, satisfies, is near, righteous and kind, hears our cries, saves us, and preserves us!

Let’s pray:

▫️We would truly believe that our God is righteous in ALL His ways and kind in ALL His deeds. Righteousness and kindness govern every action He takes toward us.

▫️We would look to Him to provide every need.

▫️We would call on Him in our trouble.

▫️We would fear Him and love Him.

▫️Our mouths would speak His praise every day.

May the Lord do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, for His glory and our good. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Photo credit to kalenemsley

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