Enthusiastic Praise: A Study of Psalm 145, Part 1

Hello, friends! How’s your week going? In a quick personal recap of 2022 so far, I met four of the five weekly goals I set for myself last week. I didn’t make the 10,000 steps for three out of the seven days. However, I’m off to a better start this week – I’ve already done two days! I’m enjoying learning my way around our new neighborhood as I walk outside.

We’re starting something a little different on the blog today. I’m going to do a three-part Bible study in Psalm 145. This is one of my favorite Psalms and I love what we can learn about God from it. There are 21 verses, so we’ll tackle seven of them each Wednesday for the next three weeks.

It’s a little different format from what I usually do, but I hope it’s an encouragement to all of us! I’ll ask a few questions each time that you can answer on your own. Those will be in bold lettering.

If you have your Bible close by, feel free to read Psalm 145:1-7 before you continue reading the post. If not, I’ve written out each verse before the discussion.

Verse 1: I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever.

I looked up the word “extol” and it means to praise highly or enthusiastically. This makes me think of when I’ve had a great meal at a new restaurant. I’m likely to tell friends and maybe even strangers about how delicious the food was and the fabulous service.

Do we praise God like that? Do we eagerly tell others how He’s blessed us? Are we sharing how we’ve seen Him work out a particular problem in our lives?

The second half of the verse talks about blessing God’s name. God’s name is used very carelessly these days, but I hope we make a point to reverence it. And one reason is that praising His name is something we’ll do forever and ever. Very little of what we do here on earth will continue to be done in Heaven, but we’ll still be praising God a million years from now!

Verse 2: Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever.

How often should we praise the Lord? According to this verse, every day.

Why do you think it’s important to praise the Lord daily?

Something we do every day will affect our lives. It helps us keep our focus on praising God.

What are some practical ways that can we bless the Lord?

I would say through prayer, with music, or by taking time to write out our praise of God. What would you add?

Verse 3: Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.

Our God deserves our praise because He is great. We will never be able to fully understand His greatness. It’s displayed in His works, both what we experience today and what we read about in His Word. God’s characteristics also remind us that He is great.

Verse 4: One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.

What is our responsibility toward our children in regards to praising God?

We set an example by how we live, by praising God in front of our children. Tell them about how He has worked in your life. Yes, tell them about past experiences, but also current ones. Praise Him for answered prayer this week. Use stories, songs, and even writings to pass our faith along to the next generations

Let’s look at a couple of other passages related to this principle.

Psalm 78:2-7

“I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old: Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.

We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done.

For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children: That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children: That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments:“

We’re to show the generation after us the praises of the Lord and His strength. Our obligation is to share with them the wonderful works He’s done.

“Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons’ sons;” ~Deuteronomy 4:9

Rehearsing with our children what God has done keeps it fresh in our own minds. It keeps us looking for opportunities to see God work.

Let’s look at verses 5-7 as a whole.

Verses 5-7: I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works. And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts: and I will declare thy greatness. They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness.

List five things about God from these verses that we can speak or sing about.

According to Ellicott’s commentary, “abundantly utter” means to pour forth in a stream. Barnes’ Notes says it’s to gush out or flow like a fountain. Is that how we talk about God’s goodness or, as Matthew Poole calls them, God’s never-to-be forgotten blessings? Does it come flowing out of us? That’s something for us to desire for our lives, a constant stream of praise to our God!

As we go through our day today, let’s make it a point to find ways to praise God enthusiastically!

Please feel free to share your answers to any of the questions above in the comment box below!

Related posts:

• 10 Simple Verses from Psalms to Inspire Your Praise Life
• 3 Women in the Bible Teach Us How to Praise God
• How to Improve Your Attitude in One Step