Great is the Lord
September 10, 2026 | by: Dale Thiele | 0 Comments
Posted in: Pastoral Encouragement
Psalm 145 is a beloved psalm. The psalm title, part of the inspired text of Scripture, simply reads, “A Song of Praise. Of David.” Most believe that the psalms that include the phrase “of David” are psalms written by the great king of Israel. But this title does not give us any information of the time or circumstances in which David wrote this psalm. Perhaps that ambiguity allows the psalm to be an overarching theme for one’s life, no matter what circumstances he may find himself in. God is worthy of praise at all times.
Verses 1 and 2 start with Hebrew poetic parallelism. David starts, “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.” The words “extol,” “bless,” and “praise” are all synonyms. These opening statements are both expressions of worship and statements of commitment. Expressions of worship seek to magnify the greatness of God. Statements of commitment reveal a heart centered on God-glorifying activity. When David commits himself to praise God’s name “forever and ever,” he honors God by dedicating himself to this ongoing activity.
In poetic manner, verse 3 gives a straightforward reason for David’s commitment to praise God. He says, “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.” As a means to add emphasis, David uses the word “great” as an adjective, an adverb, and a noun. The superlative highlights that God is above all; there is no one in all of creation that compares with God. Since God is above all, he should be praised above all.
In verse 4, David turns his attention horizontally and includes others in the worship of God. He says, “One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.” The verbs “shall commend” and “shall declare” can be interpreted descriptive and prescriptive. They describe the activity of the faith community passing down to the next generation not only the truth of God’s goodness, but also the worship of God (mind and heart). But there also is the imperative element to these verbs. One generation shall commend God’s works to another. The faith community is commanded to pass on the faith to the next generation. David celebrates that he is the beneficiary of generations passing down the faith to him. David also calls the faith community to pass the faith along to the next generation.
David highlights his interaction with the faith community as they worship the Lord in verses 5-7. It is like David is the worship leader and directs the community in a call and response that worships God. David starts, “On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.” The congregation then “shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds.” To which David responds, “I will declare your greatness.” The congregation follows: “They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.” These verses indicate that David would have composed this psalm while in leadership as king of Israel. No shepherd boy near Bethlehem would have a role as worship leader for the congregation. These verses also reveal David’s heart for the people. David delighted in the Lord, and he wanted others to delight in him as well. This is what it means to love people well.
In verses 8 & 9 David makes a general statement of God’s goodness. He says, “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.” I call this a “general” statement, because this description of God is repeated throughout the Old Testament. In fact, this is how God reveals his glory to Moses in Exodus 34:6-7. This statement is the core nature of God. He is gracious. He is merciful. He is slow to anger. He is abounding in steadfast love. He is good. At the heart of the psalm, this is why David say the Lord is great and greatly to be praised.
I reflect on this psalm because it has been on my mind as I think about my ministry at Oak Hills. I have served for fifteen years as pastor. If God blesses me with another fifteen years of ministry with Oak Hills, Psalm 145 is what I pray it would look like. I want my life dedicated to the worship of the Lord. I want the whole faith community to join in with me to worship the Lord. I want the next generation to grow up knowing the wondrous works of God. I want Oak Hills to outlive me and my ministry and continue to “speak of the might of God’s awesome deeds.” I want us to know God and make him known as he truly is: a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. This is what we are here for. Will you join me? Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.
