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The main subject of Psalm 145 is the eternal kingship of the Lord. The psalm contains a comprehensive expression of praise for God as heavenly king. Perhaps this is why the psalm’s superscription designates it as a “song of praise” (Tehillah). Psalm 145 is the only psalm to be identified this way. The Talmud recognizes … Continue reading “Psalm 145:10-18 Commentary by Jerome Creach”

Psalm 145 is an acrostic in Hebrew, with verse one beginning with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, the second verse with the second letter, and so on down to the last verse beginning with the last letter (verse 13 covers two letters). Each verse is divided into two parts, which the NRSV and … Continue reading “Psalm 145:8-14 Commentary by Scott Shauf”

This entry consists of two parts: one that the working preacher might proclaim and one that she should not bring with her into the pulpit. Both parts are, however, are worth knowing. But first, some of the general background: Psalm 145 is a hymn that lauds God for God’s acts in general, and for the … Continue reading “Psalm 145:8-14 Commentary by Walter C. Bouzard”

Thomas Merton once stated “Praise is cheap,” and it seems as though these words remain true today. We give homage to so many things that our praise is cheap. Is it also accurate to say that our praise to God is cheap? Or, that it has at least been cheapened? Perhaps.  Sometimes we praise God … Continue reading “Psalm 145:8-9, 14-21 Commentary by Eric Mathis”

The scriptures often describe people and things in absolute terms, with a rhetorical flair I advise my students to avoid. I tell them that critical thinking requires us to seek precision in our language and shun generalities that make reality look simpler than it actually is. This Psalm 145 selection, therefore, makes it challenging for … Continue reading “Psalm 145:8-9, 14-21 Commentary by James K. Mead”

As a response to the first lesson, Psalm 145 was chosen to show how Jonah knew that God was “merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing” (Jonah’s version of verse 8). But even with that prooftext connection the psalm is an odd companion to the reading from … Continue reading “Psalm 145:1-8 Commentary by Henry Langknecht”

Psalm 145 occurs just before the five-psalm doxological close to the book of Psalms (Psalms 146-150) and is the last in a group of Psalms (Psalms 139-145) in Book Five that are identified in their superscriptions as psalms “of David.” Some scholars suggest that the Psalter ended with Psalm 145 at some point in its … Continue reading “Psalm 145:1-8 Commentary by Nancy deClaissé-Walford”

Psalm 139 is classified as an Individual Hymn of Thanksgiving. In this genre, singers praise God for God’s goodness in delivering them from various life-threatening situations, such as illness, oppression, enemy attack, etc.  Here, the psalmist celebrates the creative goodness of God in verses 1-18, and provides a glimpse of the oppression that occasioned the … Continue reading “Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18 Commentary by Nancy deClaissé-Walford”

In the conventional understanding, the Psalm in the weekly lectionary is chosen to meditate on the First Reading and, like that reading, to anticipate the Gospel. In that case, the insistence that God has searched and known the psalm writer (the message and hope of Psalm 139, as noted by its use as a framework … Continue reading “Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18 Commentary by Fred Gaiser”

The homiletical possibilities for Psalm 139 are numerous and varied, ranging from satisfying to complex to potentially problematic. Satisfying My nephew was born on the day I started working on this commentary. When the picture of Mason James arrived, my initial thoughts were, “There you are. What were you doing in there all of these … Continue reading “Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18 Commentary by Shauna Hannan”