#897 My God and My King

I will extol you, my God and King,

and bless your name forever and ever.

2 Every day I will bless you

and praise your name forever and ever.

3 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,

and his greatness is unsearchable.

4 One generation shall commend your works to another,

and shall declare your mighty acts.

5 On the glorious splendor of your majesty,

and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.

6 They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds,

and I will declare your greatness.

7 They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness

and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

8 The Lord is gracious and merciful,

slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

9 The Lord is good to all,

and his mercy is over all that he has made.

10 All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,

and all your saints shall bless you!

11 They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom

and tell of your power,

12 to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds,

and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.

13 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.

14 The Lord upholds all who are falling

and raises up all who are bowed down.

15 The eyes of all look to you,

and you give them their food in due season.

16 You open your hand;

you satisfy the desire of every living thing.

17 The Lord is righteous in all his ways

and kind in all his works.

18 The Lord is near to all who call on him,

to all who call on him in truth.

19 He fulfills the desire of those who fear him;

he also hears their cry and saves them.

20 The Lord preserves all who love him,

but all the wicked he will destroy.

21 My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,

and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever. Psalm 145 ESV

A Psalm or Praise of David, blessing his God.

This is one of the acrostic Psalms where each line starts with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. One letter, Nun, is missing.

I will extol You, my God and King - He praises God enthusiastically. He lifts Him up as both God, Who is the originator of life, and King, the ruler over all. The king pays homage to the authority that is above his rule. He recognizes God as sovereign. 

15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.… Colossians 1: 15-17

And bless Your name forever and ever - The Psalmist invokes reverence for the Name that is above all names. It is an everlasting name and therefore a blessing without end.

…8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name above all names, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,… Philippians 2: 8-10

…4 So He became as far superior to the angels as the name He has inherited is excellent beyond theirs. 5 For to which of the angels did God ever say: “You are My Son; today I have become Your Father”? Or again: “I will be His Father, and He will be My Son”? 6 And again, when God brings His firstborn into the world, He says: “Let all God’s angels worship Him.”… Hebrews 1: 4-6

1 A Psalm of David. The LORD said to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.” 2 The LORD extends Your mighty scepter from Zion: “Rule in the midst of Your enemies.”… Psalm 110: 1-2

And His greatness is unsearchable - Who has understood eternity? Who has known or seen everything in all places within time and space? Who has stretched out the heavens or spoken the world into being? The acts of God are beyond our measure, and that even which we have received and known by faith, the Trinitarian work of salvation, what man has fully comprehended? 

33 O, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable His judgments, and untraceable His ways! 34“Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been His counselor?” 35“Who has first given to God, that God should repay him?”… Romans 11: 33-35

And shall sing aloud of Your righteousness - Even His enemies, the greatest of naysayers, will one day have to confess, that He did what He said He would do. He kept His word, but did not fail or change in a single attribute. He was holy and remained so, even in mercy He paid the price of His own justice. Jesus was tested in every way as we are, but He was without sin. He lived a perfect life, humble, rejected, He came to do the will of His Father, to uphold His righteousness in love and mercy. 

16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, then to the Greek. 17 For the gospel reveals the righteousness of God that comes by faith from start to finish, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” 18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness.… Romans 1: 16-18

Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom - 

- The LORD upholds all who fall: “The phrase, all who are falling, is unusually expressive; and this timely help at an early stage is coupled with God’s power to revive lost hope and failed abilities: cf. New English Bible, ‘and straightens backs which are bent’.” (Kidner)

And raises up all who are bowed down - He calls sinners, the broken, those who have lost faith in themselves or any righteousness they thought they could obtain. Pride is always the devil's calling card, self esteem, self worth, self righteousness, self fulfillment, the gospel of futility.

…5 Or do you think the Scripture says without reason that the Spirit He caused to dwell in us yearns with envy? 6 But He gives us more grace. This is why it says: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.… James 4: 5-7

But all the wicked He will destroy - Life is a kindness, breath, food, rain, not owed to sinners, and yet men will not love God for His universal glory and goodness. Men with means will site those without as proof of God's injustice, but here you are with the means. It is a poor gospel that creates many a false profession, that God is only love and mercy, but in the whole of His counsel He is that and also just.

And let all flesh bless His holy name forever and ever.