Psalm 145:1-21
Understanding Series
by Craig C. Broyles

The Divine King and His Universal Kingdom 

The praise of this psalm is hymnic in that it praises God’s attributes and deeds in general, but the speaker is “I” throughout (“we/us” does not appear), and the opening verses are characteristic of individual thanksgiving. It begins, not with an imperative summons addressed to a congregation, but with a proclamation of praise: “I will exalt you.” The verses form an acrostic (i.e., each verse begins with a successive letter of the Hb. alphabet), but this feature need not imply the psalm is a literary composition not intended for liturgical performance. For example, Psalm 111 is also an acrostic and was probably intended for liturgical performance. Like Psalm 145, its praise consists of general nouns and adjectives that are drawn from Exodus 34:6. A…

Baker Publishing Group, Understanding the Bible Commentary Series, by Craig C. Broyles