Psalm 145
I often struggle to remember lists or even worse a person’s name after being introduced. Have you ever used a “trick” to help you remember something? One such “trick” is called a mnemonic device which aids information retention or retrieval in memory, by associating the information with something easier to remember. Psalm 145 deploys such a device, an acrostic – the first letter of each line spells out a word, message or the alphabet. Remember the song that spelled out “Love”? “L is for the way you look at me…” That is an acrostic.
Stepping into the Word
A person fluent in Hebrew would be able to see the acrostic in Psalm 145 which is a combination of an acrostic and a poem of praises and blessing of God. Each verse starts with a letter in the Hebrew alphabet providing a handy way to remember the verses of the Psalm. The acrostic device used in Psalm 145 give an implicit message that God is everything from A to Z.
For some, referring to God as male or king is problematic. However, there are times when it is necessary to accept the reference as written in the original texts.
Seeing and telling
Psalm 145 centers on God’s character and the actions that consistently flow from God.
In the Hebrew language, there is a difference between blessing and praise. The first verse of Psalm 145 is a blessing that says, “I will proclaim your greatness, my God and king; I will thank you forever and ever.”
Who are we to bless the omnipotent God? God doesn’t need our blessing. I recently learned the Yiddish word “naches” (nah-khes) which means pride or pleasure, especially in the achievements of one’s family. Blessing God is like giving “naches” to God. We express pride in God while affirming our membership in the family of “my God and king.”
If blessing God comes from our sense of pride, then praise for God comes from our attitude of gratitude.
Psalm 145:10-21 praises God’s creation, God’s love and God’s omnipotence. It also praises God’s faithfulness – a consistency that is the very nature and character of God.
The psalmist attests to God’s transcendence beyond all scope of reality while affirming his own limitations and humility to dare to bless the God who created all.
Psalm 145 is a yearning to feel a close relationship with God while maintaining a cognizant awareness of the vastness of God’s creation.
Psalm 145: An invitation to trust
Psalm 145:18-20 may be read by Christians as a foreshadowing of Jesus’s life on earth and the Holy Spirit’s presence with us today. Praising God is our response to the invitation to trust. All these traits of God that are praised in the psalm are also reflective of Jesus who became flesh and came to earth to show us the way.
Psalm 145 gives us the language to acknowledge the immensity and amazing nature of God’s character. John L. Bell explains in Life with the Psalms, “…in Hebrew, there is what might be called a continuous present tense: that which God has done God still does, and what God does God will still do. Past, present and future are one because there is total consistency in the marvelous works of God.”
This psalm gives us the opportunity to express our immense gratitude for all that God has done. Hearts filled with gratitude and acknowledging God’s imminent providence, we affirm our trust in God.
Discussion/reflection on Psalm 145
- Is it possible to trust God completely and not depend only on ourselves?
- Name a time when something was completely out of your hands. Were you able to “let it go” and trust in God’s providence?
- Consider your life and that of the world, in grateful response set yourself a daily challenge to find multiple ways to see and acknowledge God’s goodness in the world. Record your observations in a diary or on your phone with photos and comments. Then at the end of the day or a week review them and take a moment to pray a prayer of praise and blessing for the amazing gifts of an even more amazing God.
Want to receive lectionary content in your inbox on Mondays? Sign up here.