The big picture
Psalms 145 opens in verse 1 with “I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever.”, reaches its middle movement near verse 11 with “They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power;”, and closes in verse 21 with “My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD : and let all flesh bless his holy name for…” Repeated or prominent terms include LORD, works, bless, kingdom, praise. Together, those details trace this chapter’s own movement from its opening to its conclusion.
Scripture beside the summary
Psalms · King James Version · 21Psalms 145:1-7
1–7: I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever…
Psalms 145:1–7 opens with “I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever.” and reaches “They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy…” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on Psalms 145 develops its own movement around LORD, works, bless, kingdom, praise, with particular weight carried by acts, bless, declare.
Context that brings the passage to life
“I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever.” The promise, blessing, or covenant language needs its named recipient and scope. Those details prevent a personal word in the story from becoming a promise detached from context.
Psalms 145:1-7
King James Version1I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever.
2Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever.
3Great is the LORD , and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.
4One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.
5I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works.
6And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts: and I will declare thy greatness.
7They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness.
Psalms 145:8-14
8–14: The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of…
Psalms 145:8–14 opens with “The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.” and reaches “The LORD upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down.” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on Psalms 145 develops its own movement around LORD, works, bless, kingdom, praise, with particular weight carried by kingdom, LORD, works.
Context that brings the passage to life
“The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.” The line’s distinctive content terms include anger, compassion, full. Its relationship to verses 9 shows what work it does in this passage.
Psalms 145:8-14
King James Version8The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.
9The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.
10All thy works shall praise thee, O LORD ; and thy saints shall bless thee.
11They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power;
12To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom.
13Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.
14The LORD upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down.
Psalms 145:15-21
15–21: The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due…
Psalms 145:15–21 opens with “The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season.” and reaches “My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD : and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and…” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on Psalms 145 develops its own movement around LORD, works, bless, kingdom, praise, with particular weight carried by LORD, call, desire.
Context that brings the passage to life
“The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season.” The line’s distinctive content terms include eyes, givest, meat. Its relationship to verses 16 shows what work it does in this passage.
Psalms 145:15-21
King James Version15The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season.
16Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.
17The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.
18The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.
19He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them.
20The LORD preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy.
21My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD : and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.
Details worth noticing
The opening image
Psalms 145:1 begins with “I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever.”
Where the chapter turns
Psalms 145:11 forms a natural hinge: “They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power;”
The final note
Psalms 145:21 leaves the reader with “My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD : and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.”
A word trail through the chapter
The words LORD, works, bless, kingdom, praise, acts help reveal the chapter’s repeated concerns.
KJV words made clear
- dominion
- responsibility or rule
- unto
- to
- thee
- you
- thou
- you
- thy
- your
Text first
Where readers differ
The chapter summary begins with what the passage says and how its parts fit together. It does not assume one denomination has already settled every question. Where a conclusion depends on a tradition, literary theory, or historical reconstruction, that dependence is named openly.
The KJV text is presented first. Interpretive conclusions are labeled, and differences are introduced only when they help a reader understand why serious communities do not always reach the same answer.
Comparative interpretive notes for this chapter are in preparation. Until reviewed notes are ready, this page separates the KJV text from summary and application without claiming that serious readers agree on every question.