Psalm 145:5

I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(5) I will speak.—Or, perhaps, sing. The verb is often rendered meditate (Psalm 77:12; Psalm 119:15, &c.):

Thy wondrous works.—Rather, as in Psalm 105:27 (see Note; comp. Psalm 65:3), the details of thy wonders. In psalms like 105, 106, &c, is the detailed fulfilment of this purpose.

Benson Commentary

Psalm 145:5-7. I will speak of the glorious honour, &c. — Here are divers words heaped together, to intimate that no words are sufficient to express the majesty of God. And of thy wondrous works — “Those works of God which demand to be celebrated by the tongues of men, are here divided into three kinds. First, such as declare his glory, and excite our admiration whenever we behold them. Of this sort are the shining frame of the heavens, and all the bodies which move therein; the earth, with its furniture without, and its contents within; the magnificent and stupendous ocean which flows around; the different tribes of animals inhabiting both the one and the other; and above all, the construction of man, the lord of this lower world. Under the second class of God’s works are ranged all those which the psalmist styles his terrible acts, or the exertions of his power against his enemies; such as the destruction of the old world by water; of Sodom and Gomorrah by fire; of Pharaoh and his host in the Red sea; of the Canaanitish nations by the sword; and the victory gained over sin and death by the resurrection of Christ. In the third rank stand those works which have proceeded from the goodness of God, and his righteousness, in the performance of his promises. And among these we may reckon all the different species of provision which have been made by providence, for the bodies of men in the world, and by grace for their souls in the church. On any of these subjects meditation cannot be long employed, without breaking forth into wonder, gratitude, and praise.” — Horne.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

145:1-9 Those who, under troubles and temptations, abound in fervent prayer, shall in due season abound in grateful praise, which is the true language of holy joy. Especially we should speak of God's wondrous work of redemption, while we declare his greatness. For no deliverance of the Israelites, nor the punishment of sinners, so clearly proclaims the justice of God, as the cross of Christ exhibits it to the enlightened mind. It may be truly said of our Lord Jesus Christ, that his words are words of goodness and grace; his works are works of goodness and grace. He is full of compassion; hence he came into the world to save sinners. When on earth, he showed his compassion both to the bodies and souls of men, by healing the one, and making wise the other. He is of great mercy, a merciful High Priest, through whom God is merciful to sinners.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

I will speak - That is, in my acts of praise. I will not be ashamed to be known as his worshipper; I will publicly declare my belief in his existence, his greatness, his goodness.

Of the glorious honor of thy majesty - The glory of the honor of thy majesty. This accumulation of epithets shows that the heart of the psalmist was full of the subject, and that he labored to find language to express his emotions. It is beauty; it is glory; it is majesty: it is all that is great, sublime, wonderful - all combined - all concentrated - in one Being.

And of thy wondrous works - Margin, "things," or "words." The reference is to wondrous deeds or acts considered as the subject of discourse or praise.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

5. I will speak—or, "muse" (Ps 77:12; 119:15).

thy wondrous works—or, "words of thy wonders," that is, which described them (Ps 105:27, Margin).

Matthew Poole's Commentary

The glorious honour of thy majesty: here are divers words heaped together, to intimate that no words were sufficient to express it.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty,.... Of the majesty of the divine Person of Christ; of the honour due unto him; of the glory of him as of the only begotten of the Father, as he is the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person; of his glory as Mediator, and the honour that belongs to him as such, with which he is now crowned at the right hand of the Majesty on high, angels, authorities, and powers, being subject unto him as the Lord and King of glory;

and of thy wondrous works; in becoming incarnate, in dying for the sins of his people, in rising from the dead the third day, in ascending to heaven and receiving gifts for men; in pouring down the spirit on them, in governing his church throughout all ages of the world, and judging the world at last.

Geneva Study Bible

I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

5. The glorious splendour of thy majesty

And all thy marvellous works shall be my theme.

Splendour, glory, majesty, are the attributes of God as King. Cp. Psalm 145:12; Psalm 21:5; Psalm 104:1; Psalm 96:6.

For the word rendered shall be my theme, lit. I will busy myself with, discourse concerning, see note on Psalm 105:2.

thy wondrous works] The Heb. text reads the matters or details (דִּבְרֵי) of My marvellous works (cp. Psalm 65:3; Psalm 105:27); but the LXX represents a verb (יְדַבֵּרוּ), so that the verse would run, Of the glorious splendour of thy majesty do men talk, and of all thy marvellous works will I discourse. This reading improves the rhythm, and makes the structure of the verse correspond exactly to that of Psalm 145:6. The further alteration of the first person in Psalm 145:5 b, 6 b to the third in the LXX they will discourse … they will declare is unnecessary. Worship in P.B.V. = honour. Cf. Luke 14:10.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 5. - I will speak of the glorious honor of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works (comp. Psalm 26:7; Psalm 71:17). It was the duty of every faithful Israelite to set forth God's majesty, and to "declare his works with rejoicing" (Psalm 117:2). David proclaims himself ready to perform this duty. Then, he thinks, others will join in. Psalm 145:5

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

The strains with which this hymn opens are familiar Psalm-strains. We are reminded of Psalm 30:2, and the likewise alphabetical song of praise and thanksgiving Psalm 34:2. The plena scriptio אלוהי in Psalm 143:10; Psalm 98:6. The language of address "my God the King," which sounds harsh in comparison with the otherwise usual "my King and my God" (Psalm 5:3; Psalm 84:4), purposely calls God with unrelated generality, that is to say in the most absolute manner, the King. If the poet is himself a king, the occasion for this appellation of God is all the more natural and the signification all the more pertinent. But even in the mouth of any other person it is significant. Whosoever calls God by such a name acknowledges His royal prerogative, and at the same time does homage to Him and binds himself to allegiance; and it is just this confessory act of exalting Him who in Himself is the absolutely lofty One that is here called רומם. But who can the poet express the purpose of praising God's Name for ever? Because the praise of God is a need of his inmost nature, he has a perfect right to forget his own mortality when engaged upon this devotion to the ever-living King. Clinging adoringly to the Eternal One, he must seem to himself to be eternal; and if there is a practical proof for a life after death, it is just this ardent desire of the soul, wrought of God Himself, after the praise of the God of its life (lit., its origin) which affords it the highest, noblest delight. The idea of the silent Hades, which forces itself forward elsewhere, as in Psalm 6:6, where the mind of the poet is beclouded by sin, is here entirely removed, inasmuch as here the mind of the poet is the undimmed mirror of the divine glory. Therefore Psalm 145:2 also does not concede the possibility of any interruption of the praise: the poet will daily (Psalm 68:20) bless God, be they days of prosperity or of sorrow, uninterruptedly in all eternity will he glorify His Name (אהללה as in Psalm 69:31). There is no worthier and more exhaustless object of praise (Psalm 145:3): Jahve is great, and greatly to be praised (מהלּל, taken from Psalm 48:2, as in Psalm 96:4, cf. Psalm 18:4), and of His "greatness" (cf. 1 Chronicles 29:11, where this attribute precedes all others) there is no searching out, i.e., it is so abysmally deep that no searching can reach its bottom (as in Isaiah 40:28; Job 11:7.). It has, however, been revealed, and is being revealed continually, and is for this very reason thus celebrated in Psalm 145:4 : one generation propagates to the next the growing praise of the works that He has wrought out (עשׂה מעשׁים), and men are able to relate all manner of proofs of His victorious power which prevails over everything, and makes everything subject to itself (גּבוּרת as in Psalm 20:7, and frequently). This historically manifest and traditional divine doxa and the facts (דּברי as in Psalm 105:27) of the divine wonders the poet will devoutly consider. הדר stands in attributive relation to כּבוד, as this on its part does to הודך. Thy brilliantly gloriously (kingly) majesty (cf. Jeremiah 22:18; Daniel 11:21). The poet does not say גּם אני, nor may we insert it, either here in Psalm 145:5, or in Psalm 145:6, where the same sequence of thoughts recurs, more briefly expressed. The emphasis lies on the objects. The mightiness (עזוּז as in Psalm 78:4, and in Isaiah 42:25, where it signifies violence) of His terrible acts shall pass from mouth to mouth (אמר with a substantival object as in Psalm 40:11), and His mighty acts (גּדלּות, magnalia, as in 1 Chronicles 17:19, 1 Chronicles 17:21) - according to the Ker (which is determined by the suffix of אספּרנּה; cf. however, 2 Samuel 22:23; 2 Kings 3:3; 2 Kings 10:26, and frequently): His greatness (גּדלּה) - will he also on his part make the matter of his narrating. It is, however, not alone the awe-inspiring majesty of God which is revealed in history, but also the greatness (רב used as a substantive as in Psalm 31:20; Isaiah 63:7; Isaiah 21:7, whereas רבּים in Psalm 32:10; Psalm 89:51 is an adjective placed before the noun after the manner of a numeral), i.e., the abundant measure, of His goodness and His righteousness, i.e., His acting in inviolable correspondence with His counsel and order of salvation. The memory of the transcendent goodness of God is the object of universal, overflowing acknowledgement and the righteousness of God is the object of universal exultation (רנּן with the accusative as in Psalm 51:16; Psalm 59:17). After the poet has sung the glorious self-attestation of God according to both its sides, the fiery and the light sides, he lingers by the light side, the front side of the Name of Jahve unfolded in Exodus 34:6.