Friday, September 18, 2026

Psalm 145:1-8 

1 I will exalt you, my God and king, 
  and bless your name forever and ever. 
2 Every day will I bless you 
  and praise your name forever and ever. 
3 Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised! 
  There is no end to your greatness. 
4 One generation shall praise your works to another 
  and shall declare your power. 
5 I will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty 
  and all your marvelous works. 
6 They shall tell of the might of your wondrous acts, 
  and I will recount your greatness. 
7 They shall publish the remembrance of your great goodness; 
  they shall sing joyfully of your righteousness. 
8 The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, 
  slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 

When people are not sure how to pray, or where to even begin, I often direct them to the book of Psalms. This book includes a spectrum of prayers in the form of Psalms that convey every way to talk God. Lament. Anger. Joy. And in the latter Psalms we hear most prolifically the Psalms of praise. 

The first eight verses of Psalm 145 make it easy to get caught up in the zealous praise of the writer. So much so that it might make you feel like you could sing it! Which would make sense because most of the Psalms are songs and have been scored by many composers ever since they recorded.  

More than the praise and veneration of God this psalm embodies, I appreciate how it reminds the reader (and singer) how God’s greatness, blessedness, power, glory, majesty, marvelous works, wondrous acts, great goodness, righteous and EVERYTHING in between are not FOR God’s sake. They are for God’s children. For you. For me. Verse 8 culminates in the reason for all these things that God is, to be gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and abounding and steadfast love. Not for Godself. But for the world. 

Can we praise God in all these things by trying to embody them for our neighbor? You bet we can. But we cannot and should not do it alone. That is why we gather in Christian community with a variety of gifts to live and serve as the body of Christ, to the glory of God. Hallelujah! 

– Pr. Kyle 

God of all majesty, inspire our praise of you to transform us so we may be equipped to be your hands and feet to serve a world in need. Guide us in conversation with You, through our prayer, to bring glory to your name and will for the world. Amen.