Psa 145:8-13 | KingComments | STEP | can also be translated in the imperative, e.g., : “Let one generation praise Your works to another.” In the realm of peace, the children, the grandchildren, and so on, will praise the LORD in accordance with the covenant the LORD will make with Israel (cf. ). What the psalmist is doing, praising and magnifying the LORD, will continue from generation to generation ( ). The old, rebellious, apostate generation is no more. It was judged at Christ’s coming to earth. A new generation, a people made up of the righteous ( ), has entered the realm of peace. They extol God’s works and will pass it on to the next generation. For us, we are already declaring God’s mighty acts to our children. Each new generation in the realm of peace will praise God’s works and declare His mighty acts, because the previous generation passed it on to them. Always through, the remembrance of God’s works and His mighty acts in the past will remain alive. Enjoying the blessing of the realm of peace is not possible without thinking of its source and the way in which He wrought this wonderful blessing. Each coming generation will meditate “on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, and on Your wonderful works” ( ). Each new generation agrees with what Christ says. No one is better able than He to pass on the glorious glory of God’s majesty and God’s wonderful works. He did that in His life as Man in humiliation on earth. He will do that in the realm of peace when He reigns as Messiah. We as New Testament believers may behold His glory ( ) and see Him in glory, crowned with glory and honor ( ). Of this we may speak and testify, we may declare His lordship over our lives. The people who have entered the realm of peace “shall speak of the power of Your awesome acts” ( ). They will remember the awesome deliverance that the LORD wrought for them through the judgments on their enemies. The Messiah Himself will tell of the greatness of the LORD. It is the psalmist’s wish that from generation to generation people will remember and praise God’s awesome deeds. “They shall eagerly utter the memory of Your abundant goodness” ( ). For God’s people, the judgment on the hostile powers is a proof of His abundant goodness to them. When they think about it, their mouths overflow with gratitude. They start shouting “joyfully of Your righteousness”. God’s acts of judgment on the enemies and in favor of His people are also acts of justice. Justice means acting in accordance with the norm, with the law, in this case with the covenant. These acts are elaborated in . His righteousness demands judgment on the rebellious nations. His righteousness also demands the fulfillment of all the promises of blessing He has made to His people. For His people, who, like the nations, have deserved judgment, His righteousness has been fulfilled through the sacrifice of His Son, through which the blood of the new covenant has been shed. The rebellious nations have rejected that sacrifice and therefore must pay for their sins themselves. Because God’s justice for His people has been satisfied by His Son, the people can sing joyfully that the LORD is “gracious and merciful” and “slow to anger and great in lovingkindness” ( ; cf. ; ). We see that God is slow to anger in the long time He endures rebellious man, “not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” ( ). His lovingkindness, Adonai, is great because He is great. His lovingkindness is great because there is a new covenant, based on the blood of the new covenant through the great sacrifice of His Son. Because of that, He can offer a greatness of forgiveness, by which even the greatest sin can be forgiven. This is what the people of God will be aware of in the realm of peace. We will also be aware of that when we consider who we are by nature and how great and numerous the blessings are we have received. These impressive attributes of God are not just for Israel. The power of the blood of the new covenant is so great that it enables God to give His blessing to us in the New Testament even apart from Israel ( ). The blessing of the new covenant is not the result of Israel meeting the requirements of the covenant. That blessing comes because the Mediator bore the curse of the covenant and paid the price of the covenant with His blood. Israel will receive the blessings of the covenant by virtue of grace. And if it is grace, then God can grant these blessings to us New Testament believers as well. In the realm of peace, not only Israel enjoys God’s abundant blessing, but through Israel all creation shares in it ( ). This is why Christ, and with Him all who share in the blessing, says that the LORD is “good to all” (cf. ) and that “His mercies are over all His works” ( ). On everything He has made is the seal of His mercy. It bears the testimony of Him as the mild, kind God with a heart full of love, Who loves nothing more than to bless. He takes care of creation and the creatures that suffer as a result of sin.

‏ Psalms 145:8-13

Let Each Next Generation Praise the LORD

Psa 145:4-7 can also be translated in the imperative, e.g., Psa 145:4a: “Let one generation praise Your works to another.” In the realm of peace, the children, the grandchildren, and so on, will praise the LORD in accordance with the covenant the LORD will make with Israel (cf. Isa 59:21).

What the psalmist is doing, praising and magnifying the LORD, will continue from generation to generation (Psa 145:4). The old, rebellious, apostate generation is no more. It was judged at Christ’s coming to earth. A new generation, a people made up of the righteous (Isa 60:21), has entered the realm of peace. They extol God’s works and will pass it on to the next generation. For us, we are already declaring God’s mighty acts to our children.

Each new generation in the realm of peace will praise God’s works and declare His mighty acts, because the previous generation passed it on to them. Always through, the remembrance of God’s works and His mighty acts in the past will remain alive. Enjoying the blessing of the realm of peace is not possible without thinking of its source and the way in which He wrought this wonderful blessing.

Each coming generation will meditate “on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, and on Your wonderful works” (Psa 145:5). Each new generation agrees with what Christ says. No one is better able than He to pass on the glorious glory of God’s majesty and God’s wonderful works. He did that in His life as Man in humiliation on earth. He will do that in the realm of peace when He reigns as Messiah.

We as New Testament believers may behold His glory (Jn 17:24) and see Him in glory, crowned with glory and honor (Heb 2:9). Of this we may speak and testify, we may declare His lordship over our lives.

The people who have entered the realm of peace “shall speak of the power of Your awesome acts” (Psa 145:6). They will remember the awesome deliverance that the LORD wrought for them through the judgments on their enemies. The Messiah Himself will tell of the greatness of the LORD.

It is the psalmist’s wish that from generation to generation people will remember and praise God’s awesome deeds. “They shall eagerly utter the memory of Your abundant goodness” (Psa 145:7). For God’s people, the judgment on the hostile powers is a proof of His abundant goodness to them. When they think about it, their mouths overflow with gratitude. They start shouting “joyfully of Your righteousness”.

God’s acts of judgment on the enemies and in favor of His people are also acts of justice. Justice means acting in accordance with the norm, with the law, in this case with the covenant. These acts are elaborated in Psa 145:8-13.

His righteousness demands judgment on the rebellious nations. His righteousness also demands the fulfillment of all the promises of blessing He has made to His people. For His people, who, like the nations, have deserved judgment, His righteousness has been fulfilled through the sacrifice of His Son, through which the blood of the new covenant has been shed. The rebellious nations have rejected that sacrifice and therefore must pay for their sins themselves.

Because God’s justice for His people has been satisfied by His Son, the people can sing joyfully that the LORD is “gracious and merciful” and “slow to anger and great in lovingkindness” (Psa 145:8; cf. Exo 34:6; Psa 103:8). We see that God is slow to anger in the long time He endures rebellious man, “not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (2Pet 3:9).

His lovingkindness, Adonai, is great because He is great. His lovingkindness is great because there is a new covenant, based on the blood of the new covenant through the great sacrifice of His Son. Because of that, He can offer a greatness of forgiveness, by which even the greatest sin can be forgiven. This is what the people of God will be aware of in the realm of peace. We will also be aware of that when we consider who we are by nature and how great and numerous the blessings are we have received.

These impressive attributes of God are not just for Israel. The power of the blood of the new covenant is so great that it enables God to give His blessing to us in the New Testament even apart from Israel (2Cor 3:6-18). The blessing of the new covenant is not the result of Israel meeting the requirements of the covenant. That blessing comes because the Mediator bore the curse of the covenant and paid the price of the covenant with His blood. Israel will receive the blessings of the covenant by virtue of grace. And if it is grace, then God can grant these blessings to us New Testament believers as well.

In the realm of peace, not only Israel enjoys God’s abundant blessing, but through Israel all creation shares in it (Rom 11:11-15). This is why Christ, and with Him all who share in the blessing, says that the LORD is “good to all” (cf. Psa 100:5) and that “His mercies are over all His works” (Psa 145:9). On everything He has made is the seal of His mercy. It bears the testimony of Him as the mild, kind God with a heart full of love, Who loves nothing more than to bless. He takes care of creation and the creatures that suffer as a result of sin.

All Works Give Thanks to the LORD

In Psa 145:10 comes the response of all the objects of God’s mercy to His mercy. All of God’s works will give thanks to Him. God has made everything to His glory, and that will be seen and heard. The thanks of all God’s works will be expressed through the mouths of “Your godly ones”. All who share in the blessings of the new covenant will give thanks to Him for it with deep gratitude. Through the great tribulation there were almost no more faithful, Adonai (Psa 12:1). Now, in the realm of peace, Israel has been purified and they are all faithful or godly ones. They are faithful to the covenant and receive the blessings of the covenant.

Psa 145:11-13 form the middle of this psalm. These verses deal with kingship, again underscoring that the theme of this psalm is that God is King in the realm of peace. God’s works contribute to “the glory of Your kingdom” (Psa 145:11). The glory of God’s kingdom is God’s own glory reflected through the kingdom.

They call that to mind every time they see what they enjoy. It was all brought about by Him, by His power. That is what the godly ones talk about with each other. That is their fellowship, in which God is present and watches and listens with His pleasure.

From this a testimony emanates to “the sons of men” (Psa 145:12). His kingdom is not limited to Israel, for the LORD is “Lord of lords and King of kings” (Rev 17:14). Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Phil 2:10-11). His power is over all nations, yes, over all creation, that is, heaven and earth (Mt 28:18). As a result, His “mighty acts” are made known everywhere, as well as “the glory of the majesty of” His kingdom. That glory of the majesty was seen by the disciples on the mount of transfiguration (2Pet 1:17).

What characterizes our conversations? If our mouth is full of God’s mighty acts of grace and mercy which He has shown to us, that may make people jealous to partake of that as well. We can also testify to it by showing in our lives that we have been brought into a kingdom of radiant glory, namely the kingdom of the Son of the Father’s love (Col 1:13).

The kingdom of God is not a temporary, transferable kingdom (Dan 2:44). It is “an everlasting kingdom” (Psa 145:13; cf. Dan 4:3 ; 34), founded on the blood of the everlasting covenant (Heb 13:20). His government is an everlasting government, a government without end.

His “dominion” also includes “all generations”, literally “all generation to generation”. Normally, with a new generation a new ruler comes. However, Christ continues to rule even with each new generation that is born. There is no generation in the past or present or future over which He does not have absolute and perfect authority. Nothing is out of His control, although we may think so at times. Each generation has its own characteristics, but they are no surprise to Him. He is above them and has His directions for each generation. Whoever listens to them will be blessed. Whoever rejects His directions will be cursed.