Psalm 145:10-18 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 145:10-18 on biblegateway.com
Verse 10All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord, and all your faithful shall bless you.
Verse 11They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom, and tell of your power,
Verse 12to make known to all people your mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
Verse 13Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations. The Lord is faithful in all his words, and gracious in all his deeds.
Verse 14The Lord upholds all who are falling, and raises up all who are bowed down.
Verse 15The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season.
Verse 16You open your hand, satisfying the desire of every living thing.
Verse 17The Lord is just in all his ways, and kind in all his doings.
Verse 18The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.
Devotion
The writer of Psalm 145 lists many descriptors of a God whose promises are worthy of being folded into a wallet and reviewed in times of delight, discouragement, or despair. A close reading suggests that the psalmist’s words are not merely promises to remember, but practices to keep.
To signify the importance of these words and to invite their remembrance Psalm 145 is a prayer written in the style of an acrostic. That is, each verse of the psalm begins with a successive letter of the twenty-two characters of the Hebrew alphabet. It is as if to summarize all that can be said about the God of Israel—everything from A to Z (Hebrew: from Aleph to Tav).
What is your practice of daily prayer? Is it ACTS (adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication)? Is it “Now I lay me down to sleep…;” the Lord’s Prayer; God Pause; or some other resource? I’m thinking of revising mine to PTTR (praise, trust, tell, repeat). Whatever words we use, God delights in hearing the children praying.
Prayer
God, you are great in all that you say and do. Allow us to praise you every day—with our lips and with our lives. Amen.