Psalm 145-148
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Psalm 145[a]
The Greatness and Goodness of God
1 Praise. Of David.
I will extol you, my God and king;
I will bless your name forever and ever.
2 Every day I will bless you;
I will praise your name forever and ever.(A)
3 Great is the Lord and worthy of much praise,(B)
whose grandeur is beyond understanding.
4 One generation praises your deeds to the next
and proclaims your mighty works.(C)
5 They speak of the splendor of your majestic glory,
tell of your wonderful deeds.(D)
6 They speak of the power of your awesome acts
and recount your great deeds.(E)
7 They celebrate your abounding goodness
and joyfully sing of your justice.
8 The Lord is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in mercy.(F)
9 The Lord is good to all,
compassionate toward all your works.(G)
10 All your works give you thanks, Lord
and your faithful bless you.(H)
11 They speak of the glory of your reign
and tell of your mighty works,
12 Making known to the sons of men your mighty acts,
the majestic glory of your rule.
13 Your reign is a reign for all ages,
your dominion for all generations.(I)
The Lord is trustworthy in all his words,
and loving in all his works.
14 The Lord supports all who are falling
and raises up all who are bowed down.(J)
15 The eyes of all look hopefully to you;
you give them their food in due season.(K)
16 You open wide your hand
and satisfy the desire of every living thing.
17 The Lord is just in all his ways,
merciful in all his works.(L)
18 The Lord is near to all who call upon him,
to all who call upon him in truth.(M)
19 He fulfills the desire of those who fear him;
he hears their cry and saves them.(N)
20 The Lord watches over all who love him,
but all the wicked he destroys.(O)
21 My mouth will speak the praises of the Lord;
all flesh will bless his holy name forever and ever.
Psalm 146[b]
Trust in God the Creator and Redeemer
1 Hallelujah!
2 Praise the Lord, my soul;
I will praise the Lord all my life,
sing praise to my God while I live.(P)
I
3 Put no trust in princes,
in children of Adam powerless to save.(Q)
4 Who breathing his last, returns to the earth;
that day all his planning comes to nothing.(R)
II
5 Blessed the one whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord, his God,
6 The maker of heaven and earth,
the seas and all that is in them,(S)
Who keeps faith forever,
7 secures justice for the oppressed,(T)
who gives bread to the hungry.
The Lord sets prisoners free;(U)
8 the Lord gives sight to the blind.
The Lord raises up those who are bowed down;(V)
the Lord loves the righteous.
9 The Lord protects the resident alien,
comes to the aid of the orphan and the widow,(W)
but thwarts the way of the wicked.
10 The Lord shall reign forever,
your God, Zion, through all generations!(X)
Hallelujah!
Psalm 147[c]
God’s Word Restores Jerusalem
1 Hallelujah!
I
How good to sing praise to our God;
how pleasant to give fitting praise.(Y)
2 The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem,
and gathers the dispersed of Israel,(Z)
3 Healing the brokenhearted,
and binding up their wounds.(AA)
4 He numbers the stars,
and gives to all of them their names.(AB)
5 Great is our Lord, vast in power,
with wisdom beyond measure.(AC)
6 The Lord gives aid to the poor,
but casts the wicked to the ground.(AD)
II
7 Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
with the lyre make music to our God,(AE)
8 [d]Who covers the heavens with clouds,
provides rain for the earth,
makes grass sprout on the mountains,(AF)
9 Who gives animals their food
and young ravens what they cry for.(AG)
10 [e]He takes no delight in the strength of horses,
no pleasure in the runner’s stride.(AH)
11 Rather the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him,
those who put their hope in his mercy.
III
12 Glorify the Lord, Jerusalem;
Zion, offer praise to your God,
13 For he has strengthened the bars of your gates,
blessed your children within you.(AI)
14 He brings peace to your borders,
and satisfies you with finest wheat.(AJ)
15 [f]He sends his command to earth;
his word runs swiftly!(AK)
16 Thus he makes the snow like wool,
and spreads the frost like ash;(AL)
17 He disperses hail like crumbs.
Who can withstand his cold?
18 Yet when again he issues his command, it melts them;
he raises his winds and the waters flow.
19 He proclaims his word to Jacob,
his statutes and laws to Israel.(AM)
20 He has not done this for any other nation;
of such laws they know nothing.
Hallelujah!
Psalm 148[g]
All Creation Summoned to Praise
1 Hallelujah!
I
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
praise him in the heights.
2 Praise him, all you his angels;
give praise, all you his hosts.(AN)
3 Praise him, sun and moon;
praise him, all shining stars.
4 Praise him, highest heavens,[h]
you waters above the heavens.
5 Let them all praise the Lord’s name;
for he commanded and they were created,(AO)
6 Assigned them their station forever,
set an order that will never change.
II
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
you sea monsters and all the deeps of the sea;(AP)
8 Lightning and hail, snow and thick clouds,
storm wind that fulfills his command;
9 Mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars;(AQ)
10 Animals wild and tame,
creatures that crawl and birds that fly;(AR)
11 Kings of the earth and all peoples,
princes and all who govern on earth;
12 Young men and women too,
old and young alike.
13 Let them all praise the Lord’s name,
for his name alone is exalted,
His majesty above earth and heaven.(AS)
14 [i]He has lifted high the horn of his people;
to the praise of all his faithful,
the Israelites, the people near to him.
Hallelujah!
Footnotes
- Psalm 145 A hymn in acrostic form; every verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Acrostic poems usually do not develop ideas but consist rather of loosely connected statements. The singer invites all to praise God (Ps 145:1–3, 21). The “works of God” make God present and invite human praise (Ps 145:4–7); they climax in a confession (Ps 145:8–9). God’s mighty acts show forth divine kingship (Ps 145:10–20), a major theme in the literature of early Judaism and in Christianity.
- Psalm 146 A hymn of someone who has learned there is no other source of strength except the merciful God. Only God, not mortal human beings (Ps 146:3–4), can help vulnerable and oppressed people (Ps 146:5–9). The first of the five hymns that conclude the Psalter.
- Psalm 147 The hymn is divided into three sections by the calls to praise in Ps 147:1, 7, 12. The first section praises the powerful creator who restores exiled Judah (Ps 147:1–6); the second section, the creator who provides food to animals and human beings; the third and climactic section exhorts the holy city to recognize it has been re-created and made the place of disclosure for God’s word, a word as life-giving as water.
- 147:8–9 God clothes the fields and feeds the birds, cf. Mt 6:26, 30.
- 147:10–11 Acknowledging one’s dependence upon God rather than claiming self-sufficiency pleases God, cf. Ps 20:8; 33:16–19.
- 147:15–19 God speaks through the thunder of nature and the word of revealed law, cf. Is 55:10–11. The weather phenomena are well known in Jerusalem: a blizzard of snow and hail followed by a thunderstorm that melts the ice.
- Psalm 148 A hymn inviting the beings of heaven (Ps 148:1–6) and of earth (Ps 148:7–14) to praise God. The hymn does not distinguish between inanimate and animate (and rational) nature.
- 148:4 Highest heavens: lit., “the heavens of the heavens,” i.e., the space above the firmament, where the “upper waters” are stored, cf. Gn 1:6–7; Dt 10:14; 1 Kgs 8:27; Ps 104:3, 13.
- 148:14 Has lifted high the horn of his people: the horn symbolizes strength, the concrete noun for the abstract. Of all peoples, God has chosen Israel to return praise and thanks in a special way.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.