Psalms 145:2

Psa 145:2 Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever.

Ver. 2. Every day will I bless thee] No day shall pass me without a morning and evening sacrifice; besides, what is more, upon all emergent occasions. The Jews have above a hundred benedictions which they are bound to say over every day; and one among the rest, for the benefit of evacuation. If I were a nightingale, saith Epictetus, a heathen (In Encher.), I would do as a nightingale; but since I am a man, what shall I do? I will praise my Maker, and never cease to do it: I exhort also all men to do the like.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Psa_145:2

Every day will I bless Thee.

A goodly occupation

I. The duty imposed.

1. It is purely voluntary. Whatever we do must be done not grudgingly, or of necessity. To do it against our will is to render mechanical service. In that there is no manhood.

2. It is personal. David appealed to others (verse 21), for he would have others similarly engaged. But he did not wait for them. Commenced himself: led the way. So must we.

3. In harmony with his understanding, judgment, and feelings. Only so far as there is this agreement or harmony is there any hope of a successful performance of this duty.

4. But how can we bless the Lord?

(1) By extolling Him.

(2) Praising Him.

(3) Loving Him.

II. The time set apart. Every day.

1. This possesses considerable advantage. Clocks that require winding up once a week, or once in eight or fifteen days, or longer period, are more likely to be neglected than watches and clocks which require daily attention. Then no need of reckoning up. Cannot well go wrong, for it is an everyday work.

2. This is comprehensive; for does not mean, as in case of watch or clock, a particular Nine, but all the time. In other words, that all our life should be devoted to this purpose.

3. Nor is this unreasonable; for only according to the measure whereby we have been blessed.

4. Therefore makes a business of it. Not occasional or spasmodic, but the regular, uninterrupted course. Conclusion--Keep, therefore, and do this, for this is your wisdom and your understanding. (J. H. Thompson.)

Daily devotion

I. An obligation. As such it calls forth--

1. Reflection. Providence is a great panorama; the Bible is a vast picture-gallery; the human race is an endless orchestra; and the whole an exhibition of infinite wisdom, power, and love. The true observer is filled with calmness, reverence, worship, and his soul ascends Godward in the incense of universal adoration.

2. Thanksgiving. We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, and in the calmness of our forgiven heart we look up to the Giver of all our perfect gifts. Every day we bless Him for the Bible, for the Saviour, for the guidance of His Spirit, for the communion of saints, and for the hope of life eternal.

II. A fit accompaniment to daily duties. The late Princess Alice chose for her personal motto the lark. Her reason for it was that the lark soared high in the heavens to praise its Maker, and then descended to make its nest on the ground. It was a beautiful sentiment, and will apply to the godly: Give us this day our daily bread--that is the cry of devotion to be followed by work. Sir Thomas More stipulated when he took office under the government first to look to God and then to the king.

III. Our stay in trial.

IV. A witness for Christ. Our places of worship are only open at stated times, and the Gospel preached at appointed hours, but he whose soul knows the blessedness of communion with God is a daily minister of religion. Fletcher of Madeley and his brother, when they were boys, went on Lake Geneva in a boat. After a while the mist swept down, and completely enveloped the lake. The boys soon lost their points, and kept on rowing about in the dark. At eight oclock all the bells in the town began to peal in honour of a great event. The boys heard the bells, turned their boat towards the sound, and were soon safely landed. Let every Christian peal the bells of grace to direct the mariners who are in the darkness towards the haven of rest. (D. Davies.)

Praise unintermittent

Suppose some one entering heaven were to say to the redeemed, Suspend your songs for a moment! ye have been praising Christ, lo! these six thousand years: many of you have without cessation praised Him now these many centuries. Stop your song a moment; pause and give your songs to some one else for a moment. Oh l can you conceive the scorn with which the myriad eyes of the redeemed would smite the tempter. Stop from praising Him! No, never. Time may stop, for it shall be no more: the world may stop, for its revolutions must cease; the universe may stop its cycles and the movings of its world; but for us to stop our songs--never! never! (C. H. Spurgeon.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2. (Psa 145:2) Every day will I bless thee, and praise thy name to eternity and per petuity. Compare Psa 68:19; Psa 69:30; Psa 92:2-3. Every day denotes constancy and regularity.

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Psalms Translated and Explained (1850) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Every day will I bless thee,.... For new mercies had every morning; for fresh supplies of grace every day, which all come from the fulness of Christ, to whom all grace is given, and from whence it is received, and in whom all spiritual blessings are, and by whom they are bestowed;

and I will praise thy name for ever and ever; as long as he lived in this world, and to all eternity in the world to come. David understood the doctrine of the saints' perseverance, and knew he should not be an apostate and blasphemer of the name of Christ, but a praiser of it as long as he had a being; and that his principal service, and that of all the saints in the other world, will be praise; not praying, nor preaching, nor hearing the word, and attendance on other ordinances, which will be no more, but adoring and magnifying the riches of divine grace, Psa 104:34.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Every day will I bless thee ... - Compare Psa 92:2; Psa 55:17. As we receive blessings from God every day (compare Lam 3:23), it is proper that we should render to him daily thanks; as God is the same always - “yesterday, today, and forever” - it is proper that he should receive from day to day the tribute of praise; as we are daily dependent on him - one day as much as another - our recognition of that dependence should be daily; and as he will always be unchangeably the same, it will be proper that he should be praised forever and ever. Two things are apparent from this verse:

(1) that a truly religious man “will” worship God every day;

(2) that it is the fixed purpose of a truly religious man to continue this forever.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Ver. 2. Every day will I bless thee. Whatever the character of the day, or of my circumstances and conditions during that day, I will continue to glorify God. Were we well to consider the matter we should see abundant cause in each day for rendering special blessing unto the Lord. All before the day, all in the day, all following the day should constrain us to magnify our God every day, all the year round. Our love to God is not a matter of holy days: every day is alike holy to holy men. David here comes closer to God than when he said, "I will bless thy name": it is now, "I will bless thee." This is the centre and kernel of true devotion: we do not only admire the Lord's words and works, but himself. Without realizing the personality of God, praise is well nigh impossible; you cannot extol an abstraction. And I will praise thy name for ever and ever. He said he would bless that name, and now he vows to praise it; he will extol the Lord in every sense and way. Eternal worship shall not be without its variations; it will never become monotonous. Heavenly music is not harping upon one string, but all strings shall be tuned to one praise. Observe the personal pronouns here: four times he says "I will": praise is not to be discharged by proxy: there must be your very self in it, or there is nothing in it.

Ver. 2. Every day. Then God is to be blessed and praised in dark as well as bright days Johannes Paulus Palanterius, 1600.

Ver. 2. Every day (in the week) will I bless thee, the Psalmist seems to signify. As there are "seven spirits" peculiarly existing in nearness to God, David holds the seven days of the week like seven stars in his hand, or like a seven branched candlestick of gold, burning every day with his devotion. He calls the seven days to be as seven angels with trumpets. Thomas Le Blanc.

Ver. 2. I will bless thee: I will praise thy name. The repetition intimates the fervency of his affection to this work, the fixedness of his purpose to abound in it, and the frequency of his performances therein. Matthew Henry.

Ver. 2. Praise. If we are to define it in words, we may say that praise is thankful, lowly, loving worship of the goodness and majesty of God. And therefore we often find the word "praise" joined with "blessing" and "thanksgiving": but though all three are akin to each other, they are not all alike. They are steps in a gradual scalea song of degrees. Thanksgiving runs up into blessing, and blessing ascends into praise; for praise comprehends both, and is the highest and most perfect work of all living spirits. Henry Edward Manning, 1850.

Ver. 2. Every day; for ever.

1. Day by day for ever God and I will endure.

2. Day by day for ever our present relations will continue. He the God, I the creature; he the Father, I the child; he the blessing, I the blest.

3. Day by day for ever he shall have my homage. W. B. H.

Psalms 145:3*

Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy Name for ever and ever. An emphatic repetition of the second clause of ver. 1.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.