Psalms 145:8

GOD'S SPECIAL BLESSINGS OF HIS OWN PEOPLE REGARDING THE KINGDOM OF GOD

"Jehovah is gracious, and merciful;

Slow to anger, and of great lovingkindness.

Jehovah is good to all;

And his tender mercies are over all his works.

All thy works shall give thanks unto thee, O Jehovah;

And thy saints shall bless thee.

They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom,

And talk of thy power;

To make known unto the sons of men his mighty acts,

And the glory of the majesty of his kingdom.

Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,

And thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.

Jehovah upholdeth all that fall,

And raiseth up all those that are bowed down."

"Thy saints ... thy kingdom ... his kingdom ... thy kingdom ... everlasting kingdom ... and ... dominion" (Psalms 145:10-13). These show that the emphasis in this stanza is upon the kingdom of God. During the long and trying inter-testamental period in which Israel had no king, no prince, and no "kingdom," there were many devout souls who "waited for the kingdom of God." What an electric shock it must have been when John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judaea, preaching, and saying, "Repent ye, for the kingdom of God is at hand"!

Was it really true? Of course. Christ came into the world for the purpose of establishing the kingdom of God; and no one who knows the New Testament can doubt that he did so. The apostles assured the Christians of the New Testament age that they had indeed been "Translated out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of the Son of God's love" (Colossians 1:13). What a pitiful shame it is that our radio and TV programs are loaded with prime-time preachers proclaiming that the kingdom has NOT yet been established!

"Jehovah is gracious, merciful, slow to anger, etc" (Psalms 145:8). Other Old Testament passages setting forth the attributes of God are Exodus 34:6,7 and Jonah 4:2.

"All thy works shall give thanks unto thee, O Jehovah" (Psalms 145:10). Reginald Heber, in his immortal hymn, "Holy, Holy, Holy," honors this line in the last verse.

"Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty!

All thy works shall praise thy name,

In earth and sky and sea."[7]

"Thy saints shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom ... and make known to the sons of men God's mighty acts" (Psalms 145:11-12). This sets forth the primary duty of God's saints, to spread far and near to the fullest extent of their ability the knowledge of God and the salvation he has provided for all men through the Atoning death of His Beloved Son.

"Jehovah upholdeth all that fall" (Psalms 145:14). God recognizes that mortal men are prone to stumble and fall, and he is ever ready to support the feeble, strengthen the fainting, sustain the struggling, and lift up the fallen. One of the strongest lessons of the whole Psalter is simply this "No matter what the situation is, take it to the Lord in prayer."