"And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts: and I will declare thy greatness. They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness."
Psalm 145:6-7
This psalm is David’s, and it is one in which he is praising the LORD. Every verse is a sermon. Let me encourage you to read the psalm before you read further.
“And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts:”
Men often wonder at God’s workings and the events He brings about on earth. The words “terrible acts” refer to those events that cause fear or dread in mankind. These could be earthquakes, storms, floods, famines and the likes. Verse 4 says that these are the kinds of things that are spoken of generationally. “One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.” These are the kinds of events that cause people to look heavenward and think of God’s greatness. In Theology, we call these pointers to God, “general revelation,” or seeing God through His creation. His creation always points to two facts: God exists, and God is very powerful (Romans 1:19-20).
“And I will declare thy greatness.”
For those of us who know God, when these natural disasters strike we have a built-in opportunity to preach (declare, “to count, recount, relate”1) God’s greatness. David understood this. Albert Barnes translates this Hebrew phrase as, “And thy greatness, I will declare it.”2 David is adamant about testifying to God’s greatness. This is the duty of each believer.
“They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness,”
The memories of God’s great goodness shall abundantly be spoken of. The phrase “abundantly uttered” means “to flow, pour out,…gush forth, spring, bubble up….”3 These words of the great goodness of God are poured out in praise to Him, from hearts that are thankful. Their praise will not be contained, but it will gush forth.
“And shall sing of thy righteousness.”
And what is the theme of their song? It is God’s righteousness, to the believer an infinite blessing, but to the sinner an endless terror.4 Our salvation is made sure because of the righteousness of Christ. As our righteous substitute, He died in our place on the cross. God’s people love to sing of His righteousness for we are His redeemed children.
Spurgeon compares “declaring thy greatness” with “singing of thy righteousness.” “They shall say and then sing. And what is the theme which impels them to leave the pulpit for the orchestra? What do they sing of? They sing of that righteousness…. Righteousness received by gospel light is, in reality, the secret foundation of the believer’s hope.”5
God’s Christ, Who is My Righteousness6
God’s Christ, who is my righteousness,
My beauty is, my glorious dress;
Midst flaming worlds, in this arrayed,
With joy shall I lift up my head.
1. Brown, Driver, Briggs. Brown-Driver-Briggs’ Hebrew Definitions, the electronic version in eSword.
2. Albert Barnes, Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible, the electronic version in eSword.
3. Brown, Driver, Briggs, ibid.
4. See Spurgeon. C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, the electronic version in eSword.
5. Ibid.
6. “God’s Christ, Who is My Righteousness,” Lyrics: Nicolaus L. Zinzendorf (1700-1760); Translated by John Wesley (1703-1791). Music: Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827). Copyright status: Public Domain.