Albert Barnes Commentary Psalms 145

I will extol thee ... — I will lift you up; I will lift up your name and praise, so that it may be heard afar.

And I will bless thy name forever and ever — I will bless or praise you. I will do it now; I will do it in all the future. I will do it in time; I will do it in eternity. See the notes at Psalms 30:1.

Every day will I bless thee ... - Compare Psalms 92:2; Psalms 55:17. As we receive blessings from God every day , 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.

Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised - See (Psalms 96:4), note; (Psalms 18:3), note.

And his greatness is unsearchable - See (Job 5:9), note; (Job 9:10), note; (Job 11:7–8), notes.

One generation shall praise thy works...—shall praise You on account of Your works or Your doings. That is, Your praise shall be always kept up on the earth. See the notes at Isaiah 38:19; notes at Psalm 19:2.

One generation shall transmit the knowledge of Your works to another by praise—by hymns and psalms recording and celebrating Your praise. Successive generations of people shall take up the language of praise, and it shall thus be transmitted to the end of time.

And shall declare thy mighty acts—Your works of strength or power. God’s greatness—His infinity—is in itself a just ground of praise, for we should rejoice that there is One Infinite Eternal Being; and as all that greatness is employed in the cause of truth, of law, of good order, of justice, of kindness, of mercy, it should call forth continued praise in all parts of His dominions.

I will speak - That is, in my acts of praise. I will not be ashamed to be known as His worshipper; I will publicly declare my belief in His existence, His greatness, His goodness.

Of the glorious honor of thy majesty - The glory of the honor of Your majesty. This accumulation of epithets shows that the heart of the psalmist was full of the subject, and that he labored to find language to express his emotions. It is beauty; it is glory; it is majesty: it is all that is great, sublime, wonderful—all combined—all concentrated—in one Being.

And of thy wondrous works - Margin, “things,” or “words.” The reference is to wondrous deeds or acts considered as the subject of discourse or praise.