John Calvin Commentary Psalms 145:1

"I will extol thee, my God, O King; And I will bless thy name for ever and ever." — Psalms 145:1 (ASV)

I will extol you, my God and my king. David does not so much state what he himself would do, as stir up and urge all others to this religious service of offering to God the praises due to his name. His purpose in declaring God to be beneficent to humankind is to encourage them to cultivate a pious gratitude; he also insists on the necessity of persevering in this practice. For since God is constant in extending mercies, it would be highly improper for us to grow weary in his praises.

As he in this way gives his people new ground for praising him, so he stimulates them to gratitude, and to practice it throughout their entire lives. In using the term daily, he denotes perseverance in this practice. Afterwards, he adds that even if he were to live through many ages, he would never cease to do so.

The repetitions used significantly contribute to the emphasis of his language. As it is probable that this Psalm was written when David's kingdom was in a flourishing condition, it is noteworthy that in calling God his king, he puts both himself and other earthly princes in their proper place and does not allow any earthly distinctions to interfere with the glory due to God.

This is made even more evident in the following verse, where, in speaking of God's greatness as immeasurable, he intimates that we only praise God rightly when we are filled and overwhelmed with an ecstatic admiration of the immensity of his power. This admiration will form the fountain from which our just praises of him will proceed according to our capacity.