Psalm 145:10-21 NKJV Psalm
10 All Your works shall praise You, O Lord,
And Your saints shall bless You.
11 They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom,
And talk of Your power,
12 To make known to the sons of men His mighty acts,
And the glorious majesty of His kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
And Your dominion endures throughout all generations.
14 The Lord upholds all who fall,
And raises up all who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all look expectantly to You,
And You give them their food in due season.
16 You open Your hand
And satisfy the desire of every living thing.
17 The Lord is righteous in all His ways,
Gracious in all His works.
18 The Lord is near to all who call upon Him,
To all who call upon Him in truth.
19 He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;
He also will hear their cry and save them.
20 The Lord preserves all who love Him,
But all the wicked He will destroy.
21 My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord,
And all flesh shall bless His holy name
Forever and ever.
As many other psalms, this is a psalm of thanksgiving as well. This one gives thanks for the kingdom of Christ, which was to come. God works through paradoxes that defy human reason and keep faith reliant upon God creating it through the power of His Word — not the strength or smartness of man!
One of the paradoxes that God works through is how He reveals Himself through hidden things. Fallen man, according to his finite reason expects God to reveal Himself through mighty powerful acts, so if He is going to save man, then it’s going to be in an impressive way. Yet, God works through the weak, unimpressive way of Christ’s cross reveal His love!
Luther writes this about Psalm 145: “The power and kingdom of Christ lies hidden under the outward appearance of the cross and of weakness; and the word of the gospel is a contemptible doctrine with the wise and powerful of the world; for “the gospel,” as Paul saith, “is the wisdom of God hidden in a mystery.” And again, saith he, “Christ crucified, is, unto the Jews, a stumbling-block, unto the Greeks foolishness.” But when this kingdom is, by the preaching of the word, and by the teaching and confession of the saints, made known before the world, it is proved to be the kingdom of God and the power of God.” (Luther’s Manual on the Psalms, pg. 399)
To reveal a Christian’s reliance upon and confession of God’s providential care, Luther pulled verses 16 and 17 into his ‘Ask a Blessing’ meal time prayer: “The eyes of all look to You, O Lord, and You give them their food in the proper time. You open Your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.” Praying according to God’s Word, and acknowledging such a reliance upon God, the remainder of the mealtime prayer is practically answered already as it continues: “Lord, God, heavenly Father, bless us and these Your gifts which we receive from Your bountiful goodness.” And He does!
Let us pray: O Lord, as You create and sustain faith through Your Christ-crucified-focused Word and Sacraments, keep us rejoicing in Your eternal, and temporal, hidden works. Amen.