I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever.
2 Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever.
3 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.
4 One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.
5 On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
6 They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds, and I will declare your greatness.
7 They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.
8 The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.
10 All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord, and all your saints shall bless you!
11 They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom and tell of your power,
12 to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations. [The Lord is faithful in all his words
and kind in all his works.]
14 The Lord upholds all who are falling
and raises up all who are bowed down.
In this psalm David praises God. He does not merely state that he praises God or exalts or extols Him: he enumerates the specific reasons for praise and exaltation. The Lord has worked mighty deeds of salvation, deliverance and creation. The Lord is worthy of praise because of His attributes: goodness, righteousness, compassion, grace, patience, glory, power and might. David even praises God for the everlasting kingdom over which the Lord rules. The Lord is to be exalted because He cares for the poor and needy and acts to provide justice for the oppressed. He is absolutely trustworthy for, unlike human beings, He never fails to keep His promises.
David does not repeat any of the reasons, so that what we find in this Psalm is a great catalogue of reasons to praise the Lord. But David not only itemizes such reasons, he promises the Lord that he will teach others to always praise God by telling them of what He has done and who He is. This promise to instruct others ought to inspire us to do the same. Parents have the responsibility to teach their children so that they may learn to worship God and obey Him. So do grandparents. Instructing others in the fear and worship of the Lord God Almighty is also the responsibility of the church, a responsibility many churches have abandoned. No matter how great our singing and music may sound, these are empty and vain if they do not inspire us to trust God, to place ourselves in His hands, to humbly commit our ways to Him, obey what He has commanded and turn our backs on the idols of money, self, fame, culture, pleasure, and prosperity.