Psalms 145:7

My Notes

What Does Psalms 145:7 Mean?

The psalmist envisions a community that can't contain its praise: "They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness." The word "abundantly utter" (naba) means to bubble up, to overflow, to gush forth—like a spring that can't be capped. The praise isn't measured or restrained. It erupts because the goodness it's responding to is too great to contain.

The content of this overflow is twofold: the memory of God's goodness and singing of His righteousness. Memory and song are paired—you remember what God has done, and the memory produces music. The singing isn't performance but natural response, the way a spring doesn't perform flowing—it simply flows because that's what springs do.

The word "great" modifying goodness suggests quantity and quality beyond normal measurement. God's goodness isn't ordinary kindness. It's great goodness—the kind that, when you actually stop and recall it, overwhelms your capacity for normal speech and demands something more. It demands abundant utterance. It demands song.

Reflection Questions

• 1.When was the last time you 'abundantly uttered' praise—when worship overflowed naturally from remembering God's goodness?
• 2.What specific memories of God's goodness would produce that kind of overflow if you sat with them long enough?
• 3.Is your worship proportional to God's goodness, or is there a gap? What would close it?
• 4.How does the image of praise as a bubbling spring change the way you think about worship—as overflow rather than performance?

Devotional

"They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness." The word for "abundantly utter" means to bubble over, to gush, to overflow. Like a spring that can't be stopped. The praise the psalmist describes isn't polite or measured. It's the kind that spills over because there's too much goodness to contain.

This is what happens when you actually stop and remember what God has done. Not a quick "I'm grateful" in your morning prayer, but genuine remembering—replaying His goodness in your mind, recalling specific moments of provision, protection, mercy, and presence. When you do that honestly and thoroughly, the response isn't quiet gratitude. It's overflowing praise. It bubbles up because it can't stay contained.

The pairing of memory and singing is instructive. The praise starts with remembering—you have to look back before you can sing forward. The song comes from the memory. If your worship feels flat or forced, the problem might not be your worship style. It might be your memory. When was the last time you actually sat down and catalogued God's great goodness to you? Not generally. Specifically. When you do, the singing takes care of itself.

God's goodness is described as "great"—and the greatness of the goodness demands the abundance of the utterance. A small goodness might produce a small thank-you. But great goodness? That produces gushing. Overflowing. Abundant. Let your praise be proportional to His goodness, and you'll never run out of things to sing about.

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture