Psalm 145 reads as follows from the NIV version of the Bible:
1 I will exalt you, my God the King;
I will praise your name for ever and ever.
2 Every day I will praise youÂ
and extol your name for ever and ever.
3 Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise;Â
his greatness no one can fathom.
4 One generation will commend your works to another;Â
they will tell of your mighty acts.
5 They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty,Â
and I will meditate on your wonderful works.
6 They will tell of the power of your awesome works,Â
and I will proclaim your great deeds.
7 They will celebrate your abundant goodnessÂ
and joyfully sing of your righteousness.
8 The LORD is gracious and compassionate,Â
slow to anger and rich in love.
9 The LORD is good to all;Â
he has compassion on all he has made.
10 All you have made will praise you, O LORD;Â
your saints will extol you.
11 They will tell of the glory of your kingdomÂ
and speak of your might,
12 so that all men may know of your mighty actsÂ
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,Â
and your dominion endures through all generations.Â
The LORD is faithful to all his promisesÂ
and loving toward all he has made.
14 The LORD upholds all those who fallÂ
and lifts up all who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all look to you,Â
and you give them their food at the proper time.
16 You open your handÂ
and satisfy the desires of every living thing.
17 The LORD is righteous in all his waysÂ
and loving toward all he has made.
18 The LORD is near to all who call on him,Â
to all who call on him in truth.
19 He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;Â
he hears their cry and saves them.
20 The LORD watches over all who love him,Â
but all the wicked he will destroy.
21 My mouth will speak in praise of the LORD.Â
Let every creature praise his holy nameÂ
for ever and ever.
There are three major points that can be highlighted about the works of grace from this psalm.
First is that the works of grace have a unity of purpose.
Second, the works of grace can manifest as a reflection of your own desires and you can see this reflection of your inner desires in the outward manifestations of the works of grace.
Third, the works of grace can be followed with trust and have the presence of being able to bring you further along on a good and desirable path.
The first idea is that the works of grace have a unity of purpose.
Because of the unifying purpose whether the grace is miraculous or relatively ordinary or even mundane, the works are origination out of the same purpose.
So weather you are given a glass of water, or enabled to walk on water in the realms of the miraculous, there may be a common thread of purpose to help you and enable you.
The supernatural appearance of angels might be there to help you towards a certain purpose, or just development an insight can be along the lines of the same purpose.
While one action would seem to be greater than others, in the realm of purpose they are coming from the same unifying purpose and from that point of view one action wouldn't be greater than another.
The simple of act of getting a glass of water would be the same as an awesome miraculous event if they are arising out of the same purpose.
Within the church, preaching, a word, a miracle could all be towards the purpose of wisdom.
Verse 8 and 9 speak of the compassion of the Lord, so either a simple action or an amazing miracle can both have a unity of purpose in bringing about the compassion of the Lord towards your satisfaction of your need.
There can be a unity of purpose in bringing people together. In say a concert, everybody might have the purpose in mind of getting together to see and hear some great musical performances and there is that unity of purpose present to this.
A second major point is that the works of grace can be a reflection of your desires.
Verse 19 says, 9 He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;Â
he hears their cry and saves them.
While your desires are within, the continued outward and visible manifestations of desires may not yet be present.
Say for example, you are hiking along the beach and you see a wondrous collage of colors in the sky as a gorgeous sunset suddenly arises.
This event, pointed to you, is a reflection of your inner desires, read by the Lord and manifested in a particular way by this outer event of a majestic sunrise in these moments strolling along the beachside.
Or you finding that exact book while strolling through the city, hearing that precise song as you listen to the radio, all brought about by that reading, understanding and listening to the desires of your heart by the Lord and his outward or inward manifestation of these desires for you.
You can in this manner, find real and tangible showings of your inner far reaching desires brought into action and fruition by the presence of the Lord who is fulfilling these desires and by doing this is also revealing these very same desires.
While the desires may be somewhat known by the holder of the desires, they would not necessarily have an exact hold on what they are and how they could possibly manifest in reality.
When the Lord is fulfilling desires, you are seeing these desires in their fulfillment and the true sunset you wanted is brought forth and within that you are seeing what your desire actually was and is.
The third major point is that the works of grace can be followed.
Verse 14 says,
14 The LORD upholds all those who fallÂ
and lifts up all who are bowed down.
The upholding presence of the Lord is followed in these works and has the aspect of leading you into better realms and pastureland.
Why would the grace lift someone up who was bowed down only to lead them to the edge of a cliff?
He or she would have been better off left bowed down.
If the Lord is bringing a particular grace, you can trust that you can follow that grace because that grace has the aspect leading into further goodness, of lifting you up for new and better things and upholding you in these new and better things, whatever they might be.
So a particular work of grace can have further meaning in that it can be followed to even further graces.
So if you are graced with the means to an adventurous trip by the Lord, following these means can result in finding new and previously unknown sights and adventurous on this traveling adventure.
Additional graces and works can be found as you follow the initial leadings of the first works of grace and following there lead will continue to bring uplifting measures to you.
The works of grace can have the unity of purpose and can be viewed from that standpoint. Friendship among friends has the unity of purpose of companionship.
The works of grace can reflect what were previously unknown, partially seen and nascent desires now fully bloomed in their fulfilling through which you are now seeing the reflection of your desires manifested to fulfillment in the presence of this grace towards you.
The works of grace can be followed in that you might have previously been bowed down in the figurative sense and you get now get up and stand on your feet and follow these works of grace on yonder to new, better and more exiting things than what you had before the uplifting presence of these works of grace began to manifest to you in particular ways.
1 I will exalt you, my God the King;
I will praise your name for ever and ever.
2 Every day I will praise youÂ
and extol your name for ever and ever.
3 Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise;Â
his greatness no one can fathom.
4 One generation will commend your works to another;Â
they will tell of your mighty acts.
5 They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty,Â
and I will meditate on your wonderful works.
6 They will tell of the power of your awesome works,Â
and I will proclaim your great deeds.
7 They will celebrate your abundant goodnessÂ
and joyfully sing of your righteousness.
8 The LORD is gracious and compassionate,Â
slow to anger and rich in love.
9 The LORD is good to all;Â
he has compassion on all he has made.
10 All you have made will praise you, O LORD;Â
your saints will extol you.
11 They will tell of the glory of your kingdomÂ
and speak of your might,
12 so that all men may know of your mighty actsÂ
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,Â
and your dominion endures through all generations.Â
The LORD is faithful to all his promisesÂ
and loving toward all he has made.
14 The LORD upholds all those who fallÂ
and lifts up all who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all look to you,Â
and you give them their food at the proper time.
16 You open your handÂ
and satisfy the desires of every living thing.
17 The LORD is righteous in all his waysÂ
and loving toward all he has made.
18 The LORD is near to all who call on him,Â
to all who call on him in truth.
19 He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;Â
he hears their cry and saves them.
20 The LORD watches over all who love him,Â
but all the wicked he will destroy.
21 My mouth will speak in praise of the LORD.Â
Let every creature praise his holy nameÂ
for ever and ever.
There are three major points that can be highlighted about the works of grace from this psalm.
First is that the works of grace have a unity of purpose.
Second, the works of grace can manifest as a reflection of your own desires and you can see this reflection of your inner desires in the outward manifestations of the works of grace.
Third, the works of grace can be followed with trust and have the presence of being able to bring you further along on a good and desirable path.
The first idea is that the works of grace have a unity of purpose.
Because of the unifying purpose whether the grace is miraculous or relatively ordinary or even mundane, the works are origination out of the same purpose.
So weather you are given a glass of water, or enabled to walk on water in the realms of the miraculous, there may be a common thread of purpose to help you and enable you.
The supernatural appearance of angels might be there to help you towards a certain purpose, or just development an insight can be along the lines of the same purpose.
While one action would seem to be greater than others, in the realm of purpose they are coming from the same unifying purpose and from that point of view one action wouldn't be greater than another.
The simple of act of getting a glass of water would be the same as an awesome miraculous event if they are arising out of the same purpose.
Within the church, preaching, a word, a miracle could all be towards the purpose of wisdom.
Verse 8 and 9 speak of the compassion of the Lord, so either a simple action or an amazing miracle can both have a unity of purpose in bringing about the compassion of the Lord towards your satisfaction of your need.
There can be a unity of purpose in bringing people together. In say a concert, everybody might have the purpose in mind of getting together to see and hear some great musical performances and there is that unity of purpose present to this.
A second major point is that the works of grace can be a reflection of your desires.
Verse 19 says, 9 He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;Â
he hears their cry and saves them.
While your desires are within, the continued outward and visible manifestations of desires may not yet be present.
Say for example, you are hiking along the beach and you see a wondrous collage of colors in the sky as a gorgeous sunset suddenly arises.
This event, pointed to you, is a reflection of your inner desires, read by the Lord and manifested in a particular way by this outer event of a majestic sunrise in these moments strolling along the beachside.
Or you finding that exact book while strolling through the city, hearing that precise song as you listen to the radio, all brought about by that reading, understanding and listening to the desires of your heart by the Lord and his outward or inward manifestation of these desires for you.
You can in this manner, find real and tangible showings of your inner far reaching desires brought into action and fruition by the presence of the Lord who is fulfilling these desires and by doing this is also revealing these very same desires.
While the desires may be somewhat known by the holder of the desires, they would not necessarily have an exact hold on what they are and how they could possibly manifest in reality.
When the Lord is fulfilling desires, you are seeing these desires in their fulfillment and the true sunset you wanted is brought forth and within that you are seeing what your desire actually was and is.
The third major point is that the works of grace can be followed.
Verse 14 says,
14 The LORD upholds all those who fallÂ
and lifts up all who are bowed down.
The upholding presence of the Lord is followed in these works and has the aspect of leading you into better realms and pastureland.
Why would the grace lift someone up who was bowed down only to lead them to the edge of a cliff?
He or she would have been better off left bowed down.
If the Lord is bringing a particular grace, you can trust that you can follow that grace because that grace has the aspect leading into further goodness, of lifting you up for new and better things and upholding you in these new and better things, whatever they might be.
So a particular work of grace can have further meaning in that it can be followed to even further graces.
So if you are graced with the means to an adventurous trip by the Lord, following these means can result in finding new and previously unknown sights and adventurous on this traveling adventure.
Additional graces and works can be found as you follow the initial leadings of the first works of grace and following there lead will continue to bring uplifting measures to you.
The works of grace can have the unity of purpose and can be viewed from that standpoint. Friendship among friends has the unity of purpose of companionship.
The works of grace can reflect what were previously unknown, partially seen and nascent desires now fully bloomed in their fulfilling through which you are now seeing the reflection of your desires manifested to fulfillment in the presence of this grace towards you.
The works of grace can be followed in that you might have previously been bowed down in the figurative sense and you get now get up and stand on your feet and follow these works of grace on yonder to new, better and more exiting things than what you had before the uplifting presence of these works of grace began to manifest to you in particular ways.