Psalm 145 · a question people ask

"The LORD is good to all" (145:9). But the same psalm says, "he will destroy all the wicked" (145:20). How do both fit?

In the text

Both are in the psalm, and it sets them out without explaining how they fit together. 145:9 goes on, "His tender mercies are over all his works" (145:9). Near the end, the psalm names those the LORD is near to, hears and keeps: "The LORD is near to all those who call on him, to all who call on him in truth" (145:18), "He will fulfill the desire of those who fear him. He also will hear their cry, and will save them" (145:19), and "The LORD preserves all those who love him, but he will destroy all the wicked" (145:20). The psalm doesn't say who the wicked are, and these notes don't name anyone. Psalm 125's notes set 145:9 beside that psalm's prayer, "Do good, LORD, to those who are good" (Psalm 125:4), and Psalm 103's notes set it beside "so great is his loving kindness toward those who fear him" (Psalm 103:11). Each psalm says what it says, and these notes don't set one against another or add to them.

The verses

“The LORD is good to all. His tender mercies are over all his works.”
Psalm 145:9 · World English Bible
“The LORD is near to all those who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of those who fear him. He also will hear their cry, and will save them. The LORD preserves all those who love him, but he will destroy all the wicked.”
Psalm 145:18-20 · World English Bible
“Do good, LORD, to those who are good, to those who are upright in their hearts.”
Psalm 125:4 · World English Bible
“For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his loving kindness toward those who fear him.”
Psalm 103:11 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of Psalm 145

Psalm 145: Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom

In Hebrew, Psalm 145 gives each verse the next letter of the alphabet, from aleph to tav, and one letter, nun, has no verse. And the title's first word, tehillah, "praise", is also the first word of the last verse: "My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD" (145:21).

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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions