Psalm 145 (Verses 1–10)
King James Version
The opening of David's psalm of praise, celebrating the LORD's greatness and goodness.
Download the handwriting worksheet (PDF)Printable, ruled for handwriting: copy it by hand, then type it here.
About this text
Psalm 145 is the last psalm in the Book of Psalms to carry a title attributing it to David, and in the original Hebrew it's an acrostic, its verses running through the alphabet letter by letter — a structural device Psalm 119 and parts of Lamentations also use, though it doesn't survive translation into English. This excerpt covers the first ten of its twenty-one verses.
The passage is almost entirely made of first-person promises to praise — "I will extol," "I will bless," "I will speak" — before shifting to statements about who God is in verses 8-9. Copying it is a good chance to notice how much of the passage's energy comes from that shift between what the speaker intends to do and what is simply true.
What to watch for
- 5 semicolons: a semicolon joins two complete thoughts that belong together, a pause longer than a comma but shorter than a period.
- 2 colons: a colon points ahead to what explains or completes the first half of the sentence.
- Capital letters in the middle of a sentence: God, LORD. Ask why each one is capitalized before typing it.
- Old-fashioned words: thee, thy. These are easy to "correct" by accident into modern spelling, so copy them exactly as written.
- Longest word: "righteousness" (13 letters). Try spelling it aloud once before reaching it.
- 10 lines averaging about 15 words each. A comfortable line length for a single sitting.
Full text (reference)
1I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever.
2Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever.
3Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.
4One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.
5I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works.
6And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts: and I will declare thy greatness.
7They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness.
8The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.
9The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.
10All thy works shall praise thee, O LORD; and thy saints shall bless thee.