Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 100:5
For the LORD [is] good; his mercy [is] everlasting; and his truth [endureth] to all generations.
5. For Jehovah is good;
His lovingkindness (endureth) for ever;
And his faithfulness unto generation after generation.
Israel’s fresh experience of the untiring goodness and love and faithfulness of Jehovah is an argument which should win all the nations to His service.
Psa 100:4-5 . are based on Jer 33:11, cp. Psa 89:1. “Give thanks unto Jehovah, for he is good; for his lovingkindness endureth for ever,” became a standing liturgical formula after the exile. See note on Psa 106:1.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
For the Lord is good – For good is Yahweh. That is, He is not a being of mere power; he is not merely the Creator; but he is benevolent, and is, therefore, worthy of universal praise. In the former verses, his claim to adoration is founded on the fact that he is the Creator, and has, as such, a right to our service; in this verse, the claim is asserted on account of his moral character:
(1) his benevolence;
(2) his mercy;
(3) his truth;
(a) the fact that he is a God of truth; and
(b) the fact that his truth endures, or that in all generations he shows himself to be faithful to his promises.
The first of these is his benevolence: The Lord is good. As such, assuredly, God is worthy of praise and honor. A being of mere power we could not love or praise; a being whose power was united with malignity or malevolence, could only be the object of hatred and terror; but a being whose power is united with goodness or benevolence ought to he loved.
His mercy is everlasting – This is the second reason, drawn from his moral character, why he should be praised and adored. A being of mere justice may be feared and respected; but a character of mere justice would be to man an object of dread – and may be so anywhere. There are other attributes than the one of justice, high and valuable as that may be, which are necessary to constitute a perfect character; and man, in order to find happiness and security, must find some other attribute in God than mere justice, for man is a sinner, and needs pardon; he is a sufferer, and needs compassion; he is to die, and needs support and consolation. Besides, mere justice may drive its decisions over some of the kindest and tenderest feelings of human nature, for there are cases, under all administrations, where pardon is desirable and mercy is proper. It is, therefore, a ground of unspeakable joy for man that God is not a Being of mere justice, but that there is mingled in his character the attribute of mercy and kindness. But for this, man could have no hope; for, as a sinner, he has no claim on God, and all his hope must be derived from Gods infinite compassion. To all this as a ground of praise is to be added the fact that this mercy of God is everlasting. Its fruits – its results – will extend to the vast eternity before us; and in all that eternity we shall never cease to enjoy the benefits of that mercy; never be suffered to fall back on the mere justice of God.
And his truth endureth to all generations – Margin, as in Hebrew, to generation and generation. That is, forever. It is the same in every generation of the world. This is the third reason derived from the moral character of God for praising him; and this is a just ground of praise. We could not love and honor a God who was not true to his promises, and who did not himself love the truth; we could not honor one who was changeable and flexible – who loved one thing in one generation and a different thing in the next; who in one age was the friend of truth, and in the next the patron of falsehood. It is the just foundation for praise to God – our God – that he is essentially and always – in all worlds, and in all the generations of people – toward all in the universe – a Being of unchangeable benevolence, mercy, and truth. Such a God is worthy to be had in universal reverence; such a God is worthy of universal praise.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 100:5
The Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting; and His truth endureth to all generations.
The Divine goodness exemplified
I. An important statement. The Lord is good. All we see around us confirms this glorious truth. Nothing has left His hand without partaking, directly or more remotely, of His perfection; and the more deeply we contemplate the produce of His creative skill, the more accurately we track the wheels of His providence, and the more carefully we ponder the economy of His grace, the more enlarged will be our hearts, the louder our song, as we adopt the statement of the text.
II. An encouraging doctrine. His mercy is everlasting. Such is the uniform tenor of the announcements and declarations of the Divine Word.
1. His mercy is from everlasting in its source. If we look backward that we may be able to tell the period, in the past, when mercy took its rise in the heart of the Almighty, we shall find that before duration began to be measured by revolving seasons, the Father of mercies hath delighted in mercy.
2. It is to everlasting, in its efficacy; so that, casting the eye forward, in order to discern the length of its duration for time to come, we are lost as we contemplate it, flowing on in its effects through the amazing circle of eternity, even after the apocalyptic angel shall have proclaimed, that time shall be no longer.
III. A strong attestation of His faithfulness, in connection both with His goodness and His mercy. His truth endureth to all generations. If we regard this portion of the text as an appeal to the display of the perfections already mentioned, in times gone by, then it will carry us back, in our contemplations, to His dealings with His people of old. And here time would fail us to speak of the various examples of the Divine goodness and mercy on record, from the moment when the voice of mercy was heard in the garden of Eden, to the present hour. From these considerations may we gather confidence, that this goodness and mercy shall not fail us, neither the generations yet to come. Conclusion:–
1. Admire the condescension of God, in thus displaying His goodness and mercy around us, and in our behalf.
2. Examine yourselves, whether you have a personal interest in the truths that have now been stated.
3. Be grateful to the Divine Being, for the character in which He has thus revealed Himself. (John Gaskin, M. A.)
His truth endureth to all generations.
The eternal truth of God
I. God is true.
1. He is true in His very nature. Falsehood is the wickedness–I dare not call it the infirmity–the wickedness of little natures; but as for the Great Supreme, you cannot conceive Him acting in any manner that is otherwise than straightforward, upright, and truthful. A God of truth and righteousness is He essentially. He must be so.
2. The Lord our God is not only true in His nature, but He is true to His nature. You never find Him doing anything that is not godlike. Select the acts of His creation. If He makes an aphis to creep upon a rosebud, you will find traces of infinite wisdom in it: you shall submit the insect to the microscope end discern a wisdom in it as glorious as that which shines in yonder rolling stars. If in providence some minor event comes under your notice, in that event you shall find no deviation from the constant rule of right and love by which the Most High characterizes all His doings. There are no emergencies with God in which He could be driven to an act of untruth; no pressures, no difficulties, no infirmities which could produce falsehood in Him. I am Jehovah: I change not, saith He.
3. He is true in action. The covenant of grace has many promises in it, but not one of them has failed. As on Christs side the covenant was kept by His death, so on the Fathers side the covenant has been kept by the salvation of those whom Jesus redeemed from among inert when He gave Himself a ransom for many.
4. He is true to His promises.
5. He is true in every relation that He sustains.
II. God is true in all generations.
1. He has been true in the past. All history, sacred and profane, goes to prove that.
2. God is true still. All things are moving according to the decree of goodness and wisdom, and you must not doubt it. Like Jacob, you sometimes say, All these things are against me; but they are not, they are all for you. God is ordering all for the best.
3. God will be true. I do not know how far we have to go before we shall reach to our journeys end; but this I know, the whole of the road that we have to travel is paved with love and faithfulness, and we need not be afraid. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
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Psa 101:1-8
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 5. For the Lord is good] GOODNESS, the perfect, eternal opposition to all badness and evil, is essential to God. Mercy and compassion are modifications of his goodness; and as his nature is eternal, so his mercy, springing from his goodness, must be everlasting. And as TRUTH is an essential characteristic of an infinitely intelligent and perfect nature; therefore God’s truth must endure from generation to generation. Whatsoever he has promised must be fulfilled, through all the successive generations of men, as long as sun and moon shall last.
As this is a very important Psalm, and has long made a part of our public worship, I shall lay it before the reader in the oldest vernacular Versions I have hitherto met with, – the Anglo-Saxon and the Anglo-Scottish, with a literal interlineary translation of the former.
The Anglo-Saxon Hundredth Psalm
Rhyme ye the Lord all earth, serve the Lord in bliss; 1. [Anglo-Saxon]
Infare in sight his in blithness; 2. [Anglo-Saxon]
Wit ye, for that Lord he is God, he did us not self we 3. [Anglo-Saxon]
Folk his sheep leeseway his fare into gates his in
confession, into courts is in hymns confess him. 4. [Anglo-Saxon]
Praise name his, for that winsom is; Lord thro’
eternity mildheartedness his, unto on kindred kindred
sothfastnes his 5. [Anglo-Saxon]
The reader will see that, in order to make this translation as literal as possible, I have preserved some old English words which we had from the Anglo-Saxon, and which have nearly become obsolete: e.g., Infare, “to go in” blithness, “joy, exultation” wit ye, “know ye;” did, the preterite of to do, “made, created,” the literal translation of the Hebrew, asah, he made; leeseway, “pasturage on a common;” winsom, “cheerful, merry;” mildheartedness, “tenderness of heart, compassion;” sothfastness, “steady to the sooth or truth, fast to truth.”
I might have noticed some various readings in Anglo-Saxon MSS.; e.g., Ps 100:1. for [A.S.] idrymeth, “rhyme ye;” [A.S.] winsumiath, “be winsom, be joyful.” And Ps 100:5, for [A.S.] winsom, “cheerful;” [A.S.], swete, “sweet.”
Anglo-Scottish Version of the Hundredth Psalm
1. Joyes to God al the erth; serves to Lord in gladnes.
2. Enters in his sight with joying.
3. Wittes for Lorde he is God; he made us and noght we;
4. Folke of hym, and schepe of his pasture; enters the gates of hym in schrift; hys Halles in ympnys; schryves to hym.
5. Loues his name, for soft is Lorde; withouten end in his mercy; and in generation and generation the sothfastnes of hym.
Thus our forefathers said and sung in heart and mouth and with their tongues made confession to salvation. There are but few words here which require explanation: Ver. 3, Wittes, “wot ye, know ye.” Ver. 4, Schrift, “confession;” schryves, “confess ye.” Ver. 5, Loues, “praise ye, laud ye.” Sothfastness, as above, steadfastness in the truth.
ANALYSIS OF THE HUNDREDTH PSALM
There are two parts in this Psalm: –
I. An exhortation to praise God, and the manner in which it is to be done, Ps 100:1-4.
II. The reasons on which this is founded, Ps 100:3-5.
I. In his exhortation to praise God it is required, –
1. That the praise be universal: “All ye lands.”
2. That it be hearty: “Make a joyful noise.” Let the soul be cheerful in the work.
3. That it be not partial nor restrained: “Make a joyful noise – serve – be glad – sing – be thankful – give praise – bless his name.” The various expressions show the completeness of this blessed word.
4. That it be sincere – done in his presence.
5. That it be an intelligent service: “Know ye.”
6. That it be frequent and public: “Enter his gates – go into his courts.”
7. That gratitude shall be a part of it: “With thanksgiving.”
II. The reasons on which this is grounded; they are, –
1. Drawn from the nature of God: “Know ye that Jehovah is Elohim,” the true God; therefore, alone worthy to be worshipped.
2. Drawn from the benefits bestowed on us: 1. “He has made us” – capable of knowing him, and being eternally happy with him. 2. He has called upon us by his grace to be “his people, and the sheep of his pasture.” He both governs and feeds us.
And that we may be the more cheerful in this work he puts us in mind of the Divine attributes engaged in our redemption, goodness, mercy, and truth.
1. “He is good.” This is his very nature.
2. “He is merciful.” This flows from his goodness.
3. “He is true;” keeping covenant for ever with them that fear him; and fulfilling all his promises to the believing and obedient.
And that we may have the more confidence,
1. “His mercy is everlasting.” It continues through all the changes and chances of this life to them who trust in him; and extends through all the generations of men.
2. His truth is like his mercy, it is pledged to fulfil his promises. “God is not man that he should lie;” he has promised, and will save to the uttermost all who come to him through Christ Jesus: “Be therefore thankful to him, and speak good of his name.”
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
5. The reason: God’s eternalmercy and truth (Psa 25:8;Psa 89:7).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
For the Lord is good,…. Both in a providential way, and in a way of grace, and does good; he is the good Shepherd, that has laid down his life for the sheep; and the good Samaritan, that pours in the wine and oil of his love and grace, and his precious blood, to the healing of the wounds made by sin: while he was on earth, he went about doing good to the bodies and souls of men; and he continues to do good unto them, and therefore should be praised, served, and worshipped:
his mercy is everlasting; or “his grace” e; there is always a sufficiency of it for his people; and his lovingkindness, which may be also here meant, is always the same; having loved his own which were in the world, he loves them to the end, Joh 13:1
and his truth endureth to all generations; or his faithfulness in fulfilling his promises, and performing his engagements; he was faithful to his Father that appointed him, and to the covenant he made with him; and he is faithful to his people, to keep what they commit to his care and charge now, and to give them the crown of righteousness at the last day, which is laid up for them; and upon all these considerations, and for these reasons, ought to be praised and adored.
e “gratia ejus”, Cocceius, Gejerus; “gratia et misericordia ejus”, Michaelis.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
5. For the Lord is good “This last seems to be the response of the whole chorus of the priests at the instant of the firing of the sacrifice, the prefect, or precentor, having begun the previous strains.” Hammond. But in a higher sense, it is the refrain to the song of the universal Church when the grand praise offering for the world’s submission shall be presented, through our great High Priest.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Psa 100:5. For the Lord is good I think the following, says Mudge, is the true version. Bless his name, for it is good: the Lord, for his favour is everlasting; and so every where. See Psa 135:3. This last verse seems to be the response of the whole chorus of the priests, at the instant of firing the sacrifice; the prefect or precentor having sung the rest. But the psalm may also be understood as prophetical of the calling forth of Jews and Gentiles to the profession of the Gospel. And then, by the gates of Sion, Psa 100:4, must be mystically meant the Christian church; and this last verse must be considered as the answer of the people to the Psalmist’s call, in the same sense with Isa 2:2-3.
REFLECTIONS.Praise is the work of heaven, and upon earth the pleasing employment of God’s people.
1. The Psalmist calls upon them to laud the Lord, and directs how to worship and serve him acceptably. Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, aloud proclaim his glory, all ye lands from pole to pole. Serve the Lord with gladness, not under the yoke of Jewish ceremonies, and the spirit of bondage, which under the law prevailed; but with that delight which the spirit of adoption gives, rendering his service perfect freedom: come before his presence with singing; in private and public worship celebrating his mercies, and pouring forth the tribute of our grateful songs. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise, joining our voices to the great congregation that in his house adore him: be thankful unto him for all the innumerable blessings, spiritual and temporal, which with unsparing hand he hath bestowed, and daily showers down upon us, and bless his name, ascribing to him the honour and glory of all, to whom alone the praise of all is due.
2. Abundant cause there is, why we should thus bless and praise him. [1.] He is God, the only true God, the fountain of blessedness, in his perfections transcendently adorable, and exalted far above all blessing and praise. [2.] He is the God that hath made us, and not we ourselves; in him we live, and move, and have our being; our bodies and our souls are both the work of his hands, and the new creation in Christ Jesus is by the mighty working of his Divine Spirit. [3.] We are his people; as our Creator, he hath the most incontestable right to our service; all we have and are is his, derived from him, and should be devoted to him; and before him we must at last render up an account of the talents with which he has intrusted us. [4.] We are the sheep of his pasture, bought with his blood, fed by his providence and grace, protected by his care, and regarded as his treasure. [5.] He is good in himself, and in the dispensations of his providence and grace is continually manifesting his goodness to us. [6.] His mercy is everlasting; he bears with us long and is kind, multiplies his pardons, and his love to faithful souls continues eternally. [7.] His truth endureth to all generations; his fidelity to his promises is inviolable for ever, and all the generations of his faithful people shall prove it to their great consolation. This know ye; O ye children of God, meditate on the glorious subject, and then it cannot but fill your enraptured hearts with love, and your joyful lips with grateful, constant, and ardent praise.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
How delightfully this verse closeth in upon what went before! Wherefore are such blessings bestowed? it might be well asked: Why hath Jehovah made us, and new made us, in Christ Jesus? Why opened his heavenly courts, and called upon us to come in? Is it because man is deserving, and faithful, and just? Oh no; for in ourselves we are most undeserving. Wherefore is the vast mercy then? Because the Lord is good; the Lord is gracious; he delighteth in mercy. He will have compassion on whom he will have compassion. And that grace and mercy, like himself, is unchangeable: the same yesterday, and today, and forever. Hallelujah, then, Amen. Hallelujah. Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.
REFLECTIONS
PAUSE, Reader, panse my soul, and contemplate the numberless beauties, and the vast sweetness contained in this short, but comprehensive Psalm. No wonder it is so often sung in our churches. No wonder, while it is sung, so many souls of true believers should feel such rich enjoyment in it: holding forth, as it doth, the persons both of God and of his Christ; with the many rich blessings contained in the covenant relations of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. And shall not all lands, which are to see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, join in the joyful noise? Shall not both Jew and Gentile, bond and free, rejoice together? Shall not, in every place, as the Lord hath said, be incense offered unto Jehovah’s name, with a pure offering, from the rising of the sun even to the going down of the same? – Come, all ye people, all ye nations, both high and low, rich and poor, one with another: come, sing forth the praises of Jehovah, the Creator, Redeemer, Sanctifier! Come into his presence with thanksgiving; enter his courts with praise. For he is indeed gracious, and will receive the homage of his creatures in Jesus. Come, Reader! Come my soul! Come, come before him. He is justly entitled to our praise. He demands it; he expects it from us. Oh! for grace to worship him in the beauty of holiness, and to sing the jubilee song of salvation, in and by Jesus Christ. Amen.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 100:5 For the LORD [is] good; his mercy [is] everlasting; and his truth [endureth] to all generations.
Ver. 5. For the Lord is good ] Though we be evil, he giveth us all these good things gratis; and although we provoke him daily to punish us, yet his mercy is everlasting: like a fountain, it runneth after it hath run; and as the sun, which shineth after it hath shined. See Zec 13:1;Joh 1:27Joh 1:27 .
And his truth endureth to all generations
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
good. Compare Psa 95:3, “great”.
mercy = lovingkindness, or grace.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Psa 100:5
Psa 100:5
“For Jehovah is good; his lovingkindness endureth forever,
And his faithfulness unto all generations.”
God’s goodness, his lovingkindness, and his faithfulness are among those attributes of God which were singled out by Yates. The praise and worship of God should always make mention of such blessed attributes of the Father in Heaven.
For any who might be concerned about the authorship, nothing certain in the way of an answer is available. The psalm is simply labeled, “A Psalm of Praise,” or “Praise for the Sacrifice of Confession in the LXX, Vulgate, and the Ethiopic. Only the Arabic attributed it to David.
E.M. Zerr:
Psa 100:5. Many good men are merciful at times, but the mercy of the Lord continues. The truth of the Lord will stand the test of all time. That truth does not change, but will bless the generation that exists now and will be alive through the time of the generations yet to come and continue its blessed effects on all who accept it.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
For the: Psa 52:1, Psa 86:5, Psa 106:1, Psa 107:1, Psa 107:8, Psa 107:15, Psa 107:22, Psa 119:68, Jer 33:11
his mercy: Psa 36:5, Psa 103:17, Psa 118:1-4, Psa 136:1-26, Luk 1:50
and his truth: Psa 85:10, Psa 89:1, Psa 89:2, Psa 119:90, Psa 119:91, Psa 146:6, Exo 34:6, Exo 34:7, Deu 7:9, Jer 33:20, Jer 33:21, Mic 7:20, Rom 15:8, Rom 15:9, Tit 1:2, Heb 6:13-18
all generations: Heb. generation and generation, Psa 89:1, *marg.
Reciprocal: Gen 24:27 – of his Gen 43:14 – And God Deu 32:4 – a God Psa 26:7 – That Psa 117:2 – General Psa 138:2 – and praise Psa 138:8 – thy mercy Psa 145:8 – Lord is gracious Jer 10:10 – true God Nah 1:7 – Lord Rom 3:4 – let God 1Co 1:9 – God 1Th 5:24 – Faithful Rev 15:3 – just
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
DIVINE GOODNESS AND TRUTH
For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting; and His truth endureth to all generations.
Psa 100:5
I. There are some passages of the Word which admit of no explanation.They are so simple, that they at once find their way to the understanding; yet so full of meaning, that they draw forth our deepest emotions. The words before us belong to this class. Who can say more than that the Lord is good? His very nameGodsignifies the good One; and His mercy is everlasting.
II. But when we read, His truth endureth for ever, we advance a sentiment which lies at the root of all our hopes.God has promised, and all His promises are truth itself; God has threatened, and that also will be fulfilled. It is, in short, upon the truth of the Eternal that our hopes repose. Apart from that, we are floating in a sea of uncertainties; we have only speculation for our saviour, and mans dreams for our eternity.
III. Mark, then, how the truth of God is displayed in His Word.We read, Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool (Isa 1:18). Reposing upon thatsetting to our seal that God is trueour iniquity is taken out of the way: but refusing to repose upon itthat is, making God a liarwe still feel His truth; but it is the truth of His wrath revealed against the workers of iniquity. Again: has God said, Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ? Then, do we build on that foundation, according to the mind of God? In that case we are safe for eternity; we have a building of God Himself. But, on the other hand, do we refuse to build there, and prefer the sand-bank or the sea-wave of mortal devices to the truth of God? Then the rain will descend, and the floods will come, and the winds will blow, and beat upon our house, and it will fall; and great will be the fall of it, because we turned the truth of God into a lie.
IV. And so in every case. Nor let us forget how this truth of God may be most simply welcomed, most easily retained.It is by receiving the Saviour, and resting upon Him. He is the Truth. In Him all the promises are Yea and Amen. As all rivers run into the sea, all truth finds both its origin and terminus in Jesus. Would we know the truth? Then welcome the Saviour. Would we be sanctified by the truth? Then welcome the Saviour. Would we acquaint ourselves with Jehovah, God of truth? Again, let us see the brightness of His glory in the Saviour of the lost; that is truth, and is no liethe very truth which came from Heaven to take absolute possession of the soul, and fit it for glory and for honour.
Illustration
For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, etc. This sums up His character, and contains a mass of reasons for praise. Everlasting mercy is a glorious theme for sacred song. Our heart leaps with joy as we how before One Who has never broken His word or changed His purpose.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
100:5 For the LORD [is] good; his mercy [is] {d} everlasting; and his truth [endureth] to all generations.
(d) He declares that we should never be weary in praising him, seeing his mercies toward us last forever.