Psalm 100:5

For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

100:1-5 An exhortation to praise God, and rejoice in him. - This song of praise should be considered as a prophecy, and even used as a prayer, for the coming of that time when all people shall know that the Lord he is God, and shall become his worshippers, and the sheep of his pasture. Great encouragement is given us, in worshipping God, to do it cheerfully. If, when we strayed like wandering sheep, he has brought us again to his fold, we have indeed abundant cause to bless his name. The matter of praise, and the motives to it, are very important. Know ye what God is in himself, and what he is to you. Know it; consider and apply it, then you will be more close and constant, more inward and serious, in his worship. The covenant of grace set down in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament, with so many rich promises, to strengthen the faith of every weak believer, makes the matter of God's praise and of his people's joys so sure, that how sad soever our spirits may be when we look to ourselves, yet we shall have reason to praise the Lord when we look to his goodness and mercy, and to what he has said in his word for our comfort.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

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 God's 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.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

5. The reason: God's eternal mercy and truth (Ps 25:8; 89:7).

Matthew Poole's Commentary

No text from Poole on this verse.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire 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, John 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.

Geneva Study Bible

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.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

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.

Psalm 100:4-5. are based on Jeremiah 33:11, cp. Psalm 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 Psalm 106:1.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 5. - For the Lord is good (comp. 1 Chronicles 16:34; 2 Chronicles 5:13; 2 Chronicles 7:3; Ezra 3:11; Psalm 106:1; Psalm 107:1; Psalm 118:1, 29; Psalm 125:3; Psalm 136:1; Psalm 145:9, etc.). His mercy is everlasting; literally, his mercy is forever. Compare the frequent refrain, "His mercy endureth forever" (Psalm 118:1-4, 29; Psalm 136:1-26, etc.). And his truth (or, his faithfulness) endureth to all generations; literally, to generation and generation. All men's hope is in God's "faithfulness," that he will keep his promises to them - pardon them, deliver them, cleanse them, and give them rest in his kingdom forever.



Psalm 100:5

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

Therefore shall the men of all nations enter with thanksgiving into the gates of His Temple and into the courts of His Temple with praise (Psalm 96:8), in order to join themselves in worship to His church, which - a creation of Jahve for the good of the whole earth - is congregated about this Temple and has it as the place of its worship. The pilgrimage of all peoples to the holy mountain is an Old Testament dress of the hope for the conversion of all peoples to the God of revelation, and the close union of all with the people of this God. His Temple is open to them all. They may enter, and when they enter they have to look for great things. For the God of revelation (52:11; 54:8) is "good" (Psalm 25:8; Psalm 34:9), and His loving-kindness and faithfulness endure for ever - the thought that recurs frequently in the later Hallelujah and Hodu Psalms and is become a liturgical formula (Jeremiah 33:11). The mercy of loving-kindness of God is the generosity, and His faithfulness the constancy, of His love.