Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Psalms 100:5

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Psalms 100:5. 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, עשה 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., Psalms 100:1. for [A.S.] idrymeth, "rhyme ye;" [A.S.] winsumiath, "be winsom, be joyful." And Psalms 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. Psalms 100:3, Wittes, "wot ye, know ye." Ver. Psalms 100:4, Schrift, "confession;" schryves, "confess ye." Ver. Psalms 100:5, 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, Psalms 100:1-4.

II. The reasons on which this is founded, Psalms 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."

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Psalms 97-100 God the universal king

Psalms 97:0 follows on from the thought on which the previous psalm closed (namely, that God is king over the earth). It shows that holiness, righteousness and justice are the basis of God’s kingdom. His judgment will be as universal as a flash of lightning and as powerful as an all-consuming fire (97:1-5). Every thing will bow before his rule (6-7). His own people already recognize him as Lord and bring him fitting worship (8-9). They can experience the light and joy of his salvation in their everyday lives as they reject what is evil and choose what is good (10-12).

Continuing the theme of the previous psalm, Psalms 98:0 reminds the people to welcome the divine universal king. By his power, he has conquered evil and established his kingdom in righteousness and love (98:1-3). People worldwide are to praise God with music and singing because of his great victory (4-6). The physical creation is invited to join in the praise, rejoicing because of him who rules the earth with justice (7-9).

From his throne in Zion, the city of God, God rules over the earth in holiness and justice (99:1-4) and people respond with worship (5). The psalmist refers to the lives of Moses, Aaron and Samuel to show how God answered the prayers of those who submitted to his rule and obeyed his law (6-7). When people disobeyed they were punished, but when they repented God forgave them (8). The God who rules in Zion is holy, and those who worship him must also fear him (9).

Psalms 100:0 is the climax of this group of six psalms. People of all the world are to worship God gladly, acknowledging him as their God, their maker and their shepherd (100:1-3). They are invited to come into his temple, where they can unite in thankfully praising him for his loving faithfulness to them (4-5).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

“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.”Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible (London: T. Mason and G. Lane, 1837), Vol. III, p. 535.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole 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.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Psalms 100:1-5 :

Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. Serve the LORD with gladness ( Psalms 100:1-2 ):

Now if you can't serve the Lord with gladness, it's better that you not serve Him. It is a shame and a disgrace that people gripe about what they've done for the Lord or their service for God. But that's usually the result of people being pushed into something that God hasn't led them into. And the church, unfortunately, has been very guilty of pushing people into jobs or into things that the people's heart really isn't in it. People are oftentimes pushed to support a new building program or pushed to support a new budget or something for the church. And everytime the month comes around and you get your little notice that your pledge is due, you get upset, you know, and you write out your pledge and mail it in, but you're angry about it. You've been pressured into it. They caught you at a weak moment.

"Serve the Lord with gladness." If you can't give joyfully to the Lord, you're much better off not to give, because if you give grudgingly, that's going to go against you. That's not going to count. That will count against you. So you're much better off not to give at all. If you can be happy about not giving at all, you're much better off doing that rather than giving grudgingly to God. And that's giving of your time and serving the Lord or giving of your finances or whatever. If you can't give unto the Lord with a joyful heart, if you cannot serve the Lord with gladness, then it's best you not serve Him at all. God doesn't want any kind of grudging in your gifts to Him. God doesn't want your giving ever to be out of pressure, out of constraint, out of someone pushing you. And if ever any of the pastors around here are trying to push you to do something, you come to me and we'll see that it's taken care of.

People come up and say, "You know, we've been coming here for a long time and we really like to teach a Sunday school class, but how do you go about teaching a Sunday school class here?" I said, "You just found out. You got to ask." We won't come around and nail you for anything. You want to do something for the Lord, you're going to have to ask. If you desire to give anything, you're going to have to ask how to do it. We're not going to ask you. You call us. We will not come to people to support God or God's work. That's ridiculous. If you don't, out of your own heart of love and thanksgiving, want to serve the Lord with gladness, then don't serve Him at all.

come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the LORD ( Psalms 100:2-3 )

Now, here's... Make a joyful noise. Serve the Lord. Come before His presence. Why? Because the Lord,

he is God ( Psalms 100:3 ):

God has rights. We talk about human rights; there are also divine rights. And His rights to our service, His rights to our praise, because He is God. Because He is God He is worthy of our praise. Because He is God He is deserving of our service unto Him.

it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves ( Psalms 100:3 );

The self-made man. What a tragedy. "It is He that hath made us." When Belshazzar was feasting with his lords at the time of the siege of the Medo-Persian army, and in order to add a new dimension to the feasting, Belshazzar called that they bring the gold and silver cups that his grandfather Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple of Jerusalem and pour their wine in these golden cups that have been sanctified for use in the temple of God. And as they were drinking their wine out of the golden cups and praising the gods of gold and silver, suddenly they had a very sobering experience, because over on the plaster of the wall there appeared a hand and the writing was on the wall, and it began to burn there on the wall and stayed there. Words that they could not understand. "Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin." And this king, it says, his joints were loose and his bones began to smite against each other.

And they called for the wise men to come in. They said, "We don't know what it means." Finally the queen said, "There was a man unto your grandfather's reign named Nebuchadnezzar of the children of Israel. God gave to him understanding and visions and dreams and so forth. And they called Daniel in. And he said, "Can you interpret that?" And Daniel says, "Yes, I can, but first of all I want to talk to you, King. Your grandfather was a great king over all the earth and God gave him dominion over the world. And yet, his heart was lifted up with pride. And so God allowed your grandfather to go insane and for seven seasons, he ate with the oxen out in the field. He lived like a madman until he knew that the Lord in heaven reigned over the earth and put on the thrones those whom He would".

And he said, "The very God in whose hand your breath is, you have not glorified." I mean, he really laid the message on the king. "You failed to glorify God. Look, your life depends on Him. You are dependent. He is the One that has made you. Your very breath is dependent upon Him. The very God, in whose hand your breath is, you have not glorified. Therefore, the writing came on the wall and its interpretation is, 'Thou art weighed in the balances and found wanting.' And your kingdom will be taken from you tonight. Divided and given to the Medes and the Persians."

But the idea that God in whose hand your breath is. How dependent we are upon God. "It is He that hath made us." And yet that very breath that we receive from God we use many times to blaspheme God. The very breath that God has given to us, we use to utter filthy epitaphs or stories or whatever. What a shame! The very God in whose hand your breath is. And at that time, that king's breath was foul with the smell of the wine. Drunk. And though he was drunk and the breath permeated with the smell of the wine, yet it was the breath that God had given to him. The very God in whose hand your breath is. "He has made us, not we ourselves."

for we are his people, the sheep of his pasture ( Psalms 100:3 ).

You are living in God's earth. You are using and abusing God's earth. "The earth is the Lord's, the fullness thereof; and all they that dwell therein" ( Psalms 24:1 ). You're breathing God's air. You're drinking God's water. You're eating God's food. You're burning God's oil. You're heating your home with God's gas. You're eating God's cattle, God's fish. "The earth is the Lord's." We are actually just grazing in His field. Everything that we have, everything that we see, everything that we're surrounded with belongs to God. And yet, how we abuse it and try to use it just for ourselves. "The sheep of his pasture." Therefore,

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good ( Psalms 100:4-5 );

He lets you sponge off of Him all the time.

his mercy is everlasting ( Psalms 100:5 );

Again, look how long He's put up with you.

and his truth endureth to all generations ( Psalms 100:5 ).

So praise the Lord. For what? For His goodness. For His mercy. And for His truth. May God just cause your week to be filled with thanksgiving and praise all week long unto Him. Don't wait 'til Thursday. Get a head start on thanksgiving.

Shall we pray.

Father, we are so grateful that Your truth endureth to all generations. And that we can study Thy truth and learn of Thee. Now Lord, let us put into practice those things which we have learned. May we not be hearers of the Word only, deceiving ourselves. But Lord, let us be doers of the Word. Let us, O God, truly give thanks and praise unto Thee. Honor and glory unto our King. Help us, Lord, to hate evil. Help us, O Lord, to walk with Thee in the beauty of holiness. O Lord, minister to Your people tonight that we might dwell in the secret place of the Most High, abiding under the shadow of the Almighty. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Psalms 100

An unknown writer invited God’s people to approach the Lord with joy in this well-known psalm. We can serve Him gladly because He is the Creator, and we can worship Him thankfully because He is good and faithful.

"Known as the Jubilate (’O be joyful’), it is a psalm much used in liturgical worship; but William Kethe’s fine paraphrase, ’All people that on earth do dwell’, has even wider currency wherever English is spoken. Finer still, but somewhat freer, is Isaac Watts’ version, ’Before Jehovah’s aweful [sic] throne’." [Note: Kidner, Psalms 73-150, p. 356.]

"Its [this psalm’s] position after the psalms proclaiming Yahweh’s kingship (96-99) suggests the classification with these psalms. More than likely it functions as a hymnic conclusion of this collection." [Note: VanGemeren, p. 638.]

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

2. Grateful worship 100:4-5

The psalmist called on the Israelites to enter the gates of Jerusalem with thanksgiving in their hearts. They should enter the temple courtyard with praise on their lips. They should express their gratitude to Him for His many blessings and should bless Him. The reason for this behavior is that God is good to His people. His loyal love lasts forever, and He will continue to remain faithful to all generations of people.

Every generation that benefits from Yahweh’s goodness, loyal love, and faithfulness should carry out this psalm’s exhortation to serve God happily and worship Him gratefully.

Gill's Exposition of 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, 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 חסדו "gratia ejus", Cocceius, Gejerus; "gratia et misericordia ejus", Michaelis.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

A psalm of praise.

      1 Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.   2 Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.   3 Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.   4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.   5 For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

      Here, I. The exhortations to praise are very importunate. The psalm does indeed answer to the title, A psalm of praise; it begins with that call which of late we have several times met with (Psalms 100:1; Psalms 100:1), Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all you lands, or all the earth, all the inhabitants of the earth. When all nations shall be discipled, and the gospel preached to every creature, then this summons will be fully answered to. But, if we take the foregoing psalm to be (as we have opened it) a call to the Jewish church to rejoice in the administration of God's kingdom, which they were under (as the four psalms before it were calculated for the days of the Messiah), this psalm, perhaps, was intended for proselytes, that came over out of all lands to the Jews' religion. However, we have here, 1. A strong invitation to worship God; not that God needs us, or any thing we have or can do, but it is his will that we should serve the Lord, should devote ourselves to his service and employ ourselves in it; and that we should not only serve him in all instances of obedience to his law, but that we should come before his presence in the ordinances which he has appointed and in which he has promised to manifest himself (Psalms 100:2; Psalms 100:2), that we should enter into his gates and into his courts (Psalms 100:4; Psalms 100:4), that we should attend upon him among his servants, and keep there where he keeps court. In all acts of religious worship, whether in secret or in our families, we come into God's presence, and serve him; but it is in public worship especially that we enter into his gates and into his courts. The people were not permitted to enter into the holy place; there the priests only went in to minister. But let the people be thankful for their place in the courts of God's house, to which they were admitted and where they gave their attendance. 2. Great encouragement given us, in worshipping God, to do it cheerfully (Psalms 100:2; Psalms 100:2): Serve the Lord with gladness. This intimates a prediction that in gospel-times there should be special occasion for joy; and it prescribes this as a rule of worship: Let God be served with gladness. By holy joy we do really serve God; it is an honour to him to rejoice in him; and we ought to serve him with holy joy. Gospel-worshippers should be joyful worshippers; if we serve God in uprightness, let us serve him with gladness. We must be willing and forward to it, glad when we are called to go up to the house of the Lord (Psalms 122:1), looking upon it as the comfort of our lives to have communion with God; and we must be pleasant and cheerful in it, must say, It is good to be here, approaching to God, in every duty, as to God our exceeding Joy,Psalms 43:4. We must come before his presence with singing, not only songs of joy, but songs of praise. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving,Psalms 100:4; Psalms 100:4. We must not only comfort ourselves, but glorify God, with our joy, and let him have the praise of that which we have the pleasure of. Be thankful to him and bless his name; that is, (1.) We must take it as a favour to be admitted into his service, and give him thanks that we have liberty of access to him, that we have ordinances instituted and opportunity continued of waiting upon God in those ordinances. (2.) We must intermix praise and thanksgiving with all our services. This golden thread must run through every duty (Hebrews 13:15), for it is the work of angels. In every thing give thanks, in every ordinance, as well as in every providence.

      II. The matter of praise, and motives to it, are very important, Psalms 100:3; Psalms 100:5. Know you what God is in himself and what he is to you. Note, Knowledge is the mother of devotion and of all obedience: blind sacrifices will never please a seeing God. "Know it; consider and apply it, and then you will be more close and constant, more inward and serious, in the worship of him." Let us know then these seven things concerning the Lord Jehovah, with whom we have to do in all the acts of religious worship:-- 1. That the Lord he is God, the only living and true God--that he is a Being infinitely perfect, self-existent, and self-sufficient, and the fountain of all being; he is God, and not a man as we are. He is an eternal Spirit, incomprehensible and independent, the first cause and last end. The heathen worshipped the creature of their own fancy; the workmen made it, therefore it is not God. We worship him that made us and all the world; he is God, and all other pretended deities are vanity and a lie, and such as he has triumphed over. 2. That he is our Creator: It is he that has made us, and not we ourselves. I find that I am, but cannot say, I am that I am, and therefore must ask, Whence am I? Who made me? Where is God my Maker? And it is the Lord Jehovah. He gave us being, he gave us this being; he is both the former of our bodies and the Father of our spirits. We did not, we could not, make ourselves. It is God's prerogative to be his own cause; our being is derived and depending. 3. That therefore he is our rightful owner. The Masorites, by altering one letter in the Hebrew, read it, He made us, and his we are, or to him we belong. Put both the readings together, and we learn that because God made us, and not we ourselves, therefore we are not our own, but his. He has an incontestable right to, and property in, us and all things. His we are, to be actuated by his power, disposed of by his will, and devoted to his honour and glory. 4. That he is our sovereign ruler: We are his people or subjects, and he is our prince, our rector or governor, that gives law to us as moral agents, and will call us to an account for what we do. The Lord is our judge; the Lord is our lawgiver. We are not at liberty to do what we will, but must always make conscience of doing as we are bidden. 5. That he is our bountiful benefactor. We are not only his sheep, whom he is entitled to, but the sheep of his pasture, whom he takes care of; the flock of his feeding (so it may be read); therefore the sheep of his hand; at his disposal because the sheep of his pasture,Psalms 95:7. He that made us maintains us, and gives us all good things richly to enjoy. 6. That he is a God of infinite mercy and goodness (Psalms 100:5; Psalms 100:5): The Lord is good, and therefore does good; his mercy is everlasting; it is a fountain that can never be drawn dry. The saints, who are now the sanctified vessels of mercy, will be, to eternity, the glorified monuments of mercy. 7. That he is a God of inviolable truth and faithfulness: His truth endures to all generations, and no word of his shall fall to the ground as antiquated or revoked. The promise is sure to all the seed, from age to age.