Psalm 100:5 - Printer Friendly

ESV: For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.

NIV: For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

NASB: For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting And His faithfulness is to all generations.

CSB: For the Lord is good, and his faithful love endures forever; his faithfulness, through all generations.

NLT: For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation.

KJV: For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

NKJV: For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.

This verse offers three reasons for thanking and praising the Lord (Psalm 100:4). First, He is good. He always does what is best for His children. As the one and only necessary being (Exodus 3:14), He is the very definition of all which is right, true, and righteous.

Second, His love is steadfast. This concept comes from the Hebrew root word he'sed, sometimes rendered as "lovingkindness." This is a loyal, enduring, sacrificial, deep love. A good example of this attitude comes in the love shown by a father for a prodigal son in Jesus' parable in Luke 15:11–32. Although the son had wronged his father, left home, led a corrupt life, and squandered his inheritance, when he returned home, he found the father waiting to welcome him back. Also, the father rejoiced to have his wayward son home again. When Jesus addressed the church at Ephesus, He said the church had abandoned its first love (Revelation 2:4), but He had not abandoned His love for the church. He urged the church to remember the position from which it had fallen, repent, and do the works it had done at first (Revelation 2:5). The Lord's love is everlasting (Jeremiah 31:3).

Third, God's faithfulness extends to all generations. Lamentations 3:23 describes this characteristic of the Lord as "great." He has never broken a promise, left a believer without His care, or failed to do all He said He would do. He has always been reliable and always will be reliable.

The 100th Psalm opens with an invitation to the whole earth to joyfully praise the Lord, serve Him, and worship Him in song. The Lord is described as the Creator of the people as well as their Shepherd. The psalmist summons everyone to enter the temple with thanksgiving and praise. He describes the Lord as good, having love that is steadfast forever and faithfulness that stretches from generation to generation.

This is the closing psalm in a section called "royal psalms." These are Psalms 93 and 95—100. These songs proclaim God's sovereignty, His universal goodness, the duty of the nations to submit to Him, and the obligation of believers to praise Him. Psalm 150 parallels this psalm by inviting everyone and everything to praise the Lord.

The book of Psalms is composed of individual songs, hymns, or poems, each of which is a ''Psalm'' in and of itself. These works contain a wide variety of themes. Some Psalms focus on praising and worshipping God. Others cry out in anguish over the pain of life. Still other Psalms look forward to the coming of the Messiah. While some Psalms are related, each has its own historical and biblical context.