"For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endureth to all generations."
Psalm 100:5
Psalm 100 is a psalm of praise. In the first four verses, there are several things “all people” (“all ye lands”) are to be doing.
“Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. Serve the LORD with gladness: come before His presence with singing. 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. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name” (Psalm 100:1-4).
All people everywhere should be praising the LORD. This includes all the gentiles. Verse four tells us to “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise.” Most of us cannot go to Jerusalem (“enter His gates”) or to the Temple (“His courts”) that has been destroyed and worship God as the Children of Israel did. But we can “be thankful unto Him, and bless His name.” Anywhere we are, any time of day, this is possible. But if we come to the LORD, how can we know that He wants us with Him? The answer is in verse five.
“For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endureth to all generations” (Psalm 100:5).
This reveals to us three excellent reasons why we can trust God.
He is good!
He is loving (His mercy)!
He is faithful (His truth endures)!
We know that God our Creator (v. 3) wants us to know Him, for He has given us His eternal Word. We know His Word is true because the LORD who has provided this for us is faithful and true. And we also know that God our Shepherd (v. 3) will faithfully watch and care for us. Oh, how we need to keep praising Him!
Quote: “He declares that we ought never to be weary in praising Him, seeing His mercies toward us last forever” [1] (Geneva).
[1] Geneva Bible: Notes, vol. 1 (Geneva: Rovland Hall, 1560), 256. Edited to modern English by JLH.