Psalm 106:1

Praise ye the LORD. O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(1-5) These verses form an introduction to the psalm, and make it evident that while the writer spoke as one of a community, and for the community, he still felt his personal relation to Jehovah.

(1) This formula of praise in the Jewish Church occupied, as a choral refrain, a similar position to the Gloria Patri in Christian worship. The precise date of its first appearance cannot be ascertained. The chronicler includes it in the compilation from different psalms, which he introduces as sung when the Ark was brought to Zion (1Chronicles 16:34): and represents it not only as chanted by the procession of priests and Levites, but as bursting spontaneously from the lips of the assembled multitudes at the dedication of Solomon’s Temple (2Chronicles 7:3). He mentions it also in connection with Jehoshaphat’s revival of choral music. And it is probable that he was not guilty of any great anachronism in giving it this early existence; for Jeremiah speaks of it as a refrain as familiar as those customary at weddings (Jeremiah 33:11), and, indeed, foretells its revival as of a practice once common, but long disused. But the fact that it is found in four liturgical hymns, besides Psalms 136, where it becomes a refrain after every verse, as well as its express mention in Ezra 3:11 as used at the dedication of the second Temple, shows that its use became more general after the Captivity; and it was in use in the Maccabæan period (1 Maccabees 4:24).

Benson Commentary

Psalm 106:1-3. Praise ye the Lord, &c. — He deserves our praises, notwithstanding all our sufferings, which are not to be imputed to him, for he is gracious and merciful, but only to our own sins. Who can show forth all his praise? — That is, his praiseworthy actions: “who is sufficient for a work which demands the tongues and harps of angels?” Blessed are they that keep judgment — That observe and practise what is just and right toward God and men; termed, doing righteousness, in the next clause; at all times — Constantly, in adversity, as well as in prosperity. Or, the meaning may be, They are blessed at all times, even in the day of their calamity; and therefore (as his words may imply) our calamities ought not to hinder us from this great and necessary duty of praising God. This verse may be considered as containing an answer to the inquiry made in the preceding, and signifying that they show forth God’s praise in the best manner who keep his judgments, and do righteousness at all times.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

106:1-5 None of our sins or sufferings should prevent our ascribing glory and praise to the Lord. The more unworthy we are, the more is his kindness to be admired. And those who depend on the Redeemer's righteousness will endeavour to copy his example, and by word and deed to show forth his praise. God's people have reason to be cheerful people; and need not envy the children of men their pleasure or pride.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Praise ye the Lord - Margin, "Hallelu-jah." The two Hebrew words mean, "praise ye the Lord." They are the same words with which the previous psalm closes, and are here designed to indicate the general duty illustrated in the psalm.

O give thanks unto the Lord - See the notes at Psalm 105:1.

For he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever - See Psalm 100:5, note; Psalm 107:1, note; where the language in the Hebrew is the same.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

PSALM 106

Ps 106:1-48. This Psalm gives a detailed confession of the sins of Israel in all periods of their history, with special reference to the terms of the covenant as intimated (Ps 105:45). It is introduced by praise to God for the wonders of His mercy, and concluded by a supplication for His favor to His afflicted people, and a doxology.

1. Praise, &c.—(See on [632]Ps 104:35), begins and ends the Psalm, intimating the obligations of praise, however we sin and suffer 1Ch 16:34-36 is the source from which the beginning and end of this Psalm are derived.

The Treasury of David

1 Praise ye the Lord. O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

2 Who can utter the mighty acts of the Lord? who can shew forth all his praise. -

3 Blessed are they that keep judgment, and he that doeth righteousness at all times.

4 Remember me, O Lord, with the favour that thou bearest unto thy people; O visit me with thy salvation;

5 That I may see the good of thy chosen, that I may rejoice in the gladness of thy nation, that I may glory with thine inheritance.

Psalm 106:1

"Praise ye the Lord." Hallelujah. Praise ye Jah. This song is for the assembled people, and they are all exhorted to join in praise to Jehovah. It is not meet for a few to praise and the rest to be silent; but all should join. If David were present in churches where quartettes and choirs carry on all the singing, he would turn to the congregation and say, "Praise ye the Lord." Our meditation dwells upon human sin; but on all occasions and in all occupations it is seasonable and profitable to praise the Lord. "O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good." To us needy creatures the goodness of God is the first attribute which excites praise, and that praise takes the form of gratitude. We praise the Lord truly when we give him thanks for what we have received from his goodness. Let us never be slow to return unto the Lord our praise; to thank him is the least we can do - let us not neglect it. For "his mercy endureth for ever." Goodness towards sinners assumes the form of mercy, mercy should therefore be a leading note in our song. Since man ceases not to be sinful, it is a great blessing that Jehovah ceases not to be merciful. From age to age the Lord deals graciously with his church, and to every individual in it he is constant and faithful in his grace, even for evermore. In a short space we have here two arguments for praise, "for he is good" for "his mercy endureth for ever;" and these two arguments are themselves praises. The very best language of adoration is that which adoringly in the plainest words sets forth the simple truth with regard to our great Lord. No rhetorical flourishes or poetical hyperboles are needed, the bare facts are sublime poetry, and the narration of them with reverence is the essence of adoration. Psalm 106:1 is the text of all that which follows; we are now to see how from generation to generation the mercy of God endured to his chosen people.

Psalm 106:2

"Who can utter the mighty acts of the Lord?" What tongue of men or angels can duly describe the great displays of divine power? They are unutterable. Even those who saw them could not fully tell them. "Who can shew forth all his praise?" To declare his works is the same thing as to praise him, for his own doings are his best commendation. We cannot say one tenth so much for him as his own character and acts have already done? Those who praise the Lord have an infinite subject, a subject which will not be exhausted throughout eternity by the most enlarged intellects, nay, nor by the whole multitude of the redeemed, though no man can number them. The questions of this verse never can be answered; their challenge can never be accepted, except in that humble measure which can be reached by a holy life and a grateful heart.

Psalm 106:3

Since the Lord is so good and so worthy to be praised, it must be for our happiness to obey him. "Blessed are they that keep judgment, and he that doeth righteousness at all times." Multiplied are the blessednesses which must descend upon the whole company of the keepers of the way of justice, and especially upon that one rare man who at all times follows that which is right. Holiness is happiness. The way of right is the way of peace. Yet men leave this road, and prefer the paths of the destroyer. Hence the story which follows is in sad contrast with the happiness here depicted, because the way of Israel was not that of judgment and righteousness, but that of folly and iniquity. The Psalmist, while contemplating the perfections of God, was impressed with the feeling that the servants of such a being must be happy, and when he looked around and saw how the tribes of old prospered when they obeyed, and suffered when they sinned, he was still more fully assured of the-truth of his conclusion. O could we but be free of sin we should be rid of sorrow! We would not only be just, but "keep judgment"; we would not be content with occasionally acting rightly, but would "do justice at all times."

Psalm 106:4

"Remember me, O Lord, with the favour which thou bearest unto thy people." Insignificant as I am, do not forget me. Think of me with kindness, even as thou thinkest of thine own elect. I cannot ask more, nor would I seek less. Treat me as the least of thy saints are treated and I am content. It should be enough for us if we fare as the rest of the family. If even Balaam desired no more than to die the death of the righteous, we may be well content both to live as they live, and die as they die. This feeling would prevent our wishing to escape trial, persecution, and chastisement; these have fallen to the lot of saints, and why should we escape them?

"Must I be carried to the skies

continued...THE ARGUMENT

This Psalm was unquestionably composed in the time of the Israelites’ captivity and dispersion, as is manifest from Psalm 106:47, but whether it was that of Babylon, or some other of a later date, is neither easy nor necessary to determine.

The psalmist exhorteth to praise God, Psalm 106:1-3; prayeth for the remission of his sin, Psalm 106:4-6. The story of the Israelites’ rebellion, and of God’s mercy, in their journey from Egypt to Canaan, rehearsed, Psalm 106:7-46; concluding with prayer and praise unto the Lord, Psalm 106:47,48.

He deserves our praises, notwithstanding all our sufferings, which are not to be imputed to him, for he is gracious and merciful, but only to our own sins.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Praise ye the Lord,.... Or "hallelujah"; which, according to the Arabic version, is the title of the psalm; and so it stands in the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, and Ethiopic versions. Several psalms following begin in like manner; it begins as the former ended, and ends as it begins; praise being due to God at all times, and on all occasions.

O give thanks unto the Lord: always, for all things, temporal and spiritual, since not worthy of any: or, confess unto the Lord (h); his great goodness, and your unworthiness; and all your sins and transgressions committed against him, who only can pardon.

For he is good; essentially, solely and originally; is communicative and diffusive of his goodness; is the author of all good, and of no evil; and is gracious and merciful, and ready to forgive.

For his mercy endureth for ever; notwithstanding the sins of his people; though he may sometimes hide his face from them, and rebuke them in his providence; and though he causes grief by so doing, he still has compassion upon them, his mercy continues towards them; yea, his mercies are new every morning, as to temporal things; and spiritual mercies, the sure mercies of David, redemption, remission of sins, and sanctification, issue in eternal life; the mercy of God is from eternity to eternity: these are reasons why he should be praised, and thanks be given, to him.

(h) "confitemini Domino", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, &c.

Geneva Study Bible

Praise {a} ye the LORD. O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

(a) The prophet exhorts the people to praise God for his past benefits, that by this their minds may be strengthened against all present troubles and despair.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

1. Praise ye the Lord] Heb. Hallelujah. See on Psalm 104:35. Here and elsewhere the initial Hallelujah is omitted in P.B.V., being regarded, as in LXX and Vulg., as a kind of title only.

O give thanks … for ever] A liturgical formula, found in the Psalter only in post-exilic Psalms (Psalm 107:1; Psalm 118:1; Psalm 136:1; cp. Psalm 100:5; Ezra 3:10-11; 1Ma 4:24), but in familiar use before the Exile. See Jeremiah 33:11, and note the slight difference in the form, which militates against the view that the words are an interpolation there.

good] LXX rightly χρηστός, for it is not Jehovah’s essential goodness that is meant, but His kindness and graciousness towards Israel. Cp. Isaiah 63:7.

for his mercy endureth for ever] Israel’s sin cannot exhaust Jehovah’s lovingkindness.

1–5. The Psalmist prefaces his Psalm of penitence with a call to praise Jehovah for that unfailing goodness which is the ground of Israel’s hope in its present extremity; and with a prayer that he himself may be privileged to see and share in the restoration of Jehovah’s people.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 1. - Praise ye the Lord (comp. Psalm 104:35; Psalm 105:45). O give thanks unto the Lord (so in Psalm 105:1). Even in their greatest afflictions, the Israelites were bound to give God thanks. His mercies always exceeded his punishments. For he is good (see the comment on Psalm 100:5). For his mercy eudureth forever. According to Chronicles, this phrase was used at the dedication of David's tabernacle (1 Chronicles 16:34, 41), and again at the dedication of the temple (2 Chronicles 5:13). It here first occurs in the Psalms. Psalm 106:1

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

The Psalm begins with the liturgical call, which has not coined for the first time in the Maccabaean age (1 Macc. 4:24), but was already in use in Jeremiah's time (Psalm 33:11). The lxx appropriately renders טּוב by χρηστός, for God is called "good" not so much in respect of His nature as of the revelation of His nature. The fulness of this revelation, says Psalm 106:2 (like Psalm 40:6), is inexhaustible. גּבוּרות are the manifestations of His all-conquering power which makes everything subservient to His redemptive purposes (Psalm 20:7); and תּהלּה is the glory (praise or celebration) of His self-attestation in history. The proclaiming of these on the part of man can never be an exhaustive echo of them. In Psalm 106:3 the poet tells what is the character of those who experience such manifestations of God; and to the assertion of the blessedness of these men he appends the petition in Psalm 106:4, that God would grant him a share in the experiences of the whole nation which is the object of these manifestations. עמּך beside בּרצון is a genitive of the object: with the pleasure which Thou turnest towards Thy people, i.e., when Thou again (cf. Psalm 106:47) showest Thyself gracious unto them. On פּקד cf. Psalm 8:5; Psalm 80:15, and on ראה ב, Jeremiah 29:32; a similar Beth is that beside לשׂמח (at, on account of, not: in connection with), Psalm 21:2; Psalm 122:1. God's "inheritance" is His people; the name for them is varied four times, and thereby גּוי is also exceptionally brought into use, as in Zephaniah 2:9.