The Meaning of Mercy in Psalm 118:28-29

Psalm 118:28-29 NKJV

You are my God, and I will praise You;
You are my God, I will exalt You.

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.

My Thoughts

In Verse 29, the word mercy is translated from the Hebrew word “Hesed”, you can look at Strongs definition here, but know that this is God’s unfailing, everlasting mercy, kindness, goodness, and love for us, and yes, it does endure forever.

The psalmist declares a personal commitment to praise and exalt God, acknowledging His eternal goodness and mercy. The word “mercy,” derived from the Hebrew “Hesed,” signifies God’s unwavering kindness and love. The commentaries emphasize the importance of recognizing God as one’s own and the duty to praise Him. The psalm begins and ends with exhortations to give thanks, highlighting a continuous theme of gratitude for God’s deliverance and grace. The structure of the Psalm reflects the joy and communal worship of Israel, celebrating a relationship grounded in faith and divine favor…..Bill

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Commentaries:

Charles Spurgeon

“Thou art my God, and I will praise thee,” my mighty God who hath done this mighty and marvelous thing. Thou shalt be mine, and all the praise my soul is capable of shall be poured forth at thy feet.

“Thou art my God, I will exalt thee.” Thou hast exalted me, and as far as my praises can do it, I will exalt thy name. Jesus is magnified, and he magnifies the Father according to his prayer, “Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee.” God hath given us grace and promised us glory, and we are constrained to ascribe all grace to him, and all the glory of it also. The repetition indicates a double determination and sets forth the firmness of the resolution, the heartiness of the affection, and the intensity of the gratitude. Our Lord Jesus himself saith, “I will praise thee,” and well may each one of us, humbly and with confidence in divine grace, add, on his own account, the same declaration, “I will praise thee.” However, others may blaspheme thee, I will exalt thee; however dull and cold I may sometimes feel myself, yet will I rouse up my nature, and determine that as long as I have any being that being shall be spent to thy praise. For ever thou art my God, and for ever I will give thee thanks.

“O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth forever.” The Psalm concludes as it began, making a complete circle of joyful adoration. We can well suppose that the notes at the close of the loud hallelujah were more swift, more sweet, more loud than at the beginning. To the sound of trumpet and harp, Israel, the house of Aaron, and all that feared the Lord, forgetting their distinctions, joined in one common hymn, testifying again to their deep gratitude to the Lord’s goodness, and to the mercy which is unto eternity. What better close could there be to this right royal song? The Psalmist would have risen to something higher, so as to end with a climax, but nothing loftier remained. He had reached the height of his grandest argument, and there he paused. The music ceased, the song was suspended, the great hallel was all chanted, and the people went every one to his own home, quietly and happily musing upon the goodness of the Lord, whose mercy fills eternity.

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Enduring Word

You are my God, and I will praise You: We take these words to be in the mouth of the deliverer who arrived through the open gates. He rightly surrendered himself to God, filled with praise in view of the ultimate triumph. The voice of Jesus singing this praise and exaltation of God echoed through the upper room as evidence of His submission and obedience.

Oh, give thanks to the LORD: This psalm began with exuberant and heartfelt praise, and it ends with the same, recognizing once again the goodness of God at the end of it all. If we start with praise, we are in a much better position to end with praise, despite all we go through.

For His mercy endures forever: Jesus Himself believed in and received this unending mercy and proclaimed it in song with His disciples in the upper room. The same mercy, that loyal love, covenant love, and lovingkindness that never ended for Him, is also given to His people.

(Guzik)

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Albert Barnes

Thou art my God, and I will praise thee – This is the language of the author of the psalm – his solemn profession before the sanctuary and the altar; his response to the priesthood. In Psalms 118:27, they had declared that “Jehovah alone was God;” to this, he now replies, that he acknowledges, it; he recognizes him as the true God, and as his God; he comes to praise him; and he professes his purpose always to exalt him as his God.

Thou art my God, I will exalt thee – Repeating the solemn declaration that Yahweh alone was the God whom he worshipped, and that it was his purpose always to magnify his name.

O give thanks unto the Lord … – The psalm closes, as it began, with an exhortation to praise God. In the beginning of the psalm, it was a general exhortation; here it is an exhortation founded on the course of thought in the psalm, or as a proper conclusion from what had been referred to in the psalm. Evidence had been given that the Lord was good; on the ground of that, all people are exhorted to give him thanks.

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John Gill

Thou [art] my God, and I will praise thee,…. These are the words of David, asserting his interest in God as his covenant God; and which is the great blessing of the covenant, and the greatest happiness of men, and will always continue; and for which there is abundant reason for praise: it is an instance of distinguishing grace, all evidence of everlasting love, and the foundation of all comfort and happiness here and hereafter;

[thou art] my God, one will exalt thee; in my heart, and with my lips; and call upon others to join with me in it, as in Psalm 118:29. The Targum is, “thou art my God, and I will confess before thee; thou art my God, and I will praise thee, said David: Samuel replied, and said, Praise, O ye congregation of Israel;” who are addressed in the next words.

O give thanks unto the Lord, for [he is] good,…. And thus the psalm ends as it began; there having been given many instances of the divine goodness, in hearing and delivering the psalmist when in distress; saving him from his enemies, when compassed about with them; sparing his life, when in great danger; and especially in making the stone rejected by the builders the head of the corner;

for his mercy [endureth] forever; the above instances are proofs of it; and still it continues, and will forevermore. Here ends the great “Hallel,” or hymn, sung at the passover and other festivals.

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Matthew Henry

The psalmist concludes with his own thankful acknowledgments of divine grace, in which he calls upon others to join with him, v. 28, 29.

(1.) He will praise God himself, and endeavor to exalt him in his own heart and in the hearts of others, and this because of his covenant-relation to him and interest in him: “Thou art my God, on whom I depend, and to whom I am devoted, who ownest me and art owned by me; and therefore I will praise thee.”

(2.) He will have all about him to give thanks to God for these glad tidings of great joy to all people, that there is a Redeemer, even Christ the Lord. In him, it is that God is good to man and that his mercy endures forever; in him the covenant of grace is made, and in him it is made sure, made good, and made an everlasting covenant. He concludes this psalm as he began it (v. 1), for God’s glory must be the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, of all our addresses to him. Hallowed by thy name, and thine is the glory. And this fitly closes a prophecy of Christ. The angels give thanks for man’s redemption. Glory to God in the highest (Lu. 2:14), for there is on earth peace, to which we must echo with our hosannas, as they did, Lu. 19:38. Peace in heaven to us through Christ, and therefore glory in the highest.

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Cross-References

Exodus 15:2 (KJV )

² The Lord is my strength and song,

And he is become my salvation:

He is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation;

My father’s God, and I will exalt him.

Isaiah 25:1 (KJV )

O Lord, thou art my God;

I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name;

For thou hast done wonderful things;

Thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.

Psalm 118:1 (KJV )

¹ O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good:

Because his mercy endureth for ever.

Psalm 31:14 (KJV )

¹⁴ But I trusted in thee, O Lord:

I said, Thou art my God.

Psalm 63:1 (KJV )

¹ O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee:

My soul thirsteth for thee,

My flesh longeth for thee

In a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;

Isaiah 25:9 (KJV )

⁹ And it shall be said in that day,

Lo, this is our God;

We have waited for him, and he will save us:

This is the Lord; we have waited for him,

We will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.

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Closing Thoughts

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.” Psalm 91:1-2 NKJV

“Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation.” Psalm 91:14-16