5 For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.
What should God’s people think of Him all the time? Oh, let them remember that the Lord is good, full of mercy and ever-faithful. Herein, we have a very concise and yet comprehensive declaration concerning an infinite God whose attributes are unfathomable.
The very first declaration in our text is that “the LORD is good”. The statement that “the LORD is good” reminds us of the absolute goodness of His divine nature. According to Exodus 34:6, the LORD is “abundant in goodness”. In Psalm 145:7, the psalmist speaks of the memory of the LORD’s “great goodness”. The Bible further affirms that “the goodness of God endureth continually” (Psalm 52:1).
The declaration that the LORD is good also emphasises the fact that He is a benevolent God. In other words, the LORD is not only good, He also always “doest good” (cf. Psalm 119:68). Psalm 145:9 says, “The LORD is good to all”. Psalm 33:5 records that “the earth is full of the goodness of the LORD”. He shows His goodness even to those who are evil, for Jesus said in Matthew 5:45 that “he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” Through Jeremiah the prophet, the LORD promised: “my people shall be satisfied with my goodness” (Jeremiah 31:14).
Believers of yesteryear could not have lived a victorious and fruitful life unless, as Psalm 27:13 says, they “had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living”. So when they forged a renewed strength and made significant progress, they confessed, “Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee” (Psalm 31:19)!
Because the LORD is good, “his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations”. Wherever the LORD shows His goodness, His mercy shall also be found continually. Where His goodness is bountiful, His mercy is also plentiful. So just like David, we also can say, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life” (Psalm 23:6). These truths about our LORD God are the same in all generations, for our text assures us that “his truth endureth to all generations”. We also can say, with unwavering certainty, that He who has been good to Abraham, Moses, David and Daniel shall also be good to me.