“But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children;”
The pivotal affirmation 'But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him' reverses the direction of the preceding verses, counterposing divine eternity to human transience. The 'But' (ve-atah) marks a crucial turning: having affirmed human fragility, the psalm now asserts the permanence of God's covenantal love. The phrase 'from everlasting to everlasting' (me-olam ad-olam) expresses God's love as transcending temporal categories altogether; unlike human life with its clear boundary of birth and death, God's love is infinite in both directions. The phrase 'on those who fear him' reiterates the condition: this eternal love is poured out on the righteous, those who stand in proper reverence. This verse provides the ultimate consolation: though the individual human life is brief, the one who fears God participates in a love that is everlasting. The structure of the verse—'but' followed by the strongest affirmation—suggests that divine love is precisely what renders human transience bearable.
Church Fathers on Psalms 103:17
1. ...“Bless the Lord, O my soul! And all that is within me, His holy Name” Psalm 102:1. I suppose that he speaks not of what is within the body; I do not suppose him to mean this, that our lungs and liver, and so forth, are to burst forth into the voice of blessing of the Lord. There are lungs in our breast indeed, like a kind of bellows, which send forth successive breathings, which breathing forth of the air inhaled is pressed out into voice and sound, when the words are…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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