“O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.”
O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. This opening establishes thanksgiving as the primary response to God's goodness and covenant faithfulness, inviting the community to acknowledge divine beneficence. Give thanks (hodû) involves both acknowledgment and praise, making explicit what one knows to be true about God. Goodness and steadfast love constitute the fundamental attributes grounding thanksgiving; God's essential nature merits gratitude regardless of circumstance. The assertion that steadfast love endures forever establishes that this covenant faithfulness is not temporary or contingent but perpetual and reliable. This opening verse establishes the refrain's theme: all the following verses conclude with for his steadfast love endures forever, creating a liturgical structure emphasizing the constancy of God's mercy. This verse frames thanksgiving not as response to positive circumstance but as fundamental recognition of God's character.
Church Fathers on Psalms 136:1
1. “Give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good, for His mercy endures for ever” Psalm 135:1. This Psalm contains the praise of God, and all its verses finish in the same way. Wherefore although many things are related here in praise of God, yet His mercy is most commended; for without this plain commendation, he, whom the Holy Spirit used to utter this Psalm, would have no verse be ended. Although after the judgment, by which at the end of the world the quick and the dead must…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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