Psalms 135:3

Psa 135:3 Praise the LORD; for the LORD [is] good: sing praises unto his name; for [it is] pleasant.

Ver. 3. Praise the Lord; for the Lord is good] sc. Originally, transcendently, effectively; he is good and doeth good, Psa 119:68, and is therefore to be praised with mind, mouth, and practice.

For it is pleasant] An angelical exercise, and, to the spiritually minded man, very delicious. To others, indeed, who have no true notion of God but as of an enemy, it is but as music at funerals, or as the trumpet before a judge, no comfort to the mourning wife, or guilty prisoner.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

3. (Psa 135:3) Hallelujah (praise ye Jah!) for good (is) Jehovah. Make music to his name, for it is lovely. The last words may also be translated, he is lovely, i.e. an object worthy of supreme attachment.

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Psalms Translated and Explained (1850) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verse 3. The Lord is good] Here is the first reason why he should be praised; and a second is subjoined: -

For it is pleasant.] It is becoming to acknowledge this infinite Being, and our dependence on him; and it is truly comfortable to an upright mind to be thus employed.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(3) Sing praises.—Rather, play.

For it is pleasant—i.e., thus to sing hallelujah. (See Psa_147:1; Pro_22:18. Others take name as the subject, and the Prayer-Book version suggested to Crashaw the beautiful hymn beginning “Come lovely name,” &c.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

3. for it is pleasant] Either ‘His name is lovely,’ or ‘it is pleasant to sing praise.’ Cp. Psa_147:1.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Praise ye the Lord, for the Lord is good,.... Essentially and communicatively; he is good, and he does good, in a providential way, to all men; and in a way of special grace to his own people; for whom he has laid up and to whom he has promised good things, and on whom he bestows them; as pardon, righteousness, and eternal life; both grace and glory; and therefore they should praise him;

sing praises unto his name, for it is pleasant; either the work of singing praise is pleasant, being the employment of angels and glorified saints; the subject matter of it delightful, the blessings of grace flowing from the everlasting love of God it leads unto, which is excellent and better than life; and it must be pleasant work to a saint, because it is pleasing to God; and especially when the presence of God is enjoyed in it, and melody is made in the heart as well as with the mouth. Or the sense is, "his name is pleasant"; so Aben Ezra and Kimchi interpret it: for though it is holy and reverend in itself, and fearful and terrible to sinners; yet as it is proclaimed in Christ, it is exceeding delightful, and in whom all the perfections of God are glorified; particularly the name of God, as a covenant God and Father in Christ, blessing, with all spiritual blessings in him, is exceeding pleasant; as are all the names of Christ, and therefore to be praised.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good - See Psa 107:1.

Sing praises unto his name, for it is pleasant - See Psa 33:1; Psa 92:1. The idea here is, that it is a source of happiness, and that it is proper in itself.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Is good; bountiful and gracious, especially to you, and therefore he justly expects and deserves your praises.

Is pleasant; the work itself of singing praises to God is pleasant, as it is more fully expressed, Psa 147:1.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Ver. 3. Praise the LORD. Do it again; continue to do it; do it better and more heartily; do it in growing numbers; do it at once. There are good reasons for praising the Lord, and among the first is thisfor the LORD is good. He is so good that there is none good in the same sense or degree. He is so good that all good is found in him, flows from him, and is rewarded by him. The word God is brief for good; and truly God is the essence of goodness. Should not his goodness be well spoken of? Yea, with our best thoughts, and words, and hymns let us glorify his name. Sing praises unto his name, for it is pleasant. The adjective may apply to the singing and to the namethey are both pleasant. The vocal expression of praise by sacred song is one of our greatest delights. We were created for this purpose, and hence it is a joy to us. It is a charming duty to praise the lovely name of our God. All pleasure is to be found in the joyful worship of Jehovah; all joys are in his sacred name as perfumes lie slumbering in a garden of flowers. The mind expands, the soul is lifted up, the heart warms, the whole being is filled with delight when we are engaged in singing the high praises of our Father, Redeemer, Comforter. When in any occupation goodness and pleasure unite, we do well to follow it up without stint: yet it is to be feared that few of us sing to the Lord at all in proportion as we talk to men.

Ver. 3. Praise the LORD. Hallelujah (praise to Jah!) for good (is) Jehovah. Make music to his name, for it is lovely. The last words may also he translated, he is lovely, i.e. an object worthy of supreme attachment. Joseph Addison Alexander.

Ver. 3. Praise the LORD; for the LORD is good. That is, originally, transcendently, effectively; he is good, and doeth good (Ps 119:68), and is therefore to be praised with mind, mouth, and practice. John Trapp.

Ver. 3. Sing praises unto his name; for it is pleasant. The work of praising God hath a sort of reward joined with it. When we praise God most we get much benefit by so doing: it is so comely in itself, so pleasant unto God, and profitable to the person that offereth praises, so fit to cheer up his spirit, and strengthen his faith in God, whose praises are the pillars of the believer's confidence and comfort, that a man should be allured thereunto: "Sing praises unto his name; for it is pleasant; "and this is the second motive or reason to praise God the first being that "the Lord is good". David Dickson.

Ver. 3. Praise the Lord,

1. For the excellence of his nature.

2. For the revelation of his name.

3. For the pleasantness of his worship.

Psalms 135:4*

Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

3. Pleasant—That is, the employment is pleasant. Jehovah is not the subject of the adjective, which would not be reverent.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Praise the Lord; for the Lord is good. (comp. Psa_86:5 Psa_119:68) Sing praises unto his Name; for it is pleasant; or, "lovely". (comp. Psa_52:9 Psa_54:6)

HOMILIES BY R. TUCK Ver. 3. The pleasantness of the Divine Name.

"God is love," and this absolute fact concerning him is embodied in the Divine Name. This is especially true for us to whom the Divine Name of names is "our Father." The word used here is elsewhere used in the sense of propitious or gracious; and it is the graciousness, pitifulness, long-suffering of God which, man thinks of as making his Name so lovely., In Psa_54:6 we find the expression, I will praise thy Name, O Lord; for it is good. Some think the meaning of the psalmist is, that the work of offering praise is pleasant; but it is fresher, and an indication of deeper feeling in the psalmist, that he should associate pleasantness even with the sound of the Divine Name.

I THE PLEASANTNESS OF THE DIVINE TAME, BECAUSE OF WHAT IT RECALLS. There is a whole history of Divine dealings embodied in the Name. Illustrate from the way in which some special intervention of God was put into a special form of the Divine Name, such as Jehovah-jireh, Jehovah-nissi, Jehovah-tsidkenu, etc. The whole story of the Divine patience, intervention, and redemption is gathered up into the general name Jehovah, and is recalled by it. So the spiritual redemption is recalled by the name given to God manifest in the flesh Jehovah-Jesus, Jehovah-Emmanuel. How pleasant the names which recall such gracious things!

II THE PLEASANTNESS OF THE DIVINE NAME BECAUSE OF WHAT IT CONTAINS. It is familiar to point out that a name embodies and expresses the attributes or characteristics of a person. The early Bible names have distinct meanings; they describe persons. The Divine Name is lovely because it describes our ideal of everything true, pure, kind, gracious, wise. It describes him who is the "chief among ten thousand, and altogether lovely." The satisfaction and rest of the human heart cannot come only out of what God says, or out of what God does; it comes out of what God is; and what God is embodied in his Name.

III THE PLEASANTNESS OF THE DIVINE NAME BECAUSE OF WHAT IT SUGGESTS OR ASSURES. When we have absolute confidence in a person, and seal that confidence by fixing our own name for him, all our future relations with that person are guaranteed. So the name Jehovah (Yehweh), "I am that I am," seals our absolute confidence in God, and suggests entire trust in him, and the certainty of Divine help and blessing in all that may unfold before us. He is the "same yesterday, and today, and for ever. R.T.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

for it is pleasant to do so

"because we get pleasure from praising his name"

Yahweh has chosen Jacob

"Jacob" here refers to his descendants, the people of Israel. AT: "Yahweh has chosen Jacob's descendants" (See: Metonymy)

Israel as his possession

The beginning of the sentence can be stated clearly. AT: "he has chosen Israel to be his possession" (See: Ellipsis)

translationWords

good

chosen one

Jacob

Israel

possess

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.