Psalms 145:9 · Bible study
Psalms 145:9 Commentary: The Breadth of God's Goodness
Hebrew · 9 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Does God's goodness extend to all creatures or only to the elect? Commentators differ, but all agree: God is genuinely good.
Research Summary
- Meaning: God’s goodness and tender mercies extend to all creation, not just a select group.
- Key words: tov (good), rachamim (tender mercies/compassions), kol ma’asav (all his works).
- Main debate: Whether “all” refers to universal benevolence (common grace) or to special saving grace for the elect.
- Theological theme: God’s character as the source of compassion and provision for everything he has made.
- Best use: Foundation for praising God for his universal care and for the free offer of the gospel to all people.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
The LORD is good to all; His compassion rests on all He has made.
WEB World English Bible 2000
Yahweh is good to all. His tender mercies are over all his works.
KJV King James Version 1769
The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
Jehovah is good to all; And his tender mercies are over all his works.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
Good is Jehovah to all, And His mercies are over all His works.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
Jehovah is good to all; and his tender mercies are over all his works.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
The Lord keepeth the strangers, he will support the fatherless and the widow: and the ways of sinners he will destroy.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Bueno es Jehová para con todos; y sus misericordias sobre todas sus obras.
O SENHOR é bom para com todos; e suas misericórdias estão sobre todas as obras que ele fez.
L’ Éternel est bon envers tous,
Der HERR ist allen gütig und erbarmt sich aller seiner Werke.
Teth. De HEERE is aan allen goed, en Zijn barmhartigheden zijn over al Zijn werken.
L’Eterno è buono verso tutti, e le sue compassioni s’estendono a tutte le sue opere.
Dobryć jest Pan wszystkim, a miłosierdzie jego nad wszystkiem sprawami jego.
Господь хранит пришельцев, поддерживает сироту и вдову, а путь нечестивых извращает.
耶和華 善待 萬民；他的慈悲 覆庇 他一切 所造的。
The Lord is good to all men; and his mercies are over all his works.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Psalms 145:9
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators across the supplied sources agree that Psalm 145:9 reveals a God who is genuinely good and compassionate. Adam Clarke writes that there is “not a soul out of hell that is not continually under his most merciful regards.” Albert Barnes states that God is “kind and compassionate” toward all his creatures, and John Calvin sees this as part of God’s general providence. Keil and Delitzsch affirm that “His goodness embraces all; His tender mercies are over all His works.” John Gill offers a narrower reading, applying the verse to the special saving grace of Christ toward the elect, whom he calls “his workmanship.” Despite this difference over scope, every commentator holds that the verse presents God’s character as inherently good and merciful.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Universal benevolence: Commentators such as Clarke, Barnes, and Keil-Delitzsch emphasize the plain sense of 'all' and point to cross-references (Psalm 100:5; 36:6–7; Jonah 4:11) showing God’s care for all creatures and people.
- Special saving grace: Gill argues that 'good' and 'tender mercies' refer to Christ’s special redemption for the elect, whom he calls 'his workmanship' (Eph 2:10), and notes that the psalm’s context (v. 20) also speaks of preservation for the loving and destruction for the wicked.
What is clear: God’s character is good and compassionate, and his mercy genuinely extends over everything he has made.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Scope of God’s goodness | God is genuinely good and compassionate toward what he has made. | Some (Clarke, Barnes, Keil-Delitzsch) see universal benevolence to all creatures; others (Gill) restrict it to special saving grace toward the elect. |
| Identity of 'all his works' | The phrase includes everything God has made, creation itself. | Gill specifies 'works' as new creatures in Christ (Eph 2:10); others see it as all created beings (animals, humans, etc.). |
| Relationship to verse 8 (Exodus 34) | Verse 9 expands the mercy revealed in the foundational self-description of God. | Whether that expansion is primarily toward all people (common grace) or toward the elect who are the focus of special mercy. |
| Use in liturgy and daily prayer | The psalm has been treasured in both Jewish and Christian traditions for daily recitation. | The verse is used more broadly in traditions that emphasize universal grace, and more carefully in traditions that stress particular redemption. |
| Response of praise | All creation should praise God because of his goodness. | Whether the praise arises naturally from all creatures or is the special calling of the redeemed. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Psalm 145 is the only psalm with the title tehillah (“praise”) in the superscription, a word that later gave the whole Psalter its Hebrew name Tehillim (Ellicott). It is an alphabetic acrostic: each verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet, though the nun line is missing in the Masoretic text (Calvin). Jewish tradition held the psalm in high regard; Calvin reports that the ancient Hebrews said anyone who recites it three times daily “shall infallibly enjoy the blessings of the world to come.”
Verse 9 stands within a section (vv. 8, 13) that celebrates God’s character and kingdom. The preceding verse (v. 8) echoes Exodus 34:6, 7, the classical self-revelation of God as “gracious, merciful, slow to anger, and of great loving kindness.” Verse 9 then expands that mercy from Israel to the whole creation: “Yahweh is good to all. His tender mercies are over all his works.” The surrounding verses (10, 13) show all creation giving thanks and speaking of God’s glory. The Cambridge Bible notes that the parallelism of the second line shows the scope includes “all creation.”
Keil and Delitzsch observe that the Hebrew phrase for “great mercy” (gadol chesed) in verse 8 is modified here to underscore that God’s real will tends toward favour, and wrath is only the background of His nature. This verse is the hinge from God’s attributes to his administration of a kingdom that embraces all aeons.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note that Psalm 145 is an acrostic with a nun line missing in the Masoretic Text (Calvin; Ellicott). Several manuscripts and versions (LXX, Syriac, and a Qumran scroll) supply a verse beginning with nun, but verse 9 is preserved in all witnesses without significant variation. The reading is stable.
Reception History
Jewish tradition placed great value on this psalm. Calvin reports a saying among the ancient Hebrews: whoever recites it three times daily with heart and tongue will enjoy the blessings of the world to come. The psalm became part of daily Jewish prayer liturgy. In Christian tradition, the verse has been read as a key expression of God’s universal goodness. The early church saw it as supporting the free offer of the gospel, and later interpreters used it both to affirm common grace and to illustrate the breadth of God’s mercy. Hymns that celebrate God’s care for all creation often echo its language.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- God’s goodness reaches everyone and everything. The Hebrew tov (good) is applied without restriction. Clarke and Barnes stress this universal care: God provides for all creatures (Psalm 104:27, 145:15, 16).
- God’s tender mercies are actively present over all creation. The word rachamim (tender mercies/compassions) carries the idea of deep, gut-level care. Keil and Delitzsch picture them hovering over all that God has made, like a protective canopy.
- This goodness leads to praise from all creation. Verses 10, 13 show that because God is good to all, all his works give thanks and his saints bless him. The psalm ends with a call for every creature to praise God (v. 21).
Five-point outline
- The foundation: God’s character is gracious, merciful, slow to anger, and full of great kindness (v. 8).
- The scope: “Good to all”, not to Israel alone, but to every person and every creature (Poole; Barnes).
- The reach: “Tender mercies over all his works”, God’s compassion covers the entire creation (Keil & Delitzsch).
- The evidence: Creation itself praises him (v. 10), and he provides food and satisfaction to every living thing (vv. 15, 16).
- The response: Human praise must join the universal chorus. The psalmist and all flesh are to bless God’s holy name forever (v. 21).
Illustration hooks
- Daily provision: The farmer sees rain fall on his field and his neighbor’s field alike, regardless of belief (Matthew 5:45). This is a quiet witness to God’s goodness to all.
- Parental love: A parent who continues to provide meals and shelter for a rebellious child reflects God’s tender mercies that persist even when rejected.
- Nature’s testimony: Watching wildlife, birds building nests, flowers blooming, seasons cycling, each creature sustained by God’s care without earning it.
Questions your congregation is asking
- If God is good to all, why do bad things happen to good people? (The psalm sets God’s character as the unchanging truth, though it doesn’t answer every situation directly.)
- Does this verse mean everyone is saved? (Christians have understood the “goodness” differently, some as common grace, others as special saving grace. Both see it as genuine.)
- How can I trust God’s goodness when my life feels hard? (The psalm invites us to anchor in God’s revealed character, not in changing circumstances, and to let praise reshape our vision.)
Leading a Discussion
Psalm 145:9 stands at the heart of a psalm that celebrates God’s character and kingdom. The verse is straightforward in English, but readers soon ask: does “all” really mean everyone, or is it limited? This session invites your group to sit with the text and the different ways faithful Christians have understood it.
Discussion questions
- Read Psalm 145:8, 9 aloud. What do you notice about the way verse 9 builds on verse 8?
- The Hebrew word for “tender mercies” is rachamim, related to the word for “womb.” How does that image affect your understanding of God’s care?
- Barnes writes that God is disposed to do good to all his creatures. Do you find that easy or hard to believe? Why?
- John Gill limits the “works” to those who are new creatures in Christ (Eph 2:10). How does reading the verse that way change its meaning? What do you gain or lose?
- Psalm 100:5, 36:6, 7, and Jonah 4:11 also speak of God’s care for all creation. How do these cross-references influence your reading of verse 9?
- If God’s goodness extends to everyone, what difference does that make for how we treat people who are not part of our church?
- How might this verse shape your prayers, both prayers of praise and prayers for others?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Psalms 25:8 | Good and upright is Yahweh, therefore he will instruct sinners in the way. |
| Psalms 36:6 | Your righteousness is like the mountains of God. Your judgments are like a great deep. Yahweh, you preserve man and animal. |
| Psalms 36:7 | How precious is your loving kindness, God! The children of men take refuge under the shadow of your wings. |
| Psalms 65:9 | You visit the earth, and water it. You greatly enrich it. The river of God is full of water. You provide them grain, for so you have ordained it. |
| Psalms 65:13 | The pastures are covered with flocks. The valleys also are clothed with grain. They shout for joy! They also sing. |
| Psalms 100:5 | For Yahweh is good. His loving kindness endures forever, his faithfulness to all generations. |
| Psalms 104:27 | These all wait for you, that you may give them their food in due season. |
| Jonah 4:11 | Shouldn’t I be concerned for Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred twenty thousand persons who can’t discern between their right hand and their left hand, and also many animals?” |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
7 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke emphasizes God's universal goodness, insisting that no one is damned by divine decree before creation. God's tender mercies extend to every creature, and Christ died for every person. This directly contradicts what he calls the "Molochian doctrine" of reprobation.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes emphasizes that God's goodness and tender mercy extend to every creature without exception. He highlights that the entire creation displays evidence of a kind and benevolent God, who is ready to bless all, pardon the offending, and comfort the sorrowful.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
Jehovah is good to all ] Not merely, as P.B.V., unto every man , but as the parallelism of the next line shews, to all creation. tender mercies ] Compassions.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva Notes stress that God's goodness is not limited to a chosen few but extends to every person and creature. His mercy reaches over everything He has made, underscoring a universal care that covers all of creation without exception.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill insists that the goodness and mercy mentioned here are not universal but belong specifically to Christ's chosen people. He interprets "all" as the elect, both Jews and Gentiles, and "all his works" as those made new creatures in Christ. This limited scope, he argues, signals the Gospel age when special grace extends widely yet still only to the elect.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch highlights the Hebrew phrasing andgdol chesed (great in mercy) to stress that God’s real will bends toward favor and compassion, while wrath is only a reluctant background. His goodness embraces all creatures, and His saints bless Him so that knowledge of His eternal kingdom may become everyone’s possession.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry emphasizes that David's praise is a deliberate, personal act of self-engagement: he stirs himself to bless God daily, not merely as a duty but as a delight. The goal of extolling God is to express high thoughts of him and to raise the same in others.