But we will bless the LORD from this time forth and for evermore. Praise the LORD.
The living righteous bless the Lord from the present life onward, while the dead do not and cannot consciously praise him. All the dead alike sleep in silence and darkness where knowledge ceases, and the living alone continue his praise. The promised praise begins now and lasts through life, then is taken up again forever when the righteous are raised from the dead, without which all would end at the grave. It calls God's people to praise him continually and to bless him even in grief and suffering. It sets worship of the living Maker of heaven and earth against senseless and powerless idols, and that work of creation is the foundation of the Sabbath as the sign of allegiance to him. It belongs to the hymn sung at Passover, sung by Jesus on the night of his betrayal as he faced Gethsemane and the cross in trust in his Father.
Setting and Wording
Psalm 115:18 belongs to the Hallel, Psalms 113 to 118, sung on paschal occasions and at Passover and certain other Hebrew feasts. It was part of the hymn sung after the last Passover supper. It was sung by Jesus just before his betrayal, the agony of Gethsemane, and the darkness of the cross, though he knew those sufferings lay before him. He sang in faith in a Father too wise to err and too good to be unkind.
It stands in a psalm that contrasts the living God and Maker of heaven and earth and his power with senseless, impotent, powerless false gods. The psalm ridicules those idols. It assures his people that he exercises his power for their good.
The “we” who will bless the Lord are the living righteous, God’s people and their children. They stand in contrast with the dead, who do not praise him. That contrast includes the fathers who received God’s blessings, now dead and unable to praise God, whose children will bless the Lord from then on and forever. It also stands in contrast with the idolatrous heathen described earlier in the psalm.
“From this time forth and for evermore” means praise beginning in the present life and continuing throughout the righteous person’s lifetime. The promise of praise from this time forth begins in life. Its promise to continue forever is fulfilled when the righteous resumes praise after being raised from the dead, for David praised God while he lived and will praise him forever after the resurrection, not while dead.
Death and Resurrection
The living bless the Lord, while the dead do not praise him and cannot consciously praise him. All the dead, righteous and wicked alike without distinction, are in sheol, a place of darkness and silence where knowledge ceases, and while the living continue to praise God the dead sleep in silence. Since all people die, their experience would end at the grave unless there is a resurrection.
The verse does not teach that a person praises God in a conscious state after death, nor that blessing from this time forth and forevermore means continuing to praise God consciously for all eternity after death, but means praising him throughout the righteous person's lifetime. David praised God while he lived and will praise him forever after being raised from the dead, for the promise of praise from this time forth begins in life and is fulfilled when he resumes praise at the resurrection, not while dead. The fathers who received God's blessings are dead and cannot praise God, while their children, the righteous in contrast with the idolatrous heathen described earlier in the psalm, will bless the Lord from then on and forever. On an opposite reading, the dead in these verses are worshipers of idols, and the statement that the dead do not praise the Lord is used to support the claim that the soul remains alive after death.
Praise and Allegiance
The verse calls God's people to bless and praise the Lord continually, from now and forever, standing in a psalm that sets God's power against the powerlessness of false gods and assures his people that he exercises his power for their good. It belongs to the praise sung on paschal occasions, and its call to bless the Lord expresses praise that continues onward from that time. It was sung by Jesus just before his betrayal, the agony of Gethsemane, and the darkness of the cross, though he knew those sufferings lay before him, singing in faith in a Father too wise to err and too good to be unkind. Its call to praise the Lord shows that offering praise glorifies God, that it is good to sing praises to God, and that more praise to him from whom all blessings flow brings greater blessings.
The Lord is to be blessed and praised even in grief and suffering, as after the death of a beloved child, with his people blessing him in grief from that time onward and forever.
Blessing the Lord forever is worship of the living God as distinguished from dead idol gods, for the psalm distinguishes the true God from false gods by the fact that the true God made heaven and earth. That fact of creation lies at the foundation of the Sabbath institution and supports the Sabbath as a sign of allegiance to the Creator. The Sabbath alone in the law shows who the Lawgiver is, his title, dominion, and right to reign as Creator, and is the seal or sign of God between him and his people that they may know he is the Lord. No other part of the law can distinguish the true God from idol gods.
The living righteous bless the Lord from the present life onward, while the dead do not and cannot consciously praise him. All the dead alike sleep in silence and darkness where knowledge ceases, and the living alone continue his praise. The promised praise begins now and lasts through life, then is taken up again forever when the righteous are raised from the dead, without which all would end at the grave. It calls God's people to praise him continually and to bless him even in grief and suffering. It sets worship of the living Maker of heaven and earth against senseless and powerless idols, and that work of creation is the foundation of the Sabbath as the sign of allegiance to him. It belongs to the hymn sung at Passover, sung by Jesus on the night of his betrayal as he faced Gethsemane and the cross in trust in his Father.
Setting and Wording
Psalm 115:18 belongs to the Hallel, Psalms 113 to 118, sung on paschal occasions and at Passover and certain other Hebrew feasts. It was part of the hymn sung after the last Passover supper. It was sung by Jesus just before his betrayal, the agony of Gethsemane, and the darkness of the cross, though he knew those sufferings lay before him. He sang in faith in a Father too wise to err and too good to be unkind.
It stands in a psalm that contrasts the living God and Maker of heaven and earth and his power with senseless, impotent, powerless false gods. The psalm ridicules those idols. It assures his people that he exercises his power for their good.
The “we” who will bless the Lord are the living righteous, God’s people and their children. They stand in contrast with the dead, who do not praise him. That contrast includes the fathers who received God’s blessings, now dead and unable to praise God, whose children will bless the Lord from then on and forever. It also stands in contrast with the idolatrous heathen described earlier in the psalm.
“From this time forth and for evermore” means praise beginning in the present life and continuing throughout the righteous person’s lifetime. The promise of praise from this time forth begins in life. Its promise to continue forever is fulfilled when the righteous resumes praise after being raised from the dead, for David praised God while he lived and will praise him forever after the resurrection, not while dead.
Death and Resurrection
The living bless the Lord, while the dead do not praise him and cannot consciously praise him. All the dead, righteous and wicked alike without distinction, are in sheol, a place of darkness and silence where knowledge ceases, and while the living continue to praise God the dead sleep in silence. Since all people die, their experience would end at the grave unless there is a resurrection.
The verse does not teach that a person praises God in a conscious state after death, nor that blessing from this time forth and forevermore means continuing to praise God consciously for all eternity after death, but means praising him throughout the righteous person's lifetime. David praised God while he lived and will praise him forever after being raised from the dead, for the promise of praise from this time forth begins in life and is fulfilled when he resumes praise at the resurrection, not while dead. The fathers who received God's blessings are dead and cannot praise God, while their children, the righteous in contrast with the idolatrous heathen described earlier in the psalm, will bless the Lord from then on and forever. On an opposite reading, the dead in these verses are worshipers of idols, and the statement that the dead do not praise the Lord is used to support the claim that the soul remains alive after death.
Praise and Allegiance
The verse calls God's people to bless and praise the Lord continually, from now and forever, standing in a psalm that sets God's power against the powerlessness of false gods and assures his people that he exercises his power for their good. It belongs to the praise sung on paschal occasions, and its call to bless the Lord expresses praise that continues onward from that time. It was sung by Jesus just before his betrayal, the agony of Gethsemane, and the darkness of the cross, though he knew those sufferings lay before him, singing in faith in a Father too wise to err and too good to be unkind. Its call to praise the Lord shows that offering praise glorifies God, that it is good to sing praises to God, and that more praise to him from whom all blessings flow brings greater blessings.
The Lord is to be blessed and praised even in grief and suffering, as after the death of a beloved child, with his people blessing him in grief from that time onward and forever.
Blessing the Lord forever is worship of the living God as distinguished from dead idol gods, for the psalm distinguishes the true God from false gods by the fact that the true God made heaven and earth. That fact of creation lies at the foundation of the Sabbath institution and supports the Sabbath as a sign of allegiance to the Creator. The Sabbath alone in the law shows who the Lawgiver is, his title, dominion, and right to reign as Creator, and is the seal or sign of God between him and his people that they may know he is the Lord. No other part of the law can distinguish the true God from idol gods.