The Great Amen: Sealing the First Book Text: Psalm 41:13
Introduction: The Five Books of the Psalms
Before we consider this final verse of Psalm 41, we must first understand where it is located. We tend to think of the Psalter as one long book of songs, which it is, but the ancient Hebrews organized it with a deliberate and meaningful structure. The book of Psalms is actually a collection of five smaller books, and each one of these books concludes with a formal doxology, a burst of praise to God that serves as a liturgical bookend. Psalm 41:13 is the conclusion to the first of these five books.
The divisions are as follows: Book One is Psalms 1 through 41. Book Two is Psalms 42 through 72. Book Three is Psalms 73 through 89. Book Four is Psalms 90 through 106. And Book Five is Psalms 107 through 150. You will find a similar doxology at the end of each of these sections, culminating in the grand crescendo of Psalm 150, which is itself one magnificent, concluding doxology for the entire collection.
Many have noted that this five-fold structure seems to mirror the five books of Moses, the Torah. Just as the Law given to Moses is the foundation of Israel's covenant life, so the Psalms are the Spirit-inspired response to that Law, the prayer and praise book of God's people. The Torah is God's Word to His people; the Psalter is His people's word back to Him, taught to them by His Spirit.
So, this verse is not just an afterthought tacked on to the end of Psalm 41. It is a deliberate, corporate, liturgical seal. It is the congregation, having sung through forty-one psalms of lament, trust, confession, and praise, now standing together to affix their collective signature of agreement. It is the people of God looking back over all the struggles with sin, enemies, and sickness detailed in the preceding psalms, and despite all of it, or rather through all of it, erupting in a unified declaration of God's eternal goodness. This is the capstone on the first book, the final word that reframes everything that came before it.
The Text
Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel,
From everlasting to everlasting.
Amen and Amen.
(Psalm 41:13 LSB)
Blessed be Yahweh (v. 13a)
The doxology begins with a declaration of blessing directed toward God.
"Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel..." (Psalm 41:13a)
Now, this should strike us as curious. How can finite, sinful men bless the infinite, holy God? When God blesses us, He bestows favor, grace, and gifts upon us. We, obviously, can give nothing to God that He does not already own. So what does it mean for us to bless Him? To bless God is to praise Him, to speak well of Him, to declare His worthiness. It is a joyful acknowledgment of His supreme excellence and His covenant faithfulness. It is the creature delighting in the Creator. It is not that our words add anything to God, but rather that our words rightly recognize what is already there in infinite measure.
Notice who is being blessed: "Yahweh, the God of Israel." This is not a generic blessing of some abstract deity. This is profoundly specific. Yahweh is the covenant name of God, the name He revealed to Moses at the burning bush. It is the name that signifies His self-existence, His eternal nature, and His personal, covenant-keeping character. He is not just God in general; He is the God of Israel. He is the God who chose a people for Himself, who redeemed them from Egypt, who gave them His law, and who promised to send a Messiah through them. This is a declaration that the God of the Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, is the one true God who is worthy of all praise. All other gods are worthless idols, but Yahweh is the God who acts in history on behalf of His people.
The Scope of Blessing (v. 13b)
Next, the psalmist defines the timeframe for this blessing, and it is a timeframe without boundaries.
"...From everlasting to everlasting." (Psalm 41:13b)
This phrase establishes the eternal nature of both God and the praise that He is due. "From everlasting" looks back into the abyss of eternity past. Before there was a world, before there was time, before there was anything, there was God. He had no beginning. He is the uncaused cause of all things. And "to everlasting" looks forward into the unending expanse of eternity future. He will have no end. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and His dominion endures throughout all generations.
This is a profound comfort and a staggering truth. The God we worship is not a temporary god, not a tribal deity who rises and falls with the fortunes of a nation. He is the King eternal, immortal, invisible. Therefore, the praise He is due is not a temporary affair. It is not something we do for an hour on Sunday morning. The praise of God is the central business of all creation for all time. This declaration, "from everlasting to everlasting," smashes our petty, time-bound anxieties. The God who was, and is, and is to come, holds all of our moments in His eternal hands. Our lives are a brief chapter in an eternal story, and the theme of that story, from beginning to end, is the glory of God.
The Double Affirmation (v. 13c)
The doxology, and the first book of the Psalms, concludes with a powerful, twofold confirmation.
"Amen and Amen." (Psalm 41:13c)
The word "Amen" is a Hebrew term that has been imported directly into English, and for good reason. It is packed with meaning. It comes from a root word that means "to be firm, trustworthy, and true." When we say "Amen," we are not just saying "I agree." We are saying, "Let it be so," "This is true and certain," "I stake my life on this." It is a solemn affirmation, a personal ratification of the truth that has just been declared.
In the Old Testament, the congregation would say "Amen" to affirm the words of the priest or to take a covenant oath upon themselves (Neh. 8:6; Deut. 27:15). It is a corporate act. It is the sound of a unified people. When the psalmist writes "Amen," he is inviting everyone who hears or sings this psalm to join in the declaration. This is not a solo performance.
So why the repetition? Why "Amen and Amen"? This is a common Hebrew way of adding emphasis. It is like saying "truly, truly," or "verily, verily." It is a way of underscoring the certainty and the supreme importance of what has just been said. There is no doubt, no hesitation. The blessedness of Yahweh is the most certain reality in the universe. This double "Amen" is the congregation stamping its feet in thunderous agreement. It is a wholehearted, unreserved, enthusiastic "YES!" to the eternal reign of the God of Israel.
Christ, the Great Amen
For the Christian, this doxology finds its ultimate fulfillment and meaning in the person and work of Jesus Christ. We cannot read this verse without thinking of how the New Testament speaks of our Lord.
Who is the God of Israel? He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Himself is the ultimate Israelite, the true seed of Abraham who fulfills all the promises made to that nation. He is Yahweh in the flesh, the eternal God who stepped into time.
What does it mean that God is blessed from everlasting to everlasting? It points to the eternal Son, who was with the Father before the world began (John 17:5) and who is now seated at His right hand, reigning forever and ever (Rev. 11:15). In Christ, this eternal praise is secured.
And most wonderfully, Jesus is Himself the great Amen. The apostle Paul tells us, "For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us" (2 Corinthians 1:20). Jesus is the personal embodiment of "let it be so." He is the one who makes all of God's promises true and certain. He is God's "Amen" to us. And in the book of Revelation, one of Christ's own titles is "the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God" (Revelation 3:14).
Therefore, when we come to the end of this first book of Psalms and say "Amen and Amen," we are doing more than just agreeing with David. We are joining a cosmic chorus that spans all of history. We are agreeing with the Father, whose plan of redemption is "Amen." We are agreeing with the Son, who is the "Amen." And we are agreeing with the Spirit, who produces the "Amen" in our hearts. We are declaring that despite our sins, our sorrows, and our struggles, which are all honestly catalogued in the psalms, the final word is not our failure, but God's faithfulness. The final word is not our lament, but His glory. The final word is praise. Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen.