Unto thee, O God, do we give thanks,.... Either David and his men, when he was delivered from Saul, and raised to the kingdom, or the Jews upon their return from the Babylonish captivity; or rather the churches of Christ under the Gospel dispensation, for the coming of Christ and the blessings of grace through him, and in the view of the sure and certain destruction of antichrist and all the wicked of the earth; yea, Christ himself may be considered as at the head of his people, joining with them in thanksgiving, to whom this action is sometimes ascribed, Mt 11:25 and the rather since he is continued all along speaking to the end of the psalm:
unto thee do we give thanks; which is repeated to show the constancy, fervency, and sincerity with which this was performed: it may be rendered, "unto thee do we confess"; sins committed against God, unworthiness to receive favours from him, and his grace and goodness in bestowing them:
for that thy name is near; or rather, "for thy name is near"; and so the words are a reason of the above thanksgiving; for they belong not so much to what follows after as to what goes before, since the accent "ατηναχη" is upon שמך, "thy name"; and are to be understood of God himself, for his name is himself; who is near to his people, both in relation, being their Father, and as to presence, communion, and fellowship, which are matter of praise and thanksgiving; or his works and word, by which he is known and made manifest; his works which are throughout the earth, and so near at hand, and his word which is nigh, being in the mouths and in the hearts of his people; or rather his Son, in whom his name is, his nature and divine perfections: he was at a distance in promise and prophecy, and only seen afar off; after the Babylonish captivity, at which time some think this psalm was written, he was near; the prophets Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, speak of him as just coming; and when he was made flesh, and dwelt among men, he was near indeed, so as to be found of them, seen, heard, and handled by them; on which account there was and is reason to give thanks to God:
thy wondrous works declare; meaning either the miracles of Christ, which were proofs and evidences of his being come, and of his being the true Messiah; see Mt 11:3 or the wonderful works done by him, which to do were the principal end of his coming; as the work of righteousness, the business of reconciliation, and in general the affair of redemption and salvation; all which were amazing instances of his power, grace, and goodness, and which are declared in the everlasting Gospel by the ministers of it; for the words, I think, may be better rendered, "they declare thy wondrous works", or impersonally, "thy wondrous works are declared".