
Text -- Psalms 146:1-10 (NET)




Names, People and Places, Dictionary Themes and Topics



collapse allCommentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)
As soon as ever he is dead.

All his designs and endeavours either for himself or for others.

Wesley: Psa 146:6 - -- Both because he liveth for ever to fulfil his promises, and because he is eternally faithful.
Both because he liveth for ever to fulfil his promises, and because he is eternally faithful.
Clarke: Psa 146:2 - -- While I live will I praise - The true feeling of a heart overpowered with a sense of God’ s goodness
While I live will I praise - The true feeling of a heart overpowered with a sense of God’ s goodness

Clarke: Psa 146:2 - -- While I have any being - בעודי beodi , in my continuance, in my progression, my eternal existence. This is very expressive.
While I have any being -

Clarke: Psa 146:3 - -- Put not your trust in princes - This may refer, as has been stated above, to Cyrus, who had revoked his edict for the rebuilding of Jerusalem. Perha...
Put not your trust in princes - This may refer, as has been stated above, to Cyrus, who had revoked his edict for the rebuilding of Jerusalem. Perhaps they had begun to suppose that they were about to owe their deliverance to the Persian king. God permitted this change in the disposition of the king, to teach them the vanity of confidence in men, and the necessity of trusting in himself.

Clarke: Psa 146:4 - -- His breath goeth forth - His existence depends merely, under God, on the air he breathes. When he ceases to respire he ceases to live; his body from...
His breath goeth forth - His existence depends merely, under God, on the air he breathes. When he ceases to respire he ceases to live; his body from that moment begins to claim its affinity to the earth; and all his thoughts, purposes, and projects, whether good or evil, come to nought and perish. He, then, who has no other dependence, must necessarily be miserable.

Clarke: Psa 146:5 - -- Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help - While he that trusts in man is miserable, he that trusts in God is happy. In the son of man, ...
Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help - While he that trusts in man is miserable, he that trusts in God is happy. In the son of man,

Clarke: Psa 146:7 - -- Which ewecuteth judgment for the oppressed - For those who suffer by violence or calumny. This may refer to the Israelites, who suffered much by opp...
Which ewecuteth judgment for the oppressed - For those who suffer by violence or calumny. This may refer to the Israelites, who suffered much by oppression from the Babylonians, and by calumny from the Samaritans, etc., who had prejudiced the king of Persia against them

Clarke: Psa 146:7 - -- Giving food to the hungry - No doubt he fed the poor captives by many displays of his peculiar providence
Giving food to the hungry - No doubt he fed the poor captives by many displays of his peculiar providence

Clarke: Psa 146:7 - -- The Lord looseth the prisoners - And as he has sustained you so long under your captivity, so will he bring you out of it.
The Lord looseth the prisoners - And as he has sustained you so long under your captivity, so will he bring you out of it.

Clarke: Psa 146:8 - -- Openeth the eyes of the blind - He brings us out of our prison-house, from the shadow of death, and opens our eyes that we may behold the free light...
Openeth the eyes of the blind - He brings us out of our prison-house, from the shadow of death, and opens our eyes that we may behold the free light of the day. And it is the Lord only that can open the eyes of any son of Adam, and give him to see his wretchedness, and where help and salvation may be found

Clarke: Psa 146:8 - -- Raiseth them that are bowed down - Through a sense of their guilt and sinfulness
Raiseth them that are bowed down - Through a sense of their guilt and sinfulness

Clarke: Psa 146:8 - -- The Lord loveth the righteous - These he makes partakers of a Divine nature; and he loves those who bear his own image.
The Lord loveth the righteous - These he makes partakers of a Divine nature; and he loves those who bear his own image.

Clarke: Psa 146:9 - -- Preserveth the strangers - He has preserved you strangers in a strange land, where you have been in captivity for seventy years; and though in an en...
Preserveth the strangers - He has preserved you strangers in a strange land, where you have been in captivity for seventy years; and though in an enemy’ s country, he has provided for the widows and orphans as amply as if he had been in the promised land

Clarke: Psa 146:9 - -- The way of the wicked he turneth upside down - He subverts, turns aside. They shall not do all the wickedness they wish; they shall not do all that ...
The way of the wicked he turneth upside down - He subverts, turns aside. They shall not do all the wickedness they wish; they shall not do all that is in their power. In their career he will either stop them, turn them aside, or overturn them.

Clarke: Psa 146:10 - -- The Lord shall reign for ever - Therefore he can never fail; and he is thy God, O Zion. Hitherto he has helped you and your fathers; and has extende...
The Lord shall reign for ever - Therefore he can never fail; and he is thy God, O Zion. Hitherto he has helped you and your fathers; and has extended that help from generation to generation. Therefore trust in him and bless the Lord
Calvin: Psa 146:1 - -- 1.Praise Jehovah The five last Psalms close with the same word with which they begin. 286 But having in general called upon all to praise God, he add...
1.Praise Jehovah The five last Psalms close with the same word with which they begin. 286 But having in general called upon all to praise God, he addresses himself, or, which is the same thing, his soul, only that under the name of soul he addresses his inward self more emphatically. We may infer from this, that the influence which moved him was not volatile and superficial, (as many will blame themselves with remissness on this point, and then immediately lapse into it again,) but a staid and constant affection, followed up by activity, and proved by its effects not to be feigned. As David felt, that good endeavors are frustrated or hindered through the craft of Satan, he thinks it proper to apply a stimulus for exciting his own zeal, in the first place, before professing to be a leader or teacher to others. Although his heart was truly and seriously in the work, he would not rest in this, until he had acquired still greater ardor. And if it was necessary for David to stir himself up to the praises of God, how powerful a stimulant must we require for a more difficult matter when we aim at the divine life with self-denial. As to the religious exercise here mentioned, let us feel that we will never be sufficiently active in it, unless we strenuously exact it from ourselves. As God supports and maintains his people in the world with this view, that they may employ their whole life in praising him, David very properly declares, that he will do this to the end of his course.

Calvin: Psa 146:3 - -- 3.Trust not in princes This admonition is appropriately inserted, for one means by which men blind themselves is that of involving their minds throug...
3.Trust not in princes This admonition is appropriately inserted, for one means by which men blind themselves is that of involving their minds through a number of inventions, and being thus prevented from engaging in the praises of God. That God may have the whole praise due to him, David exposes and overthrows those false stays on which we would otherwise be too much disposed to trust. His meaning is, that we should withdraw ourselves from man in general, but he names princes, from whom more is to be feared than common men. For what promise could poor people hold out, or such as need the help of others? The great and wealthy, again, have a dangerous attraction through the splendor attaching to them, suggesting to us the step of taking shelter under their patronage. As the simple are fascinated by looking to their grandeur, he adds, that the most powerful of the world’s princes is but a son of man This should be enough to rebuke our folly in worshipping them as a kind of demigods, as Isaiah says, (Isa 31:3,) “The Egyptian is man, and not God; flesh, and not spirit.” Although princes then are furnished with power, money, troops of men, and other resources, David reminds us, that it is wrong to place our trust in frail mortal man, and vain to seek safety where it cannot be found.
This he explains more fully in the verse, which follows, where he tells us how short and fleeting the life of man is. Though God throw loose the reins, and suffer princes even to invade heaven in the wildest enterprises, the passing of the spirit, like a breath, suddenly overthrows all their counsels and plans. The body being the dwelling-place of the soul, what is here said may very well be so understood; for at death God recalls the spirit. We may understand it more simply, however, of the vital breath; and this will answer better with the context — that as soon as man has ceased to breathe, his corpse is subject to putrefaction. It follows, that those who put their trust in men, depend upon a fleeting breath. When he says that in that day all his thoughts perish, or flow away, perhaps under this expression he censures the madness of princes in setting no bounds to their hopes and desires, and scaling the very heavens in their ambition, like the insane Alexander of Macedon, who, upon hearing that there were other worlds, wept that he had not yet conquered one, although soon after the funeral urn sufficed him. Observation itself proves that the schemes of princes are deep and complicated. That we may not fall, therefore, into the error of connecting our hopes with them, David says that the life of princes also passes away swiftly and in a moment, and that with it all their plans vanish.

Calvin: Psa 146:5 - -- 5.Blessed is he, etc. As it would not have been enough to reprove the sin, he submits the remedy upon which the proper correction of it depends; and...
5.Blessed is he, etc. As it would not have been enough to reprove the sin, he submits the remedy upon which the proper correction of it depends; and this is, that the hopes of men are only stable and well-founded when they rest entirely upon God. For even the wicked sometimes come the length of acknowledging the folly of trust in man. Accordingly they are often angry with themselves for being so inconsiderate as to expect deliverance from men; but by neglecting the remedy, they are not extricated from their error. The Psalmist having condemned the infatuation, which we have seen to be natural to us all, wisely subjoins that they are blessed who trust in God. Jeremiah observes the same order. (Jer 17:5.)
“Cursed is he that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm,” etc.;
and then — “Blessed is the man whose hope the Lord is.” When David pronounces those blessed whose help is the Lord, he does not restrict the happiness of believers to present sense, as if they were only happy when God openly and in outward acts appeared as their helper, but he places their happiness in this — that they are truly persuaded of its being entirely by the grace of God they stand. He calls him the God of Jacob, to distinguish him from the multitude of false gods in which unbelievers gloried at that time; and there was good reason for this; for while all propose to themselves to seek God, few take the right way. In designating the true God by his proper mark, he intimates that it is only by an assured faith of adoption that any of us can rest upon him; for he must show himself favorable to us before we can look for help from him.

Calvin: Psa 146:6 - -- 6.Who made heaven, etc. By all these epithets he confirms the truth previously stated. For though at first sight it may seem inappropriate to speak ...
6.Who made heaven, etc. By all these epithets he confirms the truth previously stated. For though at first sight it may seem inappropriate to speak of the Creation, the power of God bears most pertinently upon his helping us whenever danger is near. We know how easily Satan tempts to distrust, and we are thrown into a state of trembling agitation by the slightest causes. Now, if we reflect that God is the Maker of heaven and earth, we will reasonably give him the honor of having the government of the world which he created in his hands and power. There is in this first ascription, then, a commendation of his power, which should swallow up all our fears. As it is not enough that God is merely able to help us, but as a promise is farther necessary, to the effect that he is willing and shall do it, David next declares that he is faithful and true, that, on discovering his willingness, no room may be left for hesitation.

Calvin: Psa 146:7 - -- 7.Rendering right, etc. He instances other kinds both of the power and goodness of God, which are just so many reasons why we should hope in him. Al...
7.Rendering right, etc. He instances other kinds both of the power and goodness of God, which are just so many reasons why we should hope in him. All of them bear upon the point, that the help of God will be ready and forthcoming to those who are in the lowest circumstances, that accordingly our miseries will be no barrier in the way of his helping us; nay, that such is his nature, that he is disposed to assist all in proportion to their necessity. He says first, that God renders justice to the oppressed, to remind us that although in the judgment of sense God connives at the injuries done to us, he will not neglect the duty which properly belongs to him of forcing the wicked to give an account of their violence. As God, in short, would have the patience of his people tried, he here expressly calls upon the afflicted not to faint under their troubles, but composedly wait for deliverance from one who is slow in interposing, only that he may appear eventually as the righteous judge of the world. It follows, that he gives bread to the hungry. We learn from this that he is not always so indulgent to his own as to load them with abundance, but occasionally withdraws his blessing, that he may succor them when reduced to hunger. Had the Psalmist said that God fed his people with abundance, and pampered them, would not any of those under want or in famine have immediately desponded? The goodness of God is therefore properly extended farther to the feeding of the hungry. What is added is to the same purpose — that he looses them that are bound, and enlightens the blind. As it is the fate of his people to be straitened by anxiety, or pressed down by human tyranny, or reduced to extremity, in a manner equivalent to being shut up in the worst of dungeons, it was necessary to announce, by way of comfort, that God can easily find an outgate for us when brought into such straits. To enlighten the blind is the same with giving light in the midst of darkness. When at any time we know not what to do — are in perplexity, and lie confounded and dismayed, as if the darkness of death had fallen upon us — let us learn to ascribe this title to God, that he may dissipate the gloom and open our eyes. So when he is said to raise up the bowed down, we are taught to take courage when weary and groaning under any burden. Nor is it merely that God would here have his praises celebrated; he in a manner stretches out his hand to the blind, the captives, and the afflicted, that they may cast their grief’s and cares upon him. There is a reason for repeating the name Jehovah three times. In this way he stimulates and excites men to seek him who will often rather chafe and pine away in their miseries, than betake themselves to this sure asylum. 288 What is added in the close of the verse — that Jehovah loves the righteous, would seem to be a qualification of what was formerly said. There are evidently many who, though they are grievously afflicted, and groan with anxiety, and lie in darkness, experience no comfort from God; and this because in such circumstances they provoke God more by their contumacy, and by failing for the most part to seek his mercy, reap the just reward of their unthankfulness. The Psalmist therefore very properly restricts what he had said in general terms of God’s helping the afflicted, to the righteous — that those who wish to experience his deliverance, may address themselves to him in the sincere exercise of godliness.

Calvin: Psa 146:9 - -- 9.Jehovah guarding, etc. By strangers, orphans, and widows, the Psalmist means all those in general who are destitute of the help of man. While a...
9.Jehovah guarding, etc. By strangers, orphans, and widows, the Psalmist means all those in general who are destitute of the help of man. While all show favor to those who are known to them and near to them, we know that strangers are, for the most part, exposed to injurious treatment. We find comparatively few who come forward to protect and redress widows and orphans; it seems lost labor, where there is no likelihood of compensation. Under these cases the Psalmist shows that whatever the grievance may be under which we suffer, the reason can only be with ourselves if God, who so kindly invites all who are in distress to come to him, does not stretch forth his arm for our help. On the other hand, he declares that everything will have an adverse and unfortunate issue to those who wickedly despise God. We have said upon the first Psalm, that by the way is meant the course of life in general. God will destroy the way of the wicked, inasmuch as he will curse all their counsels, acts, attempts, and enterprises, so that none of them shall have good success. However excellent they may be in planning, although they may be crafty and sharp-sighted, and abound in strength of resources of every kind, God will overturn all their expectations. While he extends his hand to those who are his people, and brings them through all obstacles, and even impassable ways, he on the contrary destroys the path of the wicked, when apparently most open and plain before them.

Calvin: Psa 146:10 - -- 10.Jehovah shall reign, etc. He directs his discourse to the Church, that he may more effectually persuade all God’s people of their really findin...
10.Jehovah shall reign, etc. He directs his discourse to the Church, that he may more effectually persuade all God’s people of their really finding him to be such as he had just described. When he says that God is king for ever, we are to remember at the same time the purpose for which he reigns — taking our definition of it from the preceding ascription’s. It follows that, whether living or dying, we shall be safe under the keeping of a king who reigns expressly for our salvation. Had he said no more than that Jehovah reigned for ever, we would have been ready to object the distance between us and his inconceivable greatness. He states, therefore, in express terms, his being bound by sacred covenant to his chosen people.
Defender: Psa 146:1 - -- Each of the last five psalms (Psa 146:1) begins and ends with "Praise ye the Lord" - "Hallelujah." They comprise a "Hallelujah Chorus," a grand Epilog...
Each of the last five psalms (Psa 146:1) begins and ends with "Praise ye the Lord" - "Hallelujah." They comprise a "Hallelujah Chorus," a grand Epilogue to the five Books, each of which ends in a grand doxology. "Hallelujah" occurs only four times in the New Testament in the setting of the victorious return of Christ and the marriage supper of the Lamb (Rev 19:1, Rev 19:3, Rev 19:4, Rev 19:6). Perhaps these Hallelujah psalms will be sung at the great gathering of "the general assembly and church of the firstborn" (Heb 12:23) at His throne in heaven."

Defender: Psa 146:2 - -- The words "praise," "praises," and "praised" occur more in the Psalms than in the rest of the Bible together. Further, they occur twice as much in the...
The words "praise," "praises," and "praised" occur more in the Psalms than in the rest of the Bible together. Further, they occur twice as much in these five "Praise Psalms," Psalms 146-150, as in any other five chapters in the psalms."

Defender: Psa 146:6 - -- Psa 146:1-7 praises the Lord as Creator, Psa 146:7-9 as Redeemer, Psa 146:10 as eternal King (compare Col 1:16-20)."
Psa 146:1-7 praises the Lord as Creator, Psa 146:7-9 as Redeemer, Psa 146:10 as eternal King (compare Col 1:16-20)."
TSK: Psa 146:1 - -- am 3489, bc 515
Praise ye the Lord : Heb. Hallelujah, Psa 105:45
Praise the Lord : Psa 103:1, Psa 103:22, Psa 104:1, Psa 104:35
am 3489, bc 515
Praise ye the Lord : Heb. Hallelujah, Psa 105:45
Praise the Lord : Psa 103:1, Psa 103:22, Psa 104:1, Psa 104:35

TSK: Psa 146:2 - -- While I live : Psa 63:4, Psa 71:14, Psa 71:15, Psa 104:33, Psa 145:1, Psa 145:2; Rev 7:9-17
While I live : Psa 63:4, Psa 71:14, Psa 71:15, Psa 104:33, Psa 145:1, Psa 145:2; Rev 7:9-17

TSK: Psa 146:3 - -- Put : Psa 62:9, Psa 118:8, Psa 118:9; Isa 2:22, Isa 31:3, Isa 37:6; Jer 17:5, Jer 17:6
help : or, salvation

TSK: Psa 146:4 - -- His breath : Psa 104:29; Gen 2:7, Gen 6:17; Job 14:10, Job 17:1, Job 27:3; Dan 5:23
he returneth : Psa 90:3; Gen 3:19; Ecc 12:7
his thoughts : Job 14:...

TSK: Psa 146:5 - -- Happy : Psa 33:12, Psa 84:12, Psa 144:15; Deu 33:29
the God : Psa 46:7, Psa 46:11, Psa 84:8; Gen 32:24-29, Gen 50:17; Exo 3:6
whose : Psa 39:7, Psa 71...

TSK: Psa 146:6 - -- made heaven : Psa 33:6, Psa 136:5, Psa 136:6, Psa 148:5, Psa 148:6; Gen 1:1; Jer 10:11, Jer 10:12, Jer 32:17; Joh 1:3; Col 1:16; Rev 14:7
the sea : Ps...
made heaven : Psa 33:6, Psa 136:5, Psa 136:6, Psa 148:5, Psa 148:6; Gen 1:1; Jer 10:11, Jer 10:12, Jer 32:17; Joh 1:3; Col 1:16; Rev 14:7
the sea : Psa 95:5; Exo 20:11; Job 38:8-11; Pro 8:28, Pro 8:29
keepeth truth : Psa 89:2, Psa 89:33, Psa 98:3, Psa 100:5; Deu 7:9; Dan 9:4; Mic 7:20; Joh 10:34; Tit 1:2; Heb 6:18

TSK: Psa 146:7 - -- executeth : Psa 9:16, Psa 10:14, Psa 10:15, Psa 10:18, Psa 12:5, Psa 72:4, Psa 103:6; Pro 22:22, Pro 22:23, Pro 23:10, Pro 23:11; Isa 9:4; Mal 3:5
whi...
executeth : Psa 9:16, Psa 10:14, Psa 10:15, Psa 10:18, Psa 12:5, Psa 72:4, Psa 103:6; Pro 22:22, Pro 22:23, Pro 23:10, Pro 23:11; Isa 9:4; Mal 3:5
which giveth food : Psa 107:9, Psa 136:25, Psa 145:15, Psa 145:16; Jer 31:14; Luk 1:53, Luk 9:17
looseth : Psa 68:6, Psa 105:17-20, Psa 107:10, Psa 107:14-16, Psa 142:7; Isa 61:1; Zec 9:11, Zec 9:12; Luk 4:18; Act 5:19, Act 16:26

TSK: Psa 146:8 - -- openeth : Isa 35:5, Isa 42:16, Isa 42:18; Mat 9:30, Mat 11:5; Luk 18:41, Luk 18:42; John 9:7-33; Act 26:18; Eph 1:18; 1Pe 2:9
raiseth : Psa 145:14, Ps...

TSK: Psa 146:9 - -- preserveth : Psa 68:5; Deu 10:18, Deu 10:19, Deu 16:11; Pro 15:25; Jer 49:11; Hos 14:3; Mal 3:5; Jam 1:27
the way : Psa 18:26, Psa 83:13-17, Psa 145:2...

TSK: Psa 146:10 - -- reign : Psa 10:16, Psa 145:13; Exo 15:18; Isa 9:7; Dan 2:44, Dan 6:26, Dan 7:14; Rev 11:15
thy God : Psa 147:12; Isa 12:6, Isa 40:9, Isa 52:7; Joe 3:1...

collapse allCommentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)
Barnes: Psa 146:1 - -- Praise ye the Lord - " Ye"- all people. Margin, Hallelujah. See Psa 104:35; Psa 106:1. Praise the Lord, O my soul - See Psa 103:1, note; P...
Praise ye the Lord - " Ye"- all people. Margin, Hallelujah. See Psa 104:35; Psa 106:1.
Praise the Lord, O my soul - See Psa 103:1, note; Psa 104:1, note.

Barnes: Psa 146:2 - -- While I live will I praise the Lord ... - See the notes at Psa 104:33, where the same language occurs substantially as in this verse: "I will s...
While I live will I praise the Lord ... - See the notes at Psa 104:33, where the same language occurs substantially as in this verse: "I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being."The idea is, not merely that he would praise him during this life - short and fleeting as it is - but that as long as he had an existence - in the future world - forever he would praise him.
Through every period of my life
Thy goodness I’ ll pursue;
And after death, in distant worlds,
The glorious theme renew.
Through all eternity to Thee
A joyful song I’ ll raise;
But, oh! eternity’ s too short
To utter all thy praise."
- Addison

Barnes: Psa 146:3 - -- Put not your trust in princes - Rely on God rather than on man, however exalted he may be. There is a work of protection and salvation which no...
Put not your trust in princes - Rely on God rather than on man, however exalted he may be. There is a work of protection and salvation which no man, however exalted he may be, can perform for you; a work which God alone, who is the Maker of all things, and who never dies, can accomplish. See the notes at Psa 118:8-9. Compare also the notes at Isa 2:22 : "Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils, for wherein is he to be accounted of?"
Nor in the son of man - Any son of man; any human being, no matter what his rank or power. The phrase is often used to denote man. See the notes at Psa 8:4. The appellation "Son of man"was often applied by the Saviour to himself to express emphatically the idea that he was a man - that he had a human nature; that he was identified with the race; that he was a brother, a fellow-sufferer, a friend of man: that he was not a cold and abstract being so exalted that he could not feel or weep over the sins and woes of a fallen and suffering world. The language here, however, it is scarcely necessary to say, does not refer to him. It is right to put our trust in him; we have no other trust.
In whom there is no help - Margin, salvation. So the Hebrew. The idea is, that man cannot save us. He cannot save himself; he cannot save others.

Barnes: Psa 146:4 - -- His breath goeth forth - He dies like other people, no matter how exalted he is. See the notes at Isa 2:22. He returneth to his earth - S...
His breath goeth forth - He dies like other people, no matter how exalted he is. See the notes at Isa 2:22.
He returneth to his earth - See the notes at Psa 90:3. The earth - the dust - is "his"-
(a) It is his, as that from which he was made: he turns back to what he was. Gen 3:19 : "dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return."
(b) The earth - the dust - the grave is his, as it is his home - the place where he will abide.
© It is his, as it is the only property which he has in reversion. All that a man - a prince, a nobleman, a monarch, a millionaire - will soon have will be his grave - his few feet of earth. That will be his by right of possession; by the fact that, for the time being, he will occupy it, and not another man. But that, too, may soon become another man’ s grave, so that even there he is a tenant only for a time; he has no permanent possession even of a grave. How poor is the richest man!
In that very day - The very day - the moment - that he dies.
His thoughts perish - His purposes; his schemes; his plans; his purposes of conquest and ambition; his schemes for becoming rich or great; his plans of building a house, and laying out his grounds, and enjoying life; his design of making a book, or taking a journey, or giving himself to ease and pleasure. Luk 12:19-20 : "and I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry; but God said unto him, Thou fool! this night thy soul shall be required of time."Such are all the purposes of men!

Barnes: Psa 146:5 - -- Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help - Who may rely for protection on the God who defended Jacob in his travels and dangers. Or,...
Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help - Who may rely for protection on the God who defended Jacob in his travels and dangers. Or, perhaps the word Jacob is used here collectively to denote Israel - the Jewish people: the God whom they adore and worship, rather than the gods of the pagan. Compare Psa 144:15, note; Psa 54:4, note.
Whose hope is in the Lord his God - In Yahweh, worshipped as his God. That is, who truly worships Yahweh, or makes Yahweh his God.

Barnes: Psa 146:6 - -- Which made heaven and earth ... - Who is the true God, the Creator of all things. Happy is he who can address the God who called all this wondr...
Which made heaven and earth ... - Who is the true God, the Creator of all things. Happy is he who can address the God who called all this wondrous universe into being, and who sustains all by his power, as his God.
Which keepeth truth for ever - Who is always true to his promises. In this verse there are two reasons given why the lot of the people of God would be a happy one:
(1) That Yahweh is the true God, the Creator of all things, and, therefore, able to protect and provide for them.
(2) That he is faithful, and may always be relied on.
Idol-gods have no power, and every reliance placed on them is a vain reliance; people are often false and cannot be trusted, but Yahweh has infinite power, and every promise that he makes will be fulfilled; all that he says is eternally and unchangeably true. The reasons for trusting in him, or the reasons why they who trust in him are "happy,"are further stated in the following verses.

Barnes: Psa 146:7 - -- Which executeth judgment for the oppressed - This is the third reason why the lot of those is a happy one who trust in God. It is because he ha...
Which executeth judgment for the oppressed - This is the third reason why the lot of those is a happy one who trust in God. It is because he has power to pronounce and execute a right judgment or sentence in regard to the oppressed and the wronged, and because it is characteristic of his nature that he does thus execute judgment. See the notes at Psa 103:6 : "The Lord executeth right. eousness and judgment for all that are oppressed."
Which giveth food to the hungry - See the notes at Psa 107:9 : "For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness."This is the fourth reason why they who confide in God are happy. Compare Luk 1:53 : "He hath filled the hungry with good things."
The Lord looseth the prisoners - This is the fifth reason why they who trust in the Lord are "happy."Compare the notes at Psa 68:6 : "He bringeth out those which are bound with chains."See also the notes at Psa 107:10 : "Being bound in affliction and iron."Compare Job 36:8-9.

Barnes: Psa 146:8 - -- The Lord openeth the eyes of the blind - This is the sixth reason for what is stated as to the blessedness of those who put their trust in the ...
The Lord openeth the eyes of the blind - This is the sixth reason for what is stated as to the blessedness of those who put their trust in the Lord. The language here would be applicable to bodily or to mental blindness. Compare the notes at Psa 119:18 : "Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law."See also the notes at Isa 35:5 : "Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened."
The Lord raiseth them that are bowed down - This is the seventh reason why they are happy who trust in the Lord. It is that those who are crushed and bowed down under the weight of care, trouble, and calamity, are raised up by him, or are sustained and comforted. See the notes at Psa 145:14 : "The Lord upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down."
The Lord loveth the righteous - This is the eighth reason why those who trust in the Lord are happy. It is a characteristic of God, and a foundation for praise, that he loves those who obey law; who do that which is right.

Barnes: Psa 146:9 - -- The Lord preserveth the strangers - He regards them with interest; he defends and guides them. This is the ninth reason why those who trust in ...
The Lord preserveth the strangers - He regards them with interest; he defends and guides them. This is the ninth reason why those who trust in the Lord are happy. The stranger - away from home and friends; with no one to feel an interest in him or sympathy for him; with the feeling that he is forsaken; with no one on whom he can call for sympathy in distress - may find in God one who will regard his condition; who will sympathize with him; who is able to protect and befriend him. Compare Exo 12:49; Exo 22:21; Exo 23:9; Lev 19:33; Deu 1:16; Deu 10:18-19; Isa 56:3, Isa 56:6.
He relieveth the fatherless and widow - He is their friend. This is the tenth reason why those who put their trust in the Lord are happy. It is that God is the Friend of those who have no earthly protector. See the notes at Psa 68:5 : "A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation."
But the way of the wicked he turneth upside down - He overturns their plans; defeats their schemes; makes their purposes accomplish what they did not intend they should accomplish. The Hebrew word here means to bend, to curve, to make crooked, to distort; then, to overturn, to turn upside down. The same word is applied to the conduct of the wicked, in Psa 119:78 : "They dealt perversely with me."The idea here is, that their path is not a straight path; that God makes it a crooked way; that they are diverted from their design; that through them he accomplishes purposes which they did not intend; that he prevents their accomplishing their own designs; and that he will make their plans subservient to a higher and better purpose than their own. This is the eleventh reason why those who put their trust in God are happy. It is that God is worthy of confidence and love, because he has all the plans of wicked men entirely under his control.

Barnes: Psa 146:10 - -- The Lord shall reign for ever - See the notes at Psa 10:16 : "The Lord is King forever and ever"Compare Exo 15:18. Even thy God, O Zion, u...
The Lord shall reign for ever - See the notes at Psa 10:16 : "The Lord is King forever and ever"Compare Exo 15:18.
Even thy God, O Zion, unto all generations - As long as the world shall endure. There shall be no change of dynasty as there is in human governments; but the same King shall reign from age to age.
Praise ye the Lord - Hallelu-jah. The psalm closes as it commences. It is a call on all persons to unite in the praise of Yahweh.
Poole: Psa 146:3 - -- In princes in men of greatest wealth and power, in whose favour men are very prone to trust.
In whom there is no help who are utterly unable freque...
In princes in men of greatest wealth and power, in whose favour men are very prone to trust.
In whom there is no help who are utterly unable frequently to give you that help which they promise, and you expect.

Poole: Psa 146:4 - -- He returneth in his body, Ecc 12:7 ,
to his earth to that earth from which all mankind, princes not excepted, had their original.
In that very day...
He returneth in his body, Ecc 12:7 ,
to his earth to that earth from which all mankind, princes not excepted, had their original.
In that very day as soon as ever he is dead, his thoughts perish; all his designs and endeavours, either for himself or for others.

Poole: Psa 146:6 - -- Both because he liveth for ever to fulfil his promises, and because he is eternally and unchangeably faithful.
Both because he liveth for ever to fulfil his promises, and because he is eternally and unchangeably faithful.

Poole: Psa 146:8 - -- The eyes of the blind either,
1. The eyes of their mind, which he enlightens and directs in doubtful and difficult causes; or,
2. Their bodily eyes...
The eyes of the blind either,
1. The eyes of their mind, which he enlightens and directs in doubtful and difficult causes; or,
2. Their bodily eyes, which he did abundantly by his Son Jesus Christ.
Loveth the righteous even when he doth afflict them, which also he doth out of love, Heb 12:6 .

Poole: Psa 146:9 - -- He overthroweth their goings as the phrase is, Psa 140:4 . He maketh them to lose their way; he not only frustrateth their plots and enterprises but ...
He overthroweth their goings as the phrase is, Psa 140:4 . He maketh them to lose their way; he not only frustrateth their plots and enterprises but turneth them against themselves. This and all the foregoing sentences are so many arguments to encourage all good men to trust in God in all their straits and afflictions.
An exhortation to praise God for his benefits.

Haydock: Psa 146:1 - -- Alleluia. In some editions of the Septuagint (Haydock) and in Syriac, Arabic, &c., the same inscription occurs, as in the former psalms. Many ascri...
Alleluia. In some editions of the Septuagint (Haydock) and in Syriac, Arabic, &c., the same inscription occurs, as in the former psalms. Many ascribe this to the same authors, and to the same occasion. Hebrew and Chaldean have no title. Yet the psalm seems to be a thanksgiving (Calmet) for the permission to build the temple and walls of Jerusalem, (Origen) which had been neglected, till God visited the people with a famine, ver. 8., 2 Esdras v. 1., and Aggeus i. 6. (Bossuet) ---
Zorobabel, &c., urge the people to build. (Syriac) (Calmet) ---
Still David might compose this psalm, as he was a prophet, (Berthier) and he may allude to the beginning of his reign, when the people were all united. (Jansenius) ---
Good. Agreeable and advantageous for us. ---
Praise. This consists in purity of life, rather than in the sweetest accents. (Calmet)

Haydock: Psa 146:2 - -- Jerusalem. After the captivity, (Worthington) or at the beginning of David's reign, when he had taken Sion, and Israel acknowledged his dominion, 2 ...
Jerusalem. After the captivity, (Worthington) or at the beginning of David's reign, when he had taken Sion, and Israel acknowledged his dominion, 2 Kings v. It may also allude to the Church, (John xi. 51.) and to heaven, Hebrews xii. 22., and Apocalypse xxi. (Berthier)

Haydock: Psa 146:3 - -- Bruises. God delivered the captives, after chastising them, Deuteronomy xxxii. 39. (Calmet) ---
He gives life to the penitent, as Christ healed th...
Bruises. God delivered the captives, after chastising them, Deuteronomy xxxii. 39. (Calmet) ---
He gives life to the penitent, as Christ healed the sick, &c., Isaias lxi. 1. (Berthier)

Haydock: Psa 146:4 - -- Stars. Which to man are innumerable. Though some have counted 1022 with Ptolemy, yet the discovery of telescopes has shewn that many more are disce...
Stars. Which to man are innumerable. Though some have counted 1022 with Ptolemy, yet the discovery of telescopes has shewn that many more are discernible, (Calmet) and none would dare at present to fix their number. (Berthier) ---
Cicero (Of. i.) treats this as a thing impossible. See Genesis xv. 5. (Calmet) ---
Ptolemy could only ascertain the number of the more notorious. (Worthington) ---
Kimchi admits 1098 created to shine, besides innumerable others, which have influence over plants, &c. God has the most perfect knowledge of all. They are like his soldiers, whom he knows by name, (Isaias xl. 25.) as the good shepherd does his sheep, John x. 3. (Calmet) ---
We read that Cyrus knew the name of all his officers, (Cyrop. v.) and that Adrian, and Scipio, the Asiatic, could even name all the soldiers in their armies.

Haydock: Psa 146:5 - -- Power. God the Son. Earthly monarchs are forced to depend on others for the execution of their orders. But God is infinite. (Calmet) ---
Number....
Power. God the Son. Earthly monarchs are forced to depend on others for the execution of their orders. But God is infinite. (Calmet) ---
Number. He knows innumerable things: (Worthington) or rather, (Haydock) the divine wisdom hath no parts, Jeremias x. 6. (Berthier)

Ground. As he has done to the Egyptians, &c. (Calmet)

Haydock: Psa 146:7 - -- Praise. Literally, "confession," (Haydock) including both compunction and praise. (Berthier)
Praise. Literally, "confession," (Haydock) including both compunction and praise. (Berthier)

Haydock: Psa 146:8 - -- Clouds. This is represented as something wonderful, (Job v. 9., and xxxvii. 6.) though conformable to the laws of nature. The preservation of thing...
Clouds. This is represented as something wonderful, (Job v. 9., and xxxvii. 6.) though conformable to the laws of nature. The preservation of things is like a new creation. (Calmet) ---
And the herb, &c. Herbam, (Psalm ciii. 14.; Haydock) is now wanting in Hebrew, as it was in the days of St. Jerome and the Chaldean, though the Septuagint, Aquila, &c., read it, and it is not probable that they would borrow it from another psalm. (Berthier) ---
Their copies must therefore have varied. (Haydock) ---
The herb, may denote corn, and all vegetables for food. These productions evince the goodness and wisdom of God, (Berthier) as well as his power. (Worthington)

Haydock: Psa 146:9 - -- Young. Literally, "the sons of ravens," which may denote those birds in general, as well as their young. God provides for all. Many fables have be...
Young. Literally, "the sons of ravens," which may denote those birds in general, as well as their young. God provides for all. Many fables have been recounted concerning ravens, as if they neglected or forgot their young ones; and the Hebrews seem to have entertained some of these opinions, to which the sacred writers conform themselves, Job xxxviii. 41. (Calmet) ---
St. Luke (xii. 24.) specifies ravens, though St. Matthew (vi. 26.) has the birds, when relating the same speech. ---
Upon him, must be understood in Hebrew. See Psalm ciii. 21., (Berthier) and Joel i. 20. (Calmet) ---
If God take such care of the neglected ravens, how much more will he provide for his servants? (St. Chrysostom) (Worthington)
Gill: Psa 146:1 - -- Praise ye the Lord,.... Or, "hallelujah"; which, in the Greek and Vulgate Latin versions, is the title of the psalm; but is rather the beginning of it...
Praise ye the Lord,.... Or, "hallelujah"; which, in the Greek and Vulgate Latin versions, is the title of the psalm; but is rather the beginning of it; and is an exhortation to men, especially to the saints, to praise the Lord, the Lord Christ, the Lord of the world, who has created it and upholds it; the Lord of lords, David's Lord; and the Lord of all his people, by creation, redemption, and grace; and from whom they receive all blessings and mercies, temporal and spiritual, and are therefore under the highest obligations to praise him;
praise the Lord, O my soul; the psalmist does not put others upon that he does not choose to do himself; but, as the sweet psalmist of Israel, and prophet of the church, leads the way and sets and example; and not only strikes his harp and psaltery, and with his tongue, mouth, and lips, shows forth the praise of the Lord; but engages his heart, his soul, in this work; which, as it was capable of it, so most agreeable to the Lord, who requires the heart in his service, and to be worshipped in spirit and in truth: and this being the better and more noble part of man, making melody in it to the Lord, and engaging all the powers and faculties of it in such an employment, must be acceptable to him.

Gill: Psa 146:2 - -- While I live will I praise the Lord,.... As he had good reason to do, since he had his life from him, and was upheld in it by him; who also favoured h...
While I live will I praise the Lord,.... As he had good reason to do, since he had his life from him, and was upheld in it by him; who also favoured him with the mercies and comforts of life; and that every day, being renewed to him every morning, and continued all the days of his life; which determined him throughout the whole of it to praise the Lord: nay, he had his spiritual life from him, with all the blessings of it; which are lasting, everlasting ones, and had hope of eternal life with him;
I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being; or "while I am" l; not only in this world, but in the world to come; for men have a being or existence after death, and the saints have a most comfortable and happy one then; and will be more capable of singing praises to their incarnate God, and which will be their work to all eternity; see Psa 104:33.

Gill: Psa 146:3 - -- Put not your trust in princes,.... Not in foreign princes, in alliances and confederacies with them; nor in any at home. David did not desire his peop...
Put not your trust in princes,.... Not in foreign princes, in alliances and confederacies with them; nor in any at home. David did not desire his people to put their trust in him, nor in his nobles and courtiers; but in the Lord Christ, who, as he is the object of praise, is also the proper object of trust. Princes, though ever so liberal and bountiful, as their name signifies, and therefore called benefactors, Luk 22:25 or ever so mighty and powerful, wise and prudent, yet are not to be depended upon; they are changeable, fickle, and inconstant; and oftentimes not faithful to their word, but fallacious and deceitful; "men of high degree are a lie", Psa 62:9; wherefore it is better to trust in the Lord Jehovah, in whom is everlasting strength; who gives all things richly to enjoy; who is unchangeable, and ever abides faithful; see Psa 118:8;
nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help; or "salvation" m: not in any mere man born of a woman; not in Abraham, the father of the faithful, of whom the Jews boasted, as the Midrash; nor in Moses, as Arama; nor in Cyrus, as R. Obadiah; no, nor in David himself, nor in any of the princes; for how great soever they look, or in whatsoever honour and esteem they may be, they are but sons of men; are frail mortal men, and die like men, though they may be called gods, as they are by office: but no man or son of man, let him be what he will, is to be trusted in; there is a curse on him that does it, Jer 17:5. There is indeed a Son of man that is to be trusted in, the Lord Jesus Christ; but then he is God as well as man, the true God, the great God, God over all, blessed for ever; were he not, he would not be the proper object of trust, for there is no "help" or "salvation" in a mere creature; even kings and princes cannot help and save themselves oftentimes, and much less their people; their salvation is of God, and not from themselves, or from their armies, Psa 33:16. There is help in Christ, on whom it is laid, and where it is found; there is salvation in him, but in no other; he is the author and giver of it, and therefore he, and not another, is to be trusted in.

Gill: Psa 146:4 - -- His breath goeth forth,.... That is, the breath of a son of man, of any and everyone of the princes; it goes forth continually, and is drawn in again ...
His breath goeth forth,.... That is, the breath of a son of man, of any and everyone of the princes; it goes forth continually, and is drawn in again as long as a man lives; but at death it goes forth, and returns no more till the resurrection: the breath which the Lord breathed into man, and which is in his nostrils while he lives, and is very precarious. And when it is taken away, he dies, and
he returneth to his earth; from whence he was taken, and of which he was made; upon which he lived, where he dwelt, and in which he took delight and pleasure, minding earth and earthly things, and which is now all he has; who, though he may have had many large estates and possessions, nay, have ruled over many kingdoms and countries, yet his property of earth is now no more than the length and breadth of a grave; he returns to earth as soon as he dies, becoming a lump of clay; and particularly when he is interred in it, and when by corruption and worms he is turned into it;
in that very day his thoughts perish; in the day, hour, and moment he dies: not that the soul ceases, or ceases to think at death; it is immortal, and dies not; and, as it exists in a separate state after death, it retains all its powers and faculties, and, among the rest, its power of thinking; which it is capable of exercising, and does, as appears from the case of the souls under the altar, Rev 6:9. But the meaning is, that at death all the purposes and designs of men are at an end; all their projects and schemes, which they had formed, and were pursuing, now come to nothing; whether to do good to others, or to aggrandize themselves and families; and therefore such mortal creatures are not to be depended upon, since all their promises may fail; nay, even their good designs may be frustrated; see Job 17:12.

Gill: Psa 146:5 - -- Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help,.... The God of the patriarch Jacob, the Messiah, who is that God that fed him all his life, the...
Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help,.... The God of the patriarch Jacob, the Messiah, who is that God that fed him all his life, the Angel that redeemed him from all evil, with whom in the form of a man he wrestled, when he had power over God, and saw him face to face; the God of the posterity of Jacob, the Angel of Jehovah's presence, who went before them by day and night in the wilderness, and saved and carried them all the days of old; the God of spiritual Jacob, or Israel, the church of the chosen, redeemed, and called ones; the God of every Israelite indeed, of every true believer, as he was Thomas's Lord and God: now happy is that man that has him for his help, who helps his servant Israel, all his people out of the sad estate of sin and misery into which they are brought; helps them to all the blessings of grace, and to all the supplies of it in their time of need; helps them under all their infirmities, temptations, and afflictions; helps them in all their way to heaven, and against every enemy of their souls; and at last helps them to everlasting glory and happiness;
whose hope is in the Lord his God; in Immanuel, God with us, God manifest in the flesh; Christ the hope of Israel, and the Saviour thereof; who is our hope, and in all his people the hope of glory; not only the author and giver of the grace of hope, but the object, ground, and foundation of it: now happy is that man whose hope alone is in him; who hopes for salvation, pardon, righteousness, and eternal life, through him, and him only; such are safe and secure, who, as prisoners of hope, turn to him their strong hold; those shall want no good thing that hope and trust in him; they have peace now through his blood and righteousness, and shall be saved with an everlasting salvation; see Jer 17:7.

Gill: Psa 146:6 - -- Which made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that therein is,.... This and the following verses are a description of that divine Person, even Christ...
Which made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that therein is,.... This and the following verses are a description of that divine Person, even Christ, who is the help and hope of his people; and every character of him is a reason for faith and hope in him; all things are made by him, which are in the whole compass of creation, the heaven, earth, and sea, and all in them; the fowls of the airy heaven; the sun, moon, and stars, the hosts of the starry heavens; and the angels, the inhabitants of the third heaven; the beasts of the field, and cattle of a thousand hills; and man, the chief of God's works on earth; and the innumerable fishes of the sea, great and small; and he that made all these, what is it he cannot do? he must be the mighty God, and a mighty Saviour, and the proper object of trust and hope; see Joh 1:1;
which keepeth truth for ever; the truth of doctrine, who as Mediator is full of it, and by whom it came; and, as the Prophet of the church, concealed it not, from the great congregation, the law of truth being in his lips, as the antitype of Levi; the truth of the promises, which are all yea and amen in him; every promise being made to him, and being in him, as the promise of eternal life, with all others, which are safely kept by him, and he will see them performed; the truth of all his engagements with his Father, as the surety of his people; to take their nature, obey, suffer, and die for them, which he has truly and punctually made good, being faithful to him that appointed him; and the truth of all his sayings, concerning his presence with his church and ministers unto the end of the world, and of whatsoever should befall them, from his resurrection and ascension to his second coming.

Gill: Psa 146:7 - -- Which executeth judgment for the oppressed,.... All judgment being committed to Christ as Mediator, he executes it on the behalf of his oppressed ones...
Which executeth judgment for the oppressed,.... All judgment being committed to Christ as Mediator, he executes it on the behalf of his oppressed ones, and breaks in pieces their oppressors; being oppressed with sin, and lying under the power of it, he condemned it in his flesh, wrought out a righteousness to justify from it, and redeemed them from all their iniquities; being oppressed by Satan, and led captive by him, he took them as a prey from the mighty, and led captivity captive; and, when oppressed by the world, he is on their side and takes their part, and thoroughly pleads their cause, and suffers no weapon formed against them to prosper; and will before long destroy antichrist and his followers, and bring down his judgments on them, so that men of the earth shall no more oppress; and especially at the last judgment, he, the righteous Judge, will render tribulation to them that have troubled his people, and set the crown of righteousness on their heads; see Psa 10:18;
which giveth food to the hungry: in a literal sense he gave manna and quails to the hungry Israelites in the wilderness, fed five thousand with five loaves and two small fishes, and four thousand with seven loaves and a few fishes, when here on earth; and in a spiritual sense, to such as are in a starving and famishing condition, and hunger and thirst after righteousness, he gives himself, the bread of life, and his grace, the water of life; he gives them to eat of the hidden manna, and of the tree of life; he gives them his word, his Gospel, which is milk for babes and meat for strong men; he gives them his ordinances, which are a feast of fat things, and so he tills and satisfies their hungry souls;
the Lord looseth the prisoners: such as were bound by diseases and infirmities of body, he loosed in the days of his flesh here; and some that were held with the cords of death he raised from the dead, Luk 13:11; and his people, who are in a spiritual sense prisoners of sin, Satan, and the law, being shut up and held under by them, he proclaims liberty to them, and the opening the prison to them that are bound; he opens the prison doors, and says to the prisoners, Go forth; he delivers them from the power of sin, the slavery of Satan, and the bondage of the law, and brings them into a state of liberty, Isa 61:1; yea, all the prisoners in the grave he will loose at the last day; he has the key of hell and death, and will open those prisons and set them free; they shall come forth, some to the resurrection of life, and others to the resurrection of damnation.

Gill: Psa 146:8 - -- The Lord openeth the eyes of the blind,.... Who are corporeally blind; the eyes of many such were opened by Christ when here on earth, and one who wa...
The Lord openeth the eyes of the blind,.... Who are corporeally blind; the eyes of many such were opened by Christ when here on earth, and one who was born blind; and such who are spiritually blind as to any knowledge of divine things, of God in Christ, of the way of life and salvation by Christ, of the Spirit and his operations, of their state and condition by nature, or of the things of the Gospel; the eyes of many such he opens so as to see their sin and danger, their want of righteousness, and need of Christ, and salvation by him; this is usually done by means of the ministry of the word, which is as an eye salve; but the work is Christ's, and a work of almighty power it is; see Isa 35:4;
the Lord raiseth them that are bowed down; as he did in a literal sense the poor woman that was bowed together, Luk 13:11, and as he does in a spiritual sense such as are heavy laden with sin, and pressed with the burden of it; that are depressed with Satan's temptations, and labour under sore afflictions and exercises; all which he supports his people under, and delivers them out of; and cheers and refreshes their souls with discoveries of his love and grace unto them; see Psa 145:14;
the Lord loveth the righteous; not self-righteous persons; these are not loved by God the Father, who preferred a publican to one of them; nor by Christ, who came not to call them to repentance; nor by the Spirit, who reproves and convinces men of self-righteousness; nor by angels, who rejoice at one sinner that repents more than over ninety and nine just persons who in their own opinion need no repentance: but such who are righteous through Christ's righteousness imputed to them, and there are none righteous in any other way; and these Christ loves, not for any righteousness in them, or done by them; nor does his love flow from his own righteousness upon them, for he loved them from all eternity; and his engaging and undertaking to work out a righteousness for them, and the bringing in of that righteousness, were the fruits and effects of his love to them, and evidences of it; he suffered for them when they were in themselves unjust; he died for them when sinners, ungodly, and enemies; nevertheless, as they are clothed with his perfect righteousness, and are introduced unto him and presented before him in this raiment of needle work, this clothing of wrought gold, this fine linen clean and white; he takes delight and pleasure in them, and they appear a glorious church, without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing.

Gill: Psa 146:9 - -- The Lord preserveth the strangers,.... The life of them, as he did the daughter of: the Greek, a Syrophenician woman, and a Samaritan, by healing them...
The Lord preserveth the strangers,.... The life of them, as he did the daughter of: the Greek, a Syrophenician woman, and a Samaritan, by healing them of their diseases, Mar 7:26; and in a spiritual sense he preserves the lives and saves the souls of his people among the Gentiles, who are aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenant of promise; for these he laid down his life a ransom, and became the propitiation for their sins; to these he sends his Gospel, which is the power of God to salvation unto them;
he relieveth the fatherless and widow; in their distresses and troubles, who have no helper; a wonderful instance of his relieving a widow, in the most disconsolate circumstances, we have in raising the widow of Nain's son to life, and restoring him to his mother, Luk 7:12; in him "the fatherless", and all that in a spiritual sense are destitute of help in the creatures, and see they are so, "find mercy"; nor will he leave his people comfortless, or as orphans and fatherless ones, but will and does come and visit them, relieve and supply them with everything convenient for them; though his church here on earth may seem to be as a widow, he being in heaven at the right hand of God, yet he cares for her in the wilderness, and provides for her support, where she is nourished with the word and ordinances, and will be until he comes again; see Hos 14:3;
but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down; so that they cannot find it; nor their hands perform their enterprise; their schemes and counsels are all confounded and blasted by him, and all their policy and power are not able to prevail against his church and people; see Psa 1:6.

Gill: Psa 146:10 - -- The Lord shall reign for ever,.... The Messiah, who is King of kings and Lord of lords; and in this he is superior to, them, they reign but for a whil...
The Lord shall reign for ever,.... The Messiah, who is King of kings and Lord of lords; and in this he is superior to, them, they reign but for a while, but he for evermore; the throne of majesty and glory on which he sits is for ever and ever; his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom; of his government, and the peace of it, there will be no end; he is King of saints now, and reigns in their hearts, and in his churches, and in the world; and he will reign with his people, and they with him, a thousand years on earth; and then they will reign together to all eternity; see Psa 14:6. Both Jarchi and Kimchi refer this to the Messiah and his kingdom; the note of the former is,
"he shall confirm his kingdom in the redemption or salvation of his children;''
and of the latter,
"it shall be said he is King over all, after he has executed judgment on the wicked in the valley of Jehoshaphat;''
even thy God, O Zion, unto, all generations; he who is Zion's God is Zion's King, head over all things to the church; and this is her joy and comfort in every age, that her God and her King reigns, and will reign for evermore; and especially in a glorious manner in the latter day; see Isa 52:7; and as all this is a solid ground and foundation of truth in the Lord, and serves to encourage saints to make him their help and hope; and shows how happy they are that have him as such; so it is matter of praise and thanksgiving: hence it follows,
praise ye the Lord; or "hallelujah"; and so the psalm ends as it began.

expand allCommentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes
NET Notes: Psa 146:1 Psalm 146. The psalmist urges his audience not to trust in men, but in the Lord, the just king of the world who cares for the needy.


NET Notes: Psa 146:4 Heb “his spirit goes out, it returns to his ground; in that day his plans die.” The singular refers to the representative man mentioned in...




NET Notes: Psa 146:9 Heb “he makes the way of the wicked twisted.” The “way of the wicked” probably refers to their course of life (see Prov 4:19; ...

Geneva Bible: Psa 146:1 Praise ye the LORD. Praise the LORD, O my ( a ) soul.
( a ) He stirs up himself and all his affections to praise God.

Geneva Bible: Psa 146:3 Put not your trust in ( b ) princes, [nor] in the son of man, in whom [there is] no help.
( b ) That God may have the whole praise: in which he forbi...

Geneva Bible: Psa 146:4 His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his ( c ) thoughts perish.
( c ) As their vain opinions, by which they flattered ...

Geneva Bible: Psa 146:6 Which made ( d ) heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein [is]: which keepeth truth for ever:
( d ) He encourages the godly to trust only in ...

Geneva Bible: Psa 146:7 Which executeth judgment ( e ) for the oppressed: which giveth food to the hungry. The LORD looseth the prisoners:
( e ) Whose faith and patience for...

Geneva Bible: Psa 146:8 The LORD openeth [the eyes of] the blind: the LORD raiseth them that are bowed down: the LORD ( f ) loveth the righteous:
( f ) Though he visits them...

Geneva Bible: Psa 146:9 The LORD preserveth the ( g ) strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down.
( g ) Meaning, all ...

Geneva Bible: Psa 146:10 The LORD shall ( h ) reign for ever, [even] thy God, O Zion, unto all generations. Praise ye the LORD.
( h ) He assures the Church that God reigns fo...

expand allCommentary -- Verse Range Notes
TSK Synopsis -> Psa 146:1-10
TSK Synopsis: Psa 146:1-10 - --1 The Psalmist vows perpetual praises to God.3 He exhorts not to trust in man.5 God, for his power, justice, mercy, and kingdom, is only worthy to be ...
MHCC -> Psa 146:1-4; Psa 146:5-10
MHCC: Psa 146:1-4 - --If it is our delight to praise the Lord while we live, we shall certainly praise him to all eternity. With this glorious prospect before us, how low d...

MHCC: Psa 146:5-10 - --The psalmist encourages us to put confidence in God. We must hope in the providence of God for all we need as to this life, and in the grace of God fo...
Matthew Henry -> Psa 146:1-4; Psa 146:5-10
Matthew Henry: Psa 146:1-4 - -- David is supposed to have penned this psalm; and he was himself a prince, a mighty prince; as such, it might be thought, 1. That he should be exempt...

Matthew Henry: Psa 146:5-10 - -- The psalmist, having cautioned us not to trust in princes (because, if we do, we shall be miserably disappointed), here encourages us to put our con...
Keil-Delitzsch: Psa 146:1-4 - --
Instead of "bless,"as in Psa 103:1; Psa 104:1, the poet of this Psalm says "praise."When he attunes his sole to the praise of God, he puts himself p...

Keil-Delitzsch: Psa 146:5-7 - --
Man's help is of no avail; blessed is he (this is the last of the twenty-five אשׁרי of the Psalter), on the contrary, who has the God of Jacob ...

Keil-Delitzsch: Psa 146:7-10 - --
The five lines beginning with Jahve belong together. Each consists of three words, which in the main is also the favourite measure of the lines in ...
Constable: Psa 107:1--150:6 - --V. Book 5: chs. 107--150
There are 44 psalms in this section of the Psalter. David composed 15 of these (108-110...

Constable: Psa 146:1-10 - --Psalm 146
An anonymous psalmist promised to praise the Lord forever because of His greatness and His gra...

Constable: Psa 146:1-4 - --1. Man's inability to save 146:1-4
146:1-2 The writer vowed to praise God the rest of his life.
146:3-4 He then warned against placing trust in human...

Constable: Psa 146:5-6 - --2. God's ability to save 146:5-6
In contrast to those who look to other people for deliverance, ...

Constable: Psa 146:7-10 - --3. Examples of God's power and faithfulness 146:7-10
146:7-9 The poet cited nine examples. In each case Yahweh provides the particular need of the ind...

expand allCommentary -- Other
Evidence -> Psa 146:6; Psa 146:7-9
Evidence: Psa 146:6 Evolution’s circular reasoning . " At least six different radiometric dating methods are available. The assumed age of the sample will dictate which...
