CXLVI. This Ps., like the remaining Pss. to the end of the Psalter, begins and closes with the word Hallelujah (Praise Yah). These Pss. may originally have formed a collection by themselves. The theme of the Ps. is much the same as that of Psalms 105. It is vain to trust man and a blessed thing to trust in God, who made the heaven and the earth, who protects those who love Him and relieves the desolate and oppressed. read more
INTRODUCTIONIn the Hebrew this Psalm has no superscription. The Septuagint has the superscription, “Hallelujah. Of Haggai and Zechariah;” and is followed in this respect by the Vulgate and the Syriac. This is based perhaps on ancient tradition; but has no higher authority. Modern expositors are generally agreed that the Psalm was composed after the exile. Thus Perowne: “The Psalm bears evident traces, both in style and language, and also in its allusions to other Psalms, of belonging to the... read more
DISCOURSE: 744THE BLESSEDNESS OF TRUSTING IN GODPsalms 146:5. Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God.HOW exalted was the frame of the Psalmist’s mind at the time he penned these words! “Praise ye the Lord. Praise the Lord, O my soul. While I live will I praise the Lord: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being [Note: ver. 1, 2.].” Who that reads these words does not envy him, and desire to be like him? But how shall we attain this... read more
Psalms 146:1-10 Now the final psalms or the Hallel psalms. They begin with hallelujah and end with hallelujah in the Hebrew.Praise ye the LORD. Praise the LORD, O my soul. While I live I will praise the LORD: I will sing praises unto God while I have any being. Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. His breath goes forth, he returns to the earth; in that very day his thoughts perish. Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in... read more
This, and the two following, are called the Hallelujah psalms of Haggai and of Zechariah the prophets, being composed after the captivity. Psalms 146:10 . The Lord shall reign for ever; even thy God, oh Zion. Rabbi Jarchi refers this very justly to the reign of the Messiah. His giving sight to the blind seems to be the reference in Matthew 11:2; and also Isaiah 35:5-7. Zion here spiritually signifies the new-testament church, built on the tops of the mountains, and exalted above the hills.... read more
Psalms 146:1-10Praise ye the Lord.HallelujahI. The grandest resolution (verses 1, 2).1. The author’s belief in the existence of his soul. When this conviction comes, the whole universe is transfigured, and God is brought down from the region of debate and speculation into the realm of consciousness as the Reality of realities.2. His belief in the duty of his soul to worship. This is to have the whole soul transported with the sense of His immeasurable love and the transcendent loveliness of His... read more
Psalms 146:4-5His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth.The philosophy of deathThe text refers to--I. The destiny of all.1. A special day--the day of death.2. A striking view of death.3. Man’s last earthly home.4. The cessation of mental activity.II. The peculiar privileges and happiness of a certain description of character.1. Sustained by the God of Jacob.2. Expecting all good in and from God.3. The blessedness of this character. (J. Burns, D. D.)The mortality of human thoughtI. All... read more
Psalms 146:5Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help. The God of JacobFew of God’s names are more suggestive than the one in the verse before us--the God of Jacob. It is very instructive, for example, and very comforting too, to find that God is willing to have His name so closely associated with that of a human being. The vastness of the material universe, with all its myriad hosts of suns and stars, sometimes staggers our faith, and makes us wonder if human life can really be the... read more
Psa 146:5 Happy [is he] that [hath] the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope [is] in the LORD his God: Ver. 5. Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help ] Since he is the King immortal, all powerful, as Psalms 146:6 , and no less willing, since he is a God in covenant. Whose hope is in the Lord his God ] This is a well grounded hope indeed, and such as will not drag after a man. The leper believed Christ’s power, "Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean." Martha believed his... read more
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G. Campbell Morgan's Exposition on the Whole Bible - Psalms 146:1-10
We now come to the final psalms of adoration, each one of which opens and closes with the great call to praise. “Hallelujah, praise the Lord.” The theme of this first is that of the sufficiency of God as the Helper of His people. It opens with the personal note of determination to praise (vv. Psa 146:1-2 ). As a background the inability of man to help is declared. He is not to be trusted, for “his breath goeth forth.” In contrast with this helplessness the strength of Jehovah is celebrated as... read more