Psalms 146:1-10
1 Praise ye the LORD. Praise the LORD, O my soul.
2 While I live will I praise the LORD: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.
3 Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.a
4 His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.
5 Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God:
6 Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever:
7 Which executeth judgment for the oppressed: which giveth food to the hungry. The LORD looseth the prisoners:
8 The LORD openeth the eyes of the blind: the LORD raiseth them that are bowed down: the LORD loveth the righteous:
9 The LORD preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down.
10 The LORD shall reign for ever, even thy God, O Zion, unto all generations. Praise ye the LORD.
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. Zion here spiritually signifies the new-testament church, built on the tops of the mountains, and exalted above the hills. Micah 4:1.
REFLECTIONS.
This psalm is delicately touched by Dr. Watts: “I'll praise my Maker with my breath.” In addition to what is said in Psalm 104. 106. 107., little need be added here. It breaks out in the Hebrew with amazing boldness: Hallelujah, praise the Lord, oh my soul. It teaches us confidence in God; for though it may be requisite to afflict mankind awhile for their sins, or for their instruction, the Lord thereby heightens the riches of his grace in affording help. Thus even our deepest afflictions, as well as our most signal mercies, are subjects of gratitude to God; and the rudest strokes of providence, strokes which cause frequent tears, shall ultimately terminate in hallelujahs and thanksgivings.
We have a contrast between trusting in the Lord, and trusting in princes, who die like the feeble insect, and that very day all their thoughts and fine promises perish. But the Lord lives to execute judgment, to be eyes to the blind, a husband to the widow, and a father to the orphan.