Praise Yah! Praise Yahweh, my soul.
Parallel Translations
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Praise Yah! Praise Yahweh, my soul.
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Praise ye the LORD. Praise the LORD, O my soul.
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Hallelujah. Praise the LORD, O my soul.
Cross-references (4)
Passages linked to Psalms 146:1 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Psalms 103:22–104:1 Praise Yahweh, all you works of his, in all places of his dominion. Praise Yahweh, my soul! Bless Yahweh, my soul. Yahweh, my God, you are very great. You are clothed with honor and majesty.
- Psalms 103:1 Praise Yahweh, my soul! All that is within me, praise his holy name!
- Psalms 104:35 Let sinners be consumed out of the earth. Let the wicked be no more. Bless Yahweh, my soul. Praise Yah!
- Psalms 105:45 that they might keep his statutes, and observe his laws. Praise Yah!
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (24 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 1. Praise Jehovah. The five last Psalms close with…
1. Praise Jehovah. The five last Psalms close with the same word with which they begin. That is, with the word “Hallelujah,” the Hebrew for “Praise Jehovah.” Hence they have been called, “Hallelujah Psalms.”
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain He stirreth up himself and all his affections to…
He stirreth up himself and all his affections to praise God.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Psa 146:1 Praise ye the LORD. Praise the LORD,…
Psa 146:1 Praise ye the LORD. Praise the LORD, O my soul.
Ver. 1. Praise the Lord, O my soul] See Psa 103:1.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain David is supposed to have penned this psalm; and…
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 exempted from the service of praising God, that it was enough for him to see that his priests and people did it, but that he needed not to do it himself in his own person. Michal thought it a disparagement to him to dance before the ark; but he was so far from being of this mind that he would himself be first and foremost in the work, Psa 146:1, Psa 146:2. He considered his dignity as so far from excusing him from it that it rather obliged him to lead in it, and he thought it so far from lessening him that it really magnified him; therefore he stirred up himself to it and to make a business of it: Praise the Lord, O my soul! and he resolved to abide by it: "I will praise him with my heart, I will sing praises to him with my mouth. Herein I will have an eye to him as the Lord, infinitely blessed and glorious in himself, and as my God, in covenant with me." Praise is most pleasant when, in praising God, we have an eye to him as ours, whom we have an interest in and stand in relation to. "This I will do constantly while I live, every day of my life, and to my life's end; nay, I will do it while I have any being, for when I have no being on earth I hope to have a being in heaven, a better being, to be doing it better." That which is the great end of our being ought to be our great employment and delight while we have any being. "In thee must our time and powers be spent." 2. It might be thought that he himself, having been so great a blessing to his country, should be adored, according to the usage of the heathen nations, who deified their heroes, that they should all come and trust in his shadow and make him their stay and strong-hold. "No," says David, "Put not your trust in princes (Psa 146:3), not in me, not in any other; do not repose your confidence in them; do not raise your expectations from them. Be not too sure of their sincerity; some have thought they knew better how to reign by knowing how to dissemble. Be not too sure of their constancy and fidelity; it is possible they may both change their minds and break their words." But, though we suppose them very wise and as good as David himself, yet we must not be too sure of their ability and continuance, for they are sons of Adam, weak and mortal. There is indeed a Son of man in whom there is help, in whom there is salvation, and who will not fail those that trust in him. But all other sons of men are like the man they are sprung of, who, being in honour, did not abide. (1.) We cannot be sure of their ability. Even the power of kings may be so straitened, cramped, and weakened, that they may not be in a capacity to do that for us which we expect. David himself owned (Sa2 3:39), I am this day weak, though anointed king. So that in the son of man there is often no help, no salvation; he is at a loss, at his wits' end, as a man astonished, and then, though a mighty man, he cannot save, Jer 14:9. (2.) We cannot be sure of their continuance. Suppose he has it in his power to help us while he lives, yet he may be suddenly taken off when we expect most from him (Psa 146:4): His breath goes forth, so it does every moment, and comes back again, but that is an intimation that it will shortly go for good and all, and then he returns to his earth. The earth is his, in respect of his original as a man, the earth out of which he was taken, and to which therefore he must return, according to the sentence, Gen 3:19. It is his, if he be a worldly man, in respect of choice, his earth which he has chosen for his portion, and on the things of which he has set his affections. He shall go to his own place. Or, rather, it is his earth because of the property he has in it; and though he has had large possessions on earth a grave is all that will remain to him. The earth God has given to the children of men, and great striving there is about it, and, as a mark of their authority, men call their lands by their own names. But, after a while, no part of the earth will be their own but that in which the dead body shall make its bed, and that shall be theirs while the earth remains. But, when he returns to his earth, in that very day his thoughts perish; all the projects and designs he had of kindness to us vanish and are gone, and he cannot take one step further in them; all his purposes are cut off and buried with him, Job 17:11. And then what becomes of our expectations from him? Princes are mortal, as well as other men, and therefore we cannot have that assurance of help from them which we may have from that Potentate who hath immortality. Cease from man, whose breath is in his nostrils and will not be there long.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Praise ye the Lord,.... Or, "hallelujah"; which, in the…
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.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain The psalmist praises God, and exhorts all to trust…
The psalmist praises God, and exhorts all to trust in him alone, ver. 1-5. Because of his power, faithfulness and everlasting kingdom, ver. 6-10.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain The psalmist, full of gratitude, purposes to praise God…
PSALM CXLVI
The psalmist, full of gratitude, purposes to praise God for
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ever, 1, 2;
and exhorts not to trust in man, not even the most powerful;
for which he gives his reasons, 3, 4.
The great advantage of trusting in God, 5.
The mercies which they who trust in God may expect, 6-9.
The Divine government is everlasting, 10.
NOTES ON PSALM CXLVI
This is the first of the Psalms called Hallelujah Psalms, of which there are five, and which conclude the book. No author's name is prefixed to this, either in the Hebrew or Chaldee. But the Syriac, Vulgate, Septuagint, AEthiopic, and Arabic, attribute it to Haggai and Zechariah. It was probably written after the captivity, and may refer to the time when Cyrus, prejudiced by the enemies of the Jews, withdrew his order for the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem, to which revocation of the royal edict the third verse may refer: Put not your trust in princes, &c.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Praise ye the Lord - “Ye” - all people.…
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.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain Psalms 146
Psalms 146
1 Praise ye the Lord.
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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.
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.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Contents and Composition.—This Psalm begins and ends with the familiar liturgical formula (Psalms 111 ff.). It has many points of coincidence with the preceding; but this does not necessarily lead to the conclusion that both were composed by the same author (Delitzsch), or that the one before us is the last of a dodecade, supposed to begin with Psalms 135. (Hengstenberg). It is merely its place in the Psalter that is due to this relationship, being the first of the five Hallelujah-Psalms which conclude the collection. At a later time this last group was used in the daily morning prayers, portions of other Psalms and Books of the Old Testament being united with it. Among the Rabbins the name Hallel was applied sometimes to this whole group, and sometimes to its several parts, but especially to Psalms 148, 150; but it was called the Greek Hallel, in distinction from the so-called Egyptian Hallel, recited at the feasts.
The allusion in 1Ma_2:63 to Psa_146:4 does not decide for a composition in the Maccabæan period (Venema). It is taken specially by Hitzig as an allusion to the name of Demetrius. The superscription in the Septuagint, Vulgate, and Syriac: Of Haggai and Zechariah, is of just as little historical value. We can only infer from the language a post-exilic period, and from the contents a condition of the people in which they were oppressed, and in need of consolation and direction to look to God for aid. The purpose of the Psalm is to give this direction by exhibiting some of God’s attributes. After a preliminary warning not to trust in princes, for they are perishable men (Psa_146:3-4), these attributes are presented, supporting the declaration that the man is blessed who relies with all assurance upon the God of Israel as his God (Psa_146:5-9). These strophes form the kernel of the Psalm, and are inclosed by an introduction, in which the Psalmist calls upon himself and promises to praise God (Psa_146:1-2), and a conclusion (Psa_146:10) full of assurance of the uninterrupted and eternal continuance of Jehovah’s kingly government.
[Hengstenberg: “That this Psalm is not contemporaneous with the preceding Davidic Psalm. … is clear from the fact that it does not rest upon the Davidic Psalms, and from the traces it contains of a late post-exile period—the hallelujah, which is never found in Psalms which bear the name of David, comp. Psalms 104, where it first occurs, and Psalms 105; the borrowing of Psa_146:1-2 from Psalms 104, which was composed after the exile, and of Psa_146:3 from Psalms 118, which was sung when the foundation of the Second Temple was laid. That the Psalm was composed at a period of great depression for the people of God, is indicated by the predicates of God, which are all of a kind fitted to elevate the distressed, console the afflicted, and give them confidence in their God.”—J. F. M.]
Psa_146:1-8. The introduction follows Psa_104:1; Psa_104:33-34, comp. Psa_103:22. Psa_146:3 recalls Psa_118:8 f., Jer_17:5; and Psa_146:4, Psa_104:29. Psa_146:5 is similarly related to Psa_144:15; Psa_33:12; Psa_35:2 after Exo_18:4; the beginning of Psa_146:6, to Psa_115:15; Psa_121:2; Psa_124:8; Psa_134:3; Psa_146:7 a., to Psa_103:6; Psa_146:7 b., to Psa_104:27 f., Psa_107:9, Psa_136:25, if not to Psa_33:19; Psa_37:19; Psa_146:7 c. to Psa_105:20. [On Psa_146:6, Perowne: “Who keepeth. In the series of participles marking the several acts or attributes of God in this and the next two verses, this only has the article prefixed, perhaps because the Psalmist designed to give a certain prominence or emphasis to this attribute of God, that He is One ‘who keepeth truth for ever.’ It is in fact the central thought of the Psalm. For upon this ground beyond all others is God the object of trust. He is true and His word is truth, and that word He keeps not for a time but for ever.” In Psa_146:8 the context shows that it is a figure applied to physical weakness, as in Deu_28:29.—J. F. M.]
Psa_146:9-10. The strangers are usually combined in the singular with widows and orphans (Deut. and often). The plural here is scarcely to be referred to the Jews who dwelt together for defence in foreign lands (Hitzig). The crooked way of the wicked, in which death lies (Pro_12:28), is turned by Jehovah down towards, hell (Pro_15:24, comp. Pro_2:18, Pro_1:6). [Delitzsch: “There is only a single line devoted to this manifestation of Jehovah’s punitive justice. For He rules in love and wrath, but delights most to rule in love. And Jehovah is the God of Zion. The eternal duration of His kingdom is also the pledge of its glorious perfection, the triumph of love. Hallelujah!”—J. F. M.]
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
God’s love the ground of our life and the matter of our eternal praise.—Alas, how often do we trust when we should be afraid, and become afraid when we should trust!—God has not only the power, He has also the will to help; and in both He remains unchangeably the same; but it is only those who trust in Him, that can make His faithfulness their consolation.
Starke: He who makes a man his god, must be expecting his god to die every hour.—On meditating upon the frailty of life, let us strive to make all our plans pleasing to God, and then we will be able to enjoy their results in eternity.—If you find anything in the world to give you confidence, do not make it your strength. What is not the God of Jacob, is not to be your strength.—Fidelity and truth are declining very much among men in these last times; let true Christians then rely all the more upon the faithfulness of the God who abides by His promises.—God is to His children all that they need. Nothing can befall them in the world, against which He cannot afford comfort, counsel and aid—What a sweet word: the Lord loves thee! I would not take a kingdom for that word. Love unites God’s heart to mine.—The everlasting kingdom of Christ affords reason to the citizens of the spiritual Zion, both now and for ever, to praise God.
Frisch: He who does not pass his life in the praise of God, is dead while he liveth.—The favor of all men is worthless when God does not favor.—When the favor of men ceases, that of God begins, and when the children of man withdraw the hand, then God truly begins to care for us.—Rieger: The exhortation to praise God out of true trust in Him, is fitly accompanied by the warning, not to trust in man.—Guenther: It is as though the psalms of praise Which arise from the suppliant’s lips, returned to him from God, as means of sanctification.—Taube: How the precious name of the Lord becomes explained to us in different kinds of distress! the Saviour and Helper, the Redeemer and Liberator, the Comforter, the Physician of Israel, the Defender of His people, the Father and Guardian!—A blissful vision of the time of fulfilment in the kingdom of rest, and the subject of our hallelujahs.
[Matt. Henry: Then is praise most pleasant when in praising God we have an eye to Him as ours, whom we have an interest in, and stand in relation to.—That which is the great end of our being ought to be our enjoyment and employment while we have any being.—It is a great support to faith, that the Redeemer of the world is the same who was the Creator of it, and therefore has a good will to it, a perfect knowledge of its case, and power to help it.—Bp. Horne: There are no changes in the politics of heaven.—Scott: With these glorious prospects before our eyes, how mean do the pursuits of ambition or connections with the great seem to us! and how needful does it appear to dissuade men from this common but destructive idolatry!—J. F. M.]
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 1. O my soul—The Hebrew, having no reflexive pronoun,…
1. O my soul—The Hebrew, having no reflexive pronoun, uses “soul” for self, “my soul” being myself; nor is the expression disagreeable in English.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 1. Praise ve Jah] Hallelujah! See note on Psa_104:35.…
1. Praise ve Jah] Hallelujah! See note on Psa_104:35. The words are omitted in P.B.V. as belonging to the title rather than to the Psalm.
praise Jehovah, O my soul] Cp. Bless Jehovah, O my soul, Psa_103:1; Psa_103:22; Psa_104:1; Psa_104:35. In this and the following verse the worship of the congregation is individualised: the Psalmist speaks for himself, and offers to each worshipper words wherewith to stir himself up to praise, and to express his purpose.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (1, 2) Praise.—Following Psa_103:1; Psa_103:22; Psa_104:33, “praise” being substituted…
(1, 2) Praise.—Following Psa_103:1; Psa_103:22; Psa_104:33, “praise” being substituted for “bless.”
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain THE psalter ends with a cluster of "Hallelujah Psalms,"…
THE psalter ends with a cluster of "Hallelujah Psalms," five in number, all of them both beginning and ending with the phrase. In the Hebrew none of them has any" title;" but it is generally considered that the Septuagint title of the majority Aggaiou kai Zecariou embodies a true tradition, and that they are the "Songs of the Return from the Captivity," added to the Psalter by the Prophets Haggai and Zechariah. They form a portion of the daily morning service of the Jews. Psalm 146, praises God as the only true Helper. Metrically, it fails into two portions a short opening strophe of four verses (vers. 1-4), and a second longer strophe of six verses (vers. 5-10), setting forth the blessedness of those who take God for their Help.
Praise ye the Lord. (comp. on Psa_111:1) Praise the Lord, O my soul. (see Psa_103:1, 2 104:1, which only differ in the verb used for "praise
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Vers. 1-10. Three fulfillments.
There are three ways in which these verses (or most of them) have been or are fulfilled.
I IN DIVINE PROVIDENCE. In God"s dealing with his people Israel.
1. Israel found, again and again, that it was not in human alliances, but in the living God, that its true help was found (vers. 3-5). Princes and powers proved to be but broken reeds; but while Jehovah was sought and served, everything was secure.
2. Israel in captivity found its true hope and help in the living God. Though they were strangers in Babylon, yet they were not unkindly treated, and some of them rose to high places in the kingdom (ver. 9). Afflicted with "judicial blindness," they gained enlightenment in the land of exile, and learned truth there (respecting the Divine unity) which they never lost (ver. 8). God"s word of promise was fulfilled, and he proved himself to be the Lord of truth and faithfulness, and the Lord of all power and might (ver. 6). God "lifted up" their hearts when "bowed down;" he gave them the precious hope of restoration; he opened the prison door and set the captives free (ver. 7). Thus he executed judgment for the oppressed (ver. 7), as he had done more strikingly when Israel groaned under the bondage and hardships of Egypt.
II IN THE LIFE AND WORK OF JESUS CHRIST. In the course of his ministry our Lord wrought these wonders, conferred these very blessings with a kind and bountiful hand. He fed the hungry in their need. (Mt 14 Mt 15) He set free the poor lepers who were bound fast by stern prohibitions, and let them return to their own home, and released those who were enslaved still more sadly by demoniac possession. He opened the eyes of those who had lost their sight, or were actually born blind. He raised up the prostrate paralytic, and straightened with gentle hand the woman that was so "bowed down that she could in no wise lift herself up". (Mt 9 Lu 13) He showed kindness to "the stranger," to the Samaritan leper, to the Syro-phoenician woman. He was most gracious to those who were "bowed down" under the weight of social hatred and contempt; he "raised" the publican and sinner, and gave them a place by his side in his kingdom.
III IN OUR OWN SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE. The Lord Jesus Christ now, by the means of his sacred truth and by the power of his Divine Spirit, does "greater things than these" at which men marveled when he lived on earth.
1. He satisfies the hungry and thirsty souls with heavenly wisdom. We earnestly, perhaps intensely, crave the truth which, try how we may, we cannot discover by our own efforts the truth about our God and ourselves, and the way to life eternal. He who is himself "the Way, the Truth, and the Life" can and does minister to our hungering hearts, and gives us the bread of which he that eats never hungers more.
2. He breaks the bonds of those who have been bound down; he looseth the prisoners those enslaved by vice and sin, held fast in the cords of their own iniquity, needing a Divine hand to release them. (Joh_8:36)
3. He enlightens our understanding, he illumines our soul, so that we see that to which we had been blind before our own sinfulness, the freedom and fullness of the grace of God, the blessedness of his salvation, the liberty of loving service.
4. He gives rest and peace to the burdened spirit. We have been "bowed down" under the weight of conscious guilt; but in Jesus Christ we have peace deep, true, lasting; the peace of God Christ"s own peace. (Rom_5:1 Php_4:7 Joh_14:27)
5. He offers his friendship to the obedient; he "loveth the righteous." We are his friends if we keep his commandments; he "will love us and manifest himself to us if we keep his Word,
HOMILIES BY C. SHORT Vers. 1-10. God alone worthy of trust.
"Bears evident traces of belonging to the post-Exile literature; and the words of vers. 7-9 are certainly no inapt expression of the feelings which would naturally be called forth at a time immediately subsequent to the return from the Captivity.
I EVEN THE MIGHTIEST OF MANKIND ARE UNWORTHY OF TRUST.
1. They cannot save in our greatest extremities. "In whom is no help." From want of ability and often from want of wilt.
2. The plans and projects of man soon come to an end. (Ver. 4) His purposes perish, and he passes away. The masters of one age are deposed by those who come after them, and their systems are exploded.
II THOSE ONLY ARE HAPPY WHO TRUST IN JEHOVAH. (Vers. 5-10)
1. God is the almighty Creator. (Ver. 6) Of the heavens, the earth, the sun, and all living things. This is power, spiritual and physical.
2. God unchangeably adheres to the fulfillment of his promises. (Ver. 6) "Keepeth truth for ever." Men easily change their mind, and do not keep their word.
3. He obtains right for the oppressed. (Ver. 7) Cannot allow unrighteous men a final triumph over the weak and unprotected. Succors those who suffer wrong without doing wrong.
4. Provides daily bread for the poor and needy. (Ver. 7) God is a bountiful God, "who giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not.
5. Is beneficent and gracious, as the Ruler of men. (Vers. 7-9) "Looseth the prisoners". (Isa_61:1) "Openeth the eyes of the blind both of the mind and the body. "Raiseth up the fallen, and upholds the fainting." "He loveth the righteous," but he is tender towards all the naturally defenseless the strangers, the widow, and the fatherless.
6. God"s kingdom endureth forever. (Ver. 10) The eternal duration of his kingdom is the guarantee for its future glorious completion, and for the ultimate victories of love. S.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon 1885 · Public Domain & etc. We are now among the Hallelujahs. The…
& etc. We are now among the Hallelujahs. The rest of our journey lies through the Delectable Mountains. All is praise to the close of the book. The key is high pitched: the music is upon the high sounding cymbals. O for a heart full of joyful gratitude, that we may run, and leap, and glorify God, even as these Psalms do.
Alexander thinks that this song may be regarded as composed of two equal parts; in the first we see the happiness of those who trust in God, and not in man (Ps 146:1-5), while the second gives the reason drawn from the Divine perfections (Ps 146:5-10). This might suffice for our purpose; but as there is really no break at all, we will keep it entire. It is "one pearl", a sacred censer of holy incense, pouring forth one sweet perfume.
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Ver. 1. Praise ye the LORD, or, Hallelujah. It is saddening to remember how this majestic word has been trailed in the mire of late. Its irreverent use is an aggravated instance of taking the name of Jehovah our God in vain. Let us hope that it has been done in ignorance by the ruder sort; but great responsibility lies with leaders who countenance and even copy this blasphemy. With holy awe let us pronounce the word HALLELUJAH, and by it summon ourselves and all others to adore the God of the whole earth. Men need to be called to praise; it is important that they should praise; and there are many reasons why they should do it at once. Let all who hear the word Hallelujah unite immediately in holy praise.
Praise the LORD, O my soul. He would practise what he had preached. He would be the leader of the choir which he had summoned. It is a poor business if we solely exhort others, and do not stir up our own soul. It is an evil thing to say, "Praise ye", and never to add, "Praise, O my soul." When we praise God let us arouse our innermost self, our central life: we have but one soul, and if it be saved from eternal wrath, it is bound to praise its Saviour. Come heart, mind, thought! Come my whole being, my soul, my all, be all on flame with joyful adoration! Up, my brethren! Lift up the song! "Praise ye the Lord." But what am I at? How dare I call upon others, and be negligent myself? If ever man was under bonds to bless the Lord I am that man, wherefore let me put my soul into the centre of the choir, and then let my better nature excite my whole manhood to the utmost height of loving praise. "O for a well tuned harp!" Nay, rather, O for a sanctified heart. Then if my voice should be of the poorer sort, and somewhat lacking in melody, yet my soul without my voice shall accomplish my resolve to magnify the Lord.
Ps 146:1-148:14. At the dedication of the second Temple, in the beginning of the seventh year of Darius, Ps 146:1-10 Ps 147:1-20 and Ps 148:1-14, seem to have been sung; for in the Septuagint Version they are styled the Psalms of Haggai and Zechariah, as if they had been composed by them for this occasion. This, no doubt, was from some ancient tradition; but in the original Hebrew these Psalms have no such title prefixed to them, neither have they any other to contradict it. Humphrey Prideaux.
Ps 146:1-150:6. We do not know who put together these different sacred compositions, or whether they were arranged on any particular principle. This, however, is obvious, that the last series, those that close the whole, are full of praise. Though we meet frequently with grief and shame and tears in the former part, a great deal that presses upon the spirit, and in the centre a great many references to the various vicissitudes and fortunes through which the church or the individual has passed, yet, as we get towards the end, and as the book closes, it is Hallelujahpraise. As the ancient church ceases to speak to us, as she lays down her lyre, and ceases to touch it, the last tones are tones of heaven; as if the warfare were done, the conflict accomplished, and she were anticipating either the revelations which are to make her glorious here, the "new thing" which God is about to "create" when he places her under another dispensation, or as you and I (I trust) shall do when we come to die, anticipating the praise and occupation of that eternity and rest for which we hope in the bosom of God. Thomas Binney, 1798-1874.
Whole Psalm. This Psalm gives in brief the Gospel of Confidence. It inculcates the elements of Faith, Hope, and Thanksgiving. Martin Geier.
Ver. 1. Praise ye the LORD. The word here used is Alleluia, and this is very proper to be constantly used by us who are dependent creatures, and under such great obligations to the Father of mercies. We have often heard of prayer doing great wonders; but instances also are not wanting of praise being accompanied with signal events. The ancient Britons, in the year 420, obtained a victory over the army of the Picts and Saxons, near Mold, in Flintshire. The Britons, unarmed, having Germanicus and Lupus at their head, when the Picts and Saxons came to the attack, the two commanders, Gideon like ordered their little army to shout Alleluia three times over, at the sound of which the enemy, being suddenly struck with terror, ran away in the greatest confusion, and left the Britons masters of the field. A stone monument to perpetuate the remembrance of this Alleluia victory, I believe, remains to this day, in a field near Mold. Charles Buck, 1771-1815.
Ver. 1. Praise the LORD, O My soul. The Psalmist calls upon the noblest element of his being to exercise its noblest function. Hermann Venema.
Ver. 1.
1. An exhortation: it is addressed to ourselves: "Praise ye the Lord."
2. An example: the Psalmist cries to himself, "Praise the Lord."
3. An echo: "Praise the Lord, O my soul." Let us say this to our own souls.
Ver. 1. Whom should I praise? And why? And when? And how?
Ver. 1. Public worship.
1. Should be with a sense of fellowship: "Praise ye": pleasures of communion in praise.
2. Should never lose its individuality: "O my soul." God is only praised by individual hearts. Temptations to wandering in public services.
3. Should be full of Jehovah's felt presence: each and all should worship him alone. W.B.H.
Psalms 146:2*
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain Praise ye the Lord.
Psa_146:1-10
Praise ye the Lord.
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Hallelujah
I. The grandest resolution (verses 1, 2).
1. The authors 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 character,--to have the soul following Him as the planets follow the sun, drawing from Him harmony of movement, radiance, and life. The words imply--
3. His conviction that he must rouse himself to the work. O my soul. No soul can worship unless it rouses. Man has the power of self-motion and self-resolve. We cannot be carried up the lofty heights of true devotion; we must climb the rugged slopes ourselves. Ten thousand voices from above are constantly saying to us, Come up hither.
II. The unreliability of mankind (verses 3, 4).
1. Mens bodies are dying.
2. Mens purposes are perishing. The great shores of destiny are crowded with the wrecks of purposes that have been broken, unfulfilled hopes, unrealized plans, etc. Wherefore, then, put trust in princes or in mankind? Sooner a house built on the sand, and in defiance of the laws of gravitation, to shelter you from the tempest, or the most fragile canoe to bear you in safety over the Atlantic billows.
III. The happiest condition (Psa_146:5-9).
1. The God of Jacob is--
(1) All powerful.
(2) Absolutely truthful.
(3) Infinitely merciful.
2. Here, then, is an Object on which to rely, Trust in Him who liveth for ever.
IV. The wrongdoers destiny (verse 9). The way of the wicked He turneth aside.
1. From what? From all that can render their existence worth having,--from pure friendship, from peace of conscience, from pure loves, from bright and unquenchable hopes. He turns them aside.
2. How? Not by His will, not by the force of circumstances, not by the influence He exerts, no; but by their own free agency they turn themselves upside down, they go of their own accord on the broad way that leads to destruction. (David Thomas, D. D.)
Hallelujah
I am sorry to see that great word, Hallelujah, Hallelu-Jah, praise to Jah, Jehovah, become so hackneyed as it is, by talk about Hallelujah lasses, and Hallelujah--I know not what. The Jews will not even pronounce the word Jab, or write it; it seems a great pity that it should be thus draggled in the dirt by Gentiles. Praise ye the Lord. Whenever you make use of the word Hallelujah, let it be with the due reverence which should be given to that blessed name, for remember, the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
His last song
A touching story is told of an old Methodist, a singer of no mean order, who was afflicted with a cancer on his tongue. He went to a hospital for an operation, and there this pathetic incident occurred. Holding up his hand, he said, Wait a bit, doctor; I have something to say to you. The operator waited, and the patient continued, When this is over, doctor, shall I ever sing again? The doctor could not speak; there was a big lump in his own throat. He simply shook his head, while the tears streamed down the poor fellows face, and he trembled convulsively. The sick man then appealed to the doctor to lift him up, with which request the physician complied. He said, I have had many a good time singing Gods praises, and you tell me, doctor, I can never sing any more after this. I have one song to sing, which will be the last. It will be a song of gratitude and praise to God as well. Then, from the operators table, the poor man sang one of Dr. Watts hymns, so familiar to many:--
Ill praise my Maker while Ive breath.
(Sunday Circle.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Expositor's Bible 1887 · Public Domain Psalms 146
Psalms 146
THE long-drawn music of the Psalter closes with five Hallelujah psalms, in which, with constantly swelling diapason, all themes of praise are pealed forth, until the melodious thunder of the final psalm, which calls on everything that has breath to praise Jehovah. Possibly the number of these psalms may have reference to the five books into which the Psalter is divided.
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This is the first of the five. It is largely coloured by earlier songs, but still throbs with fresh emotion. Its theme is the blessedness of trust in Jehovah, as shown by His character and works. It deals less with Israels special prerogatives than its companions do, while yet it claims the universally beneficent Ruler as Israels God.
The singers full heart of thanksgiving must first pour itself out in vows of perpetual praise, before he begins to woo others to the trust which blesses him. Exhortations are impotent unless enforced by example. Psa_146:2 is borrowed with slight variation from Psa_104:33.
The negative side of the psalmists exhortation follows in Psa_146:3-4 which warn against wasting trust on powerless men. The same antithesis between men and God as objects of confidence occurs in many places of Scripture, and here is probably borrowed from Psa_118:8. The reason assigned for the dehortation is mainly mans mortality. However high his state, he is but a "son of Adam" (the earth born), and inherits the feebleness and fleetingness which deprive him of ability to help. "He has no salvation" is the literal rendering of the last words of Psa_146:3 b. Psa_60:11 gives the same thought, and almost in the same words. Psa_146:4 sets forth more fully mans mortality, as demonstrating the folly of trusting in him. His breath or spirit escapes; he goes back to "his earth," from which he was created; and what becomes of all his busy schemes? They "perish" as he does. The psalmist has a profound sense of the phantasmal character of the solid-seeming realities of human glory and power. But it wakes no bitterness in him, nor does it breathe any sadness into his song. It only teaches him to cling the more closely to the permanent and the real. His negative teaching, if it stood alone, would be a gospel of despair, the reduction of life to a torturing cheat; but taken as the prelude to the revelation of One whom it is safe to trust, there is nothing sad in it. So the psalm springs up at once from these thoughts of the helplessness of mortal man, to hymn the blessedness of trust set upon the undying God, like a song bird from its lair in a graveyard, which pours its glad notes above the grassy mounds, as it rises in spirals towards the blue, and at each gives forth a more exultant burst of music.
The exclamation in Psa_146:5 is the last of the twenty-five "Blesseds" in the Psalter. Taken together, as any concordance will show, beginning with Psalms 1, they present a beautiful and comprehensive ideal of the devout life. The felicity of such a life is here gathered up into two comprehensive considerations, which supplement each other. It is blessed to have the God of Jacob on our side; but it is not enough for the heart to know that He bore a relation to another in the far-off past or to a community in the present. There must be an individualising bond between the soul and God, whereby the "God of Jacob" becomes the God who belongs to the single devout man, and all the facts of whose protection in the past are renewed in the prosaic present. It is blessed to have Jehovah for ones "help," but that is only secured when, by the effort of ones own will, He is clasped as ones "hope." Such hope is blessed, for it will never be put to shame, nor need to shift its anchorage. It brings into any life the all-sufficient help which is the ultimate source of all felicity, and makes the hope that grasps it blessed, as the hand that holds some fragrant gum is perfumed by the touch.
But the psalmist passes swiftly from celebrating trust to magnify its object, and sets forth in an impressive series the manifold perfections and acts which witness that Jehovah is worthy to be the sole Confidence of men.
The nine Divine acts, which invite to trust in Him, are divided into two parts, by a change in construction. There is, first, a series of participles (Psa_146:6-7 b), and then a string of brief sentences enumerating Divine deeds (Psa_146:7-9). No very clear difference in thought can be established as corresponding to this difference in form. The psalmist begins with Gods omnipotence as manifested in creation. The first requisite for trust is assurance of power in the person trusted. The psalmist calls heaven and earth and sea, with all their inhabitants as witnesses that Jehovah is not like the son of man, in whom there is no power to help.
But power may be whimsical, changeable, or may shroud its designs in mystery; therefore, if it is to be trusted, its purposes and methods must be so far known that a man may be able to reckon on it. Therefore the psalm adds unchangeable faithfulness to His power. But Power, however faithful, is not yet worthy of trust, unless it works according to righteousness, and has an arm that wars against wrong; therefore to creative might and plighted troth the psalmist adds the exercise of judgment. Nor are these enough, for the conception which they embody may be that of a somewhat stern and repellent Being, who may be reverenced, but not approached with the warm heart of trust; therefore the psalmist adds beneficence, which ministers their appropriate food to all desires, not only of the flesh, but of the spirit. The hungry hearts of men, who are all full of needs and longing, may turn to this mighty, faithful, righteous Jehovah, and be sure that He never sends mouths but He sends meat to fill them. All our various kinds of hunger are doors for God to come into our spirits.
The second series of sentences deals mainly with the Divine beneficence in regard to mans miseries. The psalmist does not feel that the existence of these sad varieties of sorrow clouds his assurance in Gods goodness. To him they are occasions for the most heart-touching display of Gods pitying, healing hand. If there is any difference between the two sets of clauses descriptive of Gods acts, the latter bring into clearer light His personal agency in each case of suffering. This mighty, faithful, righteous, beneficent Jehovah, in all the majesty which that name suggests, comes down to the multitude of burdened ones and graciously deals with each, having in His heart the knowledge of, and in His hand the remedy for, all their ills. The greatness of His nature expressed by His name is vividly contrasted with the tenderness and lowliness of His working. Captives, blind persons, and those bowed down by sorrows or otherwise appeal to Him by their helplessness, and His strong hand breaks the fetters, and His gentle touch opens without pain the closed eyes and quickens the paralysed nerve to respond to the light, and His firm, loving hold lifts to their feet and establishes the prostrate. All these classes of afflicted persons are meant to be regarded literally, but all may have a wider meaning and be intended to hint at spiritual bondage, blindness, and abjectness.
The next clause (Psa_146:8 c) seems to interrupt the representation of forms of affliction, but it comes in with great significance in the centre of that sad catalogue: for its presence here teaches that not merely affliction, whether physical or other, secures Jehovahs gracious help, but that there must be the yielding of heart to Him, and the effort at conformity of life with His precepts and pattern, if His aid is to be reckoned on in mens sorrows. The prisoners will still languish in chains, the blind will grope in darkness, the bowed down will lie prone in the dust, unless they are righteous.
The series of afflictions which God alleviates is resumed in Psa_146:9 with a pathetic triad-strangers. widows, and fatherless. These are forlorn indeed, and the depth of their desolation is the measure of the Divine compassion. The enumeration of Jehovahs acts, which make trust in God blessed in itself, and the sure way of securing help which is not vain, needs but one more touch for completion, and that is added in the solemn thought that He, by His providences and in the long run, turns aside (i.e. from its aim) the way of the wicked. That aspect of Gods government is lightly handled in one clause, as befits the purpose of the psalm. But it could not be left out. A true likeness must have shadows. God were not a God for men to rely on, unless the trend of His reign was to crush evil and thwart the designs of sinners.
The blessedness of trust in Jehovah is gathered up into one great thought in the last verse of the psalm. The sovereignty of God to all generation., suggests the swift disappearance of earthly princes, referred to in Psa_146:4. To trust in fleeting power is madness; to trust in the Eternal King is wisdom and blessedness, and in some sense makes him who trusts a sharer in the eternity of the God in whom is his hope, and from whom is his help.
William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain In the Hebrew this Psalm has no superscription. The…
INTRODUCTION
In 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 post-exile literature.” All that can be determined concerning the occasion of its composition is well expressed by Hengstenberg: “That the Psalm was composed in a period of depression for the people of God, is indicated by the predicates given to God, which are all of a kind fitted to elevate the distressed, to console the afflicted, and give them confidence in their God.”
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This is the first of a series of five Hallelujah Psalms, with which the Psalter is closed. At a later time this series was used in the daily morning prayers, in conjunction with portions of other Psalms and Books of the Old Testament.
The Psalm is chiefly an exhortation and an argument to trust not in man, but in Jehovah.
TRUST AND PRAISE
Let us notice—
I. The trust prohibited.
“Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no help,” &c. Trust even in the most exalted and powerful of men is here prohibited; and reasons are given for the prohibition. Trust them not, because of—
1. Their inability. “Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no help,” or “salvation.” We are prone to confide in the great and the high ones of the earth, who seem able to do for us, able to help us, to promote us to rank and wealth, and to establish our state, therefore the Psalmist declares that no man, not even the mightiest, has power to save either himself or others. Prince and pauper are alike destitute of salvation in themselves; alike they must receive it from God, or remain without it. “He giveth salvation to kings.”
2. Their mortality. “His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.” Here are three points:—
(1.) The termination of bodily life. “His breath goeth forth.” Without respiration, i.e., without inspiration and expiration, we cannot live. While there is breath there is life. But the time comes when expiration takes place, and is not followed by inspiration; when “his breath goeth forth” and returns not again, and life has ceased. Death
“Is the cessation of our breath;
Silent and motionless we lie,
And no one knoweth more than this,
I saw our little Gertrude die;
She left off breathing, and no more
I smooth’d the pillow beneath her head.”
(2.) The destiny of the body. “He returneth to his earth.” Barnes says, “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) (b.) The earth—the dust—the grave is his, as it is his home—the place where he will abide. (c.) 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!”
(3.) The failure of temporal projects. “In that very day his thoughts perish.” All man’s plans and purposes which relate only to time and this world are cut off by death. The patriarch Job gives striking utterance to this truth: “My days are past, my purposes are broken off, even the thoughts of my heart.” When the breath goeth forth, “however grand the conception, however masterly the execution, all come to an end. The science, the philosophy, the statesmanship of one age is exploded in the next. The men who are the masters of the world’s intellect to-day are discrowned to-morrow. In this age of restless and rapid change they may survive their own thoughts: their thoughts do not survive them.” This truth has a very dread aspect to those whose thoughts and purposes are wholly or even chiefly of the things of sense and time; and this aspect our Lord brings into prominence in Luk_12:16-21. But the practical aspect of this truth with which we have now to do is that which shows the utter vanity of man as an object of human trust. All the kind purposes and designs which man has for us come to an end when he dies; and all the hopes that are placed on him perish at his death. Therefore, “Trust not in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no help,” &c. “Cursed is the man that trusteth in man,” &c. (Jer_17:5-8).
II. The trust encouraged. “Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help,” &c. (Psa_146:5-10). We regard the word “Jacob” as denoting in this place the whole people of Israel; and “the God of Jacob” as the Lord Jehovah whom they worshipped, in contradistinction to the gods of the heathen. The position of the Psalmist is, that they are blessed who trust in Him; and that for the following reasons:—because of—
1. His almighty power. “Who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that therein is.” The creation of the world manifests the omnipotence of God, and this is engaged on behalf of them whose hope is in Him. The Divine name which is here used (אֵל = God) is also expressive of strength. He is strong to succour and help His people.
2. His unchangeable fidelity. “Who keepeth truth for ever.” Perowne holds that this is “the central thought of the Psalm. For on this ground beyond all others is God the object of trust. He is true, and His word is truth, and that word He keeps, not for a time, but for ever.” “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away.”
3. His righteous judgment. “Who executeth judgment for the oppressed.” “The Lord executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.” By His Providence He calmly and steadfastly works for the vindication of the injured. And in the last judgment He will redress every wrong, &c.
4. His bountifulness to the needy. “Who giveth food to the hungry.” “He satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.” “The hungry,” says Hengstenberg, “represents generally all who stand in need of help.” Jehovah is the liberal benefactor of all the necessitous, and especially those of them who trust in Him.
5. His compassion for the afflicted. The poet mentions several classes of distressed or troubled men, and of God’s gracious dealings with each class.
(1.) “Jehovah looseth the prisoners.” By the prisoners we understand captives—those that are bound, and those also who are in the prison of distress. He thus set Israel free from their bondage in Egypt, and afterwards from their captivity in Assyria. Christ is the great Emancipator. It is His “to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to the bound.” “If the Son shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”
(2.) “Jehovah openeth the eyes of the blind.” Heb., lit.: “Jehovah openeth the blind.” Hengstenberg: “The blind are the naturally blind, and such as cannot discern the way of salvation without wisdom and help; blindness occurs as an image of want of wisdom and support in Deu_28:29; Isa_59:10; Job_12:25.” (Comp. also Psa_119:18; Isa_35:5.)
(3.) “Jehovah raiseth up them that are bowed down.” Those who are weighed down and crushed by the burden of anxiety, trial, or sorrow, He sustains and cheers. (See our remarks on Psa_145:14.)
(4.) “Jehovah preserveth the strangers, He relieveth the fatherless and widow.” Instead of “relieveth” Hengstenberg translates, “raises up;” and Perowne, “setteth up.” “The stranger, the widow, and the fatherless are representatives of persons in a miserable condition;” they are “the three great examples of natural defencelessness.” The Lord succours all the helpless; He has a gracious regard for all who stand in special need of His care; He espouses the cause of the destitute and the weak. “A Father of the fatherless, and a Judge of the widows, is God in His holy habitation.” In Him “the fatherless findeth mercy.”
6. His complacency in His people. “Jehovah loveth the righteous.” Starke says, “What a sweet word: the Lord loves thee! I would not take a kingdom for that word. Love unites God’s heart to mine.” And how broad and firm is the basis of trust which it supplies!
7. His righteous retribution to the wicked. “The way of the wicked He turneth upside down.” Perowne: “He turneth aside.” Conant: “He subverteth” The projects of the wicked Jehovah defeats. Under His government their way leads down to ruin. Moll: “The crooked way of the wicked in which death lies (Pro_12:28) is turned by Jehovah down towards hell (Pro_15:24; comp. Psa 2:18, Psa_1:6). “Delitzsch:” There is only a single line devoted to Jehovah’s punitive justice. For He rules in love and wrath, but delights most to rule in love.”
8. His everlasting reign. “The Lord shall reign for ever; thy God, O Zion, unto all generations.” No opposition can shake His throne. All the subtlety and strength of His enemies are utterly powerless against Him. (On the everlasting reign of Jehovah, see vol. i. pp. 224 and 385.) In the perpetuity of His reign we have another evidence of the blessedness of those who trust in Him. Surveying all these reasons for confidence, are we not prepared with the accent of conviction to say with the Psalmist, “Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God”? (Comp. Psa_2:12; Psa_84:12; Jer_17:7-8.)
III. The praise celebrated.
“Praise ye the Lord. Praise the Lord, O my soul.,” &c. Here is—
1. A declaration of personal praise. The poet determines to praise God—
(1.) Spiritually. “Praise Jehovah, O my soul.” “For discharging the duty of praise,” says David Dickson, “all the powers of the soul must be stirred up; the mind, to meditate; the memory, to bring forth former observations; the heart and affections, for discharging the duty of praise in the best manner.”
(2.) Perpetually. “While I live will I praise Jehovah; I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.”
“I’ll praise my Maker with my breath,
And when my voice is lost in death,
Praise shall employ my nobler powers;
My days of praise shall ne’er be past,
While life and thought and being last,
Or immortality endures.”—Watts.
“Not in this song only will he utter his praise, but ‘his life shall be a thanksgiving unto the Power that made him.’ ”
2. A summons to others to praise Him. “Praise ye the Lord.” Heb., as in Margin: “Hallelujah.” Thus the Psalm begins, and thus also it closes. “As one light kindles another,” says Starke, “so a believing heart seeks to awaken others and excite them to the righteous praise of God.”
THE PHILOSOPHY OF DEATH
(Psa_146:4-5)
The text refers—
I. To the destiny of all.
1. To a special day. “In that very day.” This is the day of death. There are many important days in a man’s history. Often days of great moment. Each perhaps the crisis of some eventful period of our history. But the day of death is peculiarly momentous: it is invested with unusual solemnity. It is the termination of probation, and the entrance on the unchanging realities of a future world.
The aspect of this day depends entirely on the moral condition of the individual, whether it be bright or dark—a day of bliss or woe—of exaltation to heaven or degradation even to the lowest abyss of hell. It would be well to read and meditate on this day; to look at it in all lights, and in all its consequences; and especially for this reason,—it is a day which we, every one, must personally realise. “It is appointed unto men once to die,” &c. “I know Thou wilt bring me to death,” &c.
Our text refers—
2. To a striking view of death. “His breath goeth forth.” When God made man, He “breathed,” &c. Life is a succession of breathings. By the act of inspiration we take in the air, which supplies the blood with a fresh supply of oxygen, and thus makes it wholesome and nutritious to the system. By the act of expiration, the breath which has become impure is thrown off. Now, this ceasing to breathe is the extinction of life, and this may be produced by a variety of causes,—impure air, organic disease of the heart, affections of the lungs, &c. Oh think of this, and remember every instant there is but one step between us and death. The text refers—
3. To man’s last earthly home. “He returneth to his earth.” From that our first parents sprung. On that we move and live. It yields our supplies of food. We at length return to it. “Dust thou art,” &c. “His earth”—every man has a claim on the earth for a sepulchre. The poorest have this, and the richest only this. “I know Thou wilt bring me to death, and to the house appointed,” &c. “If I wait, the grave is mine house,” &c. The text refers—
4. To the cessation of mental activity. “In that very day his thoughts perish.” His worldly plans and schemes; his anxieties and cares; his purposes and projects; even his religious thoughts of repentance and serving God. His resolutions and vows, &c., all perish—all die with him. Whether king or peasant, philosopher or rustic. Not his soul—no, that still lives. Our text refers—
II. To the peculiar privileges and happiness of a certain description of character.
The character introduced is represented under two interesting features.
1. As sustained by the God of Jacob. “The God of Jacob for his help.” Man requires Divine help. This help Jesus obtained by His obedience and sacrifice. Even the Old Testament saints enjoyed this help by prospective faith in the Redeemer. How God helped Jacob! delivering him from the wrath of his brother, and the oppression of Laban. Helped him to sustain his domestic troubles; helped him in all his trials and difficulties, and led him at last to dwell in the rich and fruitful land of Goshen. God is the help of all the spiritual posterity of Jacob—all who like Jacob are distinguished for prayer, faith, and obedience to His word. God is a help at hand; all-sufficient; unchangeable; everlasting. This character is represented—
2. As expecting all good in and from God. “Whose hope is in the Lord his God.” The hope of the pious has respect to God’s wisdom, truth, goodness, mercy, fidelity, &c. Hope is the balm of life, the very joy of existence. What would man do in the sorrows and trials of his present state, or what in looking towards the eternal future, without hope? He alone can sustain, deliver, bless, and save. Hence, notice—
3. The blessedness of this character. “Happy is he,” &c. We are often struck most forcibly by contrasts. Contrast the godly man who hath Jehovah for his help with the poor benighted pagan, dwelling in the region of death—anxious, wretched, despairing. Contrast him with the sceptic, who is all doubt and uncertainty. With the worldly, whose hope and happiness are identified with gold and silver. With the neglector of religion, who trifles away opportunities, and mercies, and privileges, until “the harvest is past,” &c. Oh, yes, the godly man is happy—happy in the enjoyment of heavenly knowledge—happy in the enjoyment of Divine peace, internal tranquillity—happy in the prospect of immortality and eternal life. “They shall return and come to Zion with songs,” &c.
Our subject contains matter—
1. For solemn admonition. Think of the day of death, &c.
2. For rejoicing, to those who have God for their help. What a privilege! Oh, value it—often praise God for it.
3. For exhortation. Who will consecrate himself to the Lord?—Jabes Burnt, D.D.
THE LORD THE LIBERATOR
(Psa_146:7)
“The Lord looseth the prisoners.”
The text suggested to the preacher to go through the corridors of the great world-prison in which prisoners were confined.
I. The common prison—the ward of sin.
II. The solitary cell—the place of penitence, where was a secret spring, called faith, which, if a man could touch, he could go forth.
III. The silent cell, where he met with people who could not pray.
IV. The cell of ignorance.
V. The prison of habit.
VI. The hard labour room.
VII. The low dungeon of despondency.
VIII. The inner prison—the hold of despair.
IX. The devil’s torture chamber.
X. The condemned cell.—C. H. Spurgeon. From “Lamps, Pitchers, and Trumpets,” by E. P. Hood.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Sermon Bible 1900 · Public Domain I. On the "day" that is here referred to,…
Psa 146:4
I. On the "day" that is here referred to, when man’s "breath goeth forth, and he returneth to the earth," the most affecting aspect in which you can look at him is that which is here presented. So far as the present life is concerned, and to all appearance, he has ceased to be a person, and has become a thing.
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II. All the thinkings of men that are not really and thoroughly true, however beautiful and magnificent they may be, and whatever favour they may find with their parents or with man, to whom they are presented—when men come to die, they will find that they all perish and become nothing if they are not true; when the mind enters into the world of truth, pure truth and intellect, it will find it can carry nothing but truth with it.
III. We may apply this passage to purposes, projects, and intentions: "In that very day his thoughts perish."
We learn from this subject: (1) the very great importance to be attached to getting our minds filled with real truth, God’s own truth; (2) the vast superiority of anything that is really done to anything that is merely thought.
T. Binney King’s Weighhouse Chapel Sermons, 2nd series, p. 246.
References: Psa 146:4.—C. S. Robinson, Sermons on Neglected Texts, p. 131. Psa 146:6.—J. Baldwin Brown, Christian World Pulpit, vol. vii., pp. 177, 209. Psa 146:7.—Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. viii., No. 484.
The Sermon Bible, ed. William Robertson Nicoll (1888–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
F. W. Grant 1903 · Public Domain The Mighty One of Jacob.
The Mighty One of Jacob.
The Mighty One of Jacob is here celebrated. Power is the first requisite for all government, and of course for all praise. But alone it could not suffice; and thus it is seen here as power used in ministry to all the need of man, -sustaining power for His feeble creatures, and in behalf of truth and right. The praise here, therefore, is very general.
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1. Jehovah, a living God, the "I am": this is He whom all Nature and His saints celebrate. What a joy to recognize over all the multiplicity of Nature, and as the Author of all its laws, a living God upon the throne! And what it implies of us, -how the secret of our condition manifests itself in our holiest things, -that we need to
exhort ourselves to praise this glorious One! Yet now the soul responds with the energy of its joy in Him: "I will praise Jehovah while I live." Yes, and that only is "life" in which Jehovah is praised.
2. Now He is contrasted with men: how barren and vain is every hope in man, even man at his best. He may mean well, and seem to have power; but he is but breathing earth, and his breath goes and he returns to it: all his purposes, in which your confidence was placed, are buried with him. And in this one recognizes a "Jacob" with whom God must contend: how blessed, then, to know Jacob’s Mighty One, who is at the same time Jehovah, and in covenant with man, -his Helper, and not his Lord merely, though his Maker and that of all creation. But He is faithful to the works of His hands, and delights to show his power in goodness, amid all the evil that man has brought in, and in ministering to the need of those dependent upon Him. With His strong hand also upon the evil itself, and in behalf of righteousness. Supporting those bereft of other help, He turns the way of the wicked upside down.
The evil is transitory, and will soon pass: Jehovah -thy God, O Zion -shall reign for ever, to all generations. Hallelujah.
F. W. Grant, The Numerical Bible (4th ed., 1903) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain Here begins the final group, Psalms 146-150, known as…
Here begins the final group, Psalms 146-150, known as the 'Hallelujah' Pss., because each begins and ends with that word, meaning, 'Praise ye the Lord.' They sum up the joy of the returned exiles, and form a fitting doxology to the Psalter. They are, of course, specially intended for use in the second Temple. Psalms 146 praises God as the true Helper.
9. Turneth upside down] lit.' causeth to turn aside' (into the trackless desert, where it disappears).
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain Psalm 144-150 The Hallelujah Chorus
Psalm 144-150 The Hallelujah Chorus
The five Psalms with which this marvellous book closeth are all Psalms of praise. The word “praise” is found in the Hebrew thirty-seven times. Each one of these Psalms begins and ends with a hallelujah; there are ten hallelujahs.
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First is a hallelujah which celebrates Himself, He who is the God of Jacob. Precious vision of Him who delights to call Himself “the God of Jacob,” the God who loves the sinner and has redeemed His people. Who is He? The Creator of all, by whom and for whom all things were made (Psa 146:6). The Lord of judgment and redemption; the Lord who looseth the prisoners, openeth the eyes of the blind, raiseth them that are bowed down--and He will reign for ever. Hallelujah.
Psa 147:1-20 is the hallelujah for what He has done for His people Israel. They praise Him now in the beauty of holiness. He hath built Jerusalem; He hath gathered the outcasts of Israel; He hath healed the broken hearted and bound up their wounds. He manifests His glory too by the heavens above. And nature is now in full harmony, restored and blessed. But Jerusalem is the center of praise and glory. He hath blessed Zion and her children (Psa 147:12-14). Hallelujah.
The notes of praise swell higher and higher. In Psa 148:1-14 it is heaven and earth which sing His praises. The heights above, the angels, the heavenly hosts, the sun, the moon, the stars, the heaven of heavens, His eternal dwelling place, praiseth Him. And so does all the earth. The creatures of the deep praise Him, so do the hills and the mountains, the trees of the field, beasts, cattle, birds and creeping things. The kings of the earth, all races of men praise Him, who is worthy of all praise. Hallelujah.
Psa 149:1-9 is the hallelujah of the new song. Israel redeemed is leading the glory-hallelujah song. The children of Zion are joyful in their King. They sing praises unto Him. They praise Him for victory and blessing. He has executed vengeance upon the ungodly. All His saints have honour and Glory now. Hallelujah.
And the finale, the last Psalm! It is the praise to the full. We have seen the “crescendo” of praise in these Psalms and now we reach the “fortissimo,” the loudest and the strongest praise. With this the great redemption is consummated. Look at this Psalm. It begins with hallelujah and after this first hallelujah we find nothing but praise--praise Him--praise Him--praise Him! Let all that hath breath praise the Lord. Hallelujah!
Do you praise Him now? Oh let us give Him as our Lord, Him who hath redeemed us by His own Blood, who will soon gather us home to be like Him and forever with Him, let us give Him praise. Let us sing our hallelujahs now, songs of praise in the night, while we wait for the break of day, the Morningstar. And the end of all for earth and heaven will be the hallelujah chorus, a praise which will never die in all eternity. Hallelujah!
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain A Hallelujah to the True Helper.
A Hallelujah to the True Helper.
This psalm, whose author is not known, is the first of the five Hallelujah Psalms with which the psalter closes, an invitation to praise the Lord for the merciful and faithful exercise of His power, especially in acts of kindness to the needy.
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v. 1. Praise ye the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul, this invitation, addressed to himself, placing the poet in the right mood to continue his hymn with all the vigor of a heart charged with the consciousness of God’s fatherly grace and kindness.
v. 2. While I live, will I praise the Lord, the believer’s whole life being filled with songs of thanksgiving to Him whose compassion is new every morning. I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being, singing psalms to Him with the most joyful accompaniment upon musical instruments to express the ecstasy of his heart in some adequate manner.
v. 3. Put not your trust in princes, in any of the mighty ones of the earth, nor in the son of man, in any frail human being, in whom there is no help, Psa 60:11.
v. 4. His breath goeth forth, or, "when his breath ascends," mortal as he is, when he must yield up his spirit, he returneth to his earth, from which the substance of man’s body was originally taken, "earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust," Job 14:1-2; in that very day his thoughts perish, all his plans are overthrown, whence it follows that reliance upon human beings is foolish.
v. 5. Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob, the one true, almighty, and eternal God, for his help, whose hope is in the Lord, his God, who looks up to the Lord in firm trust, with the feeling of fellowship, of possession;
v. 6. which made heaven and earth, the sea and all that therein is, who is, in short, the almighty Creator of the universe; which keepeth truth forever, fulfilling all His promises with regard to the welfare of men;
v. 7. which executeth judgment for the oppressed, proving Himself the Champion of those who are suffering from oppression; which giveth food to the hungry, supplying all men with their daily bread, manifesting Himself as the Provider of all those who look to Him for maintenance. The thought is now brought out in a series of direct statements. The Lord looseth the prisoners, taking from them the yoke and the fetters of their captivity;
v. 8. the Lord openeth the eyes of the blind, giving them sight; the Lord raiseth them that are bowed down, bearing the heavy burden of trials and sorrows; the Lord loveth the righteous, the believers to whom His righteousness has been imputed by faith and who strive to walk in His paths;
v. 9. the Lord preserveth the strangers, who were usually regarded with suspicion and treated with scorn; He relieveth the fatherless and the widow, widows and orphans being so often in need of a protector; but the way of the wicked He turneth upside down, directing their steps, on their persistently crooked way, toward the destruction of hell. All this, of course, is typical of the manner in which the Lord deals in spiritual matters, the application being made very frequently in the New Testament. Therefore the psalmist concludes:
v. 10. The Lord shall reign forever, delighting most to rule in love, even thy God, O Zion, the congregation of believers, the Church of God, unto all generations. The eternal duration of Jehovah’s kingdom is also the pledge of its glorious perfection, as the Church Triumphant. Praise ye the Lord! Hallelujah to Him now and in eternity!
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 General Information:
General Information:
Parallelism is common in Hebrew poetry. (See: Poetry and Parallelism)
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Praise Yahweh, my soul
Here "soul" represents the writer's inner being. The writer is commanding his inner being to praise Yahweh. This can be translated as a statement. AT: "I will praise Yahweh with all my soul" or "I give praise to Yahweh with all my life" (See: Metonymy)
with all my life
"until I die" or "while I live"
translationWords
praise
Yahweh
soul
life
God
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Pss 146–150 The Psalter ends with five hallelujah psalms,…
Pss 146–150 The Psalter ends with five hallelujah psalms, so named because each begins and ends with Praise the Lord! (Hebrew haleluyah).
Ps 146 The call to praise (146:1-2) leads into a warning against folly and false confidence (146:3-4). The psalm concludes with a blessing for all who place their hope in the Lord (146:5-7).
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146:1 This verse is reminiscent of 103:1, 2, 22; 104:1, 35.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.