Verses 3-6
Psalms 146:3-6. Put not your
trust in princes — However great
their wealth or power may be;
nor in the son of man, in whom
there is no help — “Earthly
princes, if they have the will,
often want the power, even to
protect their friends. And
should they want neither will
nor power to advance them, yet
still all depends upon the
breath in their nostrils, which
perhaps, at the very critical
moment, goeth forth; they return
to the earth; their thoughts,
and all the thoughts of those
who hoped to rise by their
means, fall into the same grave,
and are buried with them for
ever.” Happy is he that hath the
God of Jacob for his help — That
has an interest in his
attributes and promises, and has
them engaged for him; whose hope
is in the Lord his God — Who
relies on him for help and
support in all circumstances and
situations, having made him his
friend, so that he can call him
his God and Father. Which made
heaven and earth, &c. — And,
therefore, has all power in
himself, and the command of the
powers of all the creatures,
which, being derived from him,
depend upon him; which keepeth
truth for ever — Because he
liveth for ever to fulfil his
promises, and because he is
eternally and unchangeably
faithful.
Verses 7-9
Psalms 146:7-9. Which executeth
judgment for the oppressed — Who
doth not slight nor forget the
cries of his grieved subjects;
but in due time asserts the
right of those who are
oppressed, and can find no
relief in other courts of
judgment. Which giveth food to
the hungry — Who supplies the
needs of the poor that are ready
to perish for want; and is so
gracious as to set them at
liberty, who, by unjust or
merciless men, are held in a
miserable captivity. The Lord
openeth the eyes of the blind —
“Illuminates their minds; or
even restores their natural
sight when it is defective and
weak; or when perfectly gone,
and there are no hopes of a
human cure.” This part of the
Psalm was most exactly and
literally fulfilled in our Lord
Jesus Christ during the time of
his public ministry: see the
margin. The Lord raiseth them
that are bowed down — By
supporting and comforting them
in their distresses, and in due
time removing their burdens.
This also was literally
performed by Christ in the days
of his flesh: see Luke 13:12.
And he still performs similar
spiritual cures by his grace,
giving rest to those that are
weary and heavy laden, and
raising up, with his comforts,
those that are humbled and cast
down under a sense of the guilt
and power of sin. The Lord
loveth the righteous — He has a
peculiar favour for all the
truly pious, who may, with the
more confidence, depend upon his
power when they are assured of
his love. The Lord preserveth
the strangers — Who are
generally friendless, and
exposed to many injuries from
men, but are protected and
preserved by God when they
commit themselves to his care.
Fatherless children, and
destitute widows, also find
support and relief from him
against the injustice and
violence of their wicked
oppressors. But the way of the
wicked he turneth upside down —
Hebrew, יעות, he subverteth, or
overthroweth it. He not only
frustrates their plots and
enterprises, but turneth them
against themselves. Or, he
perplexes and puzzles their
steps, and causes them to
stumble and fall. This, and all
the foregoing sentences, are so
many arguments to encourage
pious men to trust in God in all
their straits and difficulties.
Verse 10
Psalms 146:10. The Lord shall
reign for ever — His kingdom
shall continue throughout all
the revolutions of time, and to
the remotest ages of eternity;
even thy God, O Zion, unto all
generations — Christ is set as
King on the holy hill of Zion,
and his kingdom shall continue
in a glory that shall know no
period. It cannot be destroyed
by an invader: it shall not be
left to a successor; either to a
succeeding monarch, or to a
succeeding monarchy, but shall
stand for ever. It is matter of
unspeakable comfort that the
Lord reigns, as Zion’s God, and
as Zion’s King, that the Messiah
is head over all things to the
church, and will be so while the
world stands. |