Psalm 146 — Praise Jehovah!
Introduction: This psalm speaks so richly of our Creator God that it deserved a dedicated study. One of the ways I enjoy searching into the depths of scripture is to carefully prepare my own amplified paraphrase, which requires continual review of the text and the context. I compared translations of ten versions and also reviewed some Hebrew lexicon entries.
NOTE: KJV = 1769 King James Version; JPS = 1917 Jewish Publication Society; LXXE = 1851 English translation of the Greek Septuagint.
Verses 1–2 — Hallelujah! I Will Praise the Lord While I Live
Amplified paraphrase: Hallelujah. Praise the LORD, O my soul. I will praise the LORD while I live, even throughout my life; I will sing praises and make melody unto my God as long as my being still exists.
Comments: This psalm opens with a joyous outburst of praise to Jehovah from one who wants to acknowledge thanksgiving to the God who loves him. Verse two definitely carries the idea of a continuing or ongoing praise, and this is a determined goal of the psalmist to persist up to the end of his life. We have the opportunity to start a pattern of praise in our life, which the final book of scripture tells us will continue through all eternity. Revelation 5:13 “Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.”
Verses 3–4 — Do Not Put Your Trust in Men
Amplified paraphrase: Do not put your trust, faith, or confidence in high placed leaders or those with great influence, or in any of the children of men, in whom there is no safety or deliverance. When they breathe their last breath, they return to the dust of the earth. On that very day their plans, thoughts, and purposes come to an end with finality as they utterly perish.
Comments: We are to respect those in leadership over us, and it is good for neighbors to help each other; but the psalmist emphasizes inherent limits to dependence on man. Isaiah 31:1 “Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help… but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the LORD!” Psalm 118:8–9 “It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.” God is infinite and eternal, and thus trusting Him will never fail us, while all men are finite and temporal regardless of their present position or influence. Genesis 3:19 “For dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.”
Verses 5–6 — Happy Is He Whose Hope Is in the Lord
Amplified paraphrase: O the happiness, delight, and blessedness of him who has the God of Jacob for his help, His hope rests securely on Jehovah his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all things in them; who keeps truth faithfully for ever.
Comments: There is no comparison when we grasp the vast difference between trusting the LORD who made all things, including creating us in His own image; and trusting our well being to the care and outcome of mere man. He is not only the creator of heaven and earth and all other things, but he faithfully keeps truth for all time so that we may have utter, complete, and absolute security in His character. Numbers 23:19 “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it?”
Verse 7 — He Brings Justice and Sets Prisoners Free
Amplified paraphrase: He brings about justice and judgment for those who are oppressed, wronged, and weighted down. He gives food to those who are hungry. The LORD looses and sets prisoners free.
Comments: No matter how difficult our circumstances in this world may be, the Lord is capable of righting every wrong, and setting us free from the true bonds brought about by unforgiven sin. Isaiah 61:1–2 prophesied that the Spirit of the Lord would anoint one to preach deliverance to the captives, and Jesus personally declared that he fulfilled this prophecy in Luke 4:18–21. John 8:36 “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” Revelation 7:17 “God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.”
Verses 8–9 — The Lord Opens Eyes, Raises the Bowed, and Preserves Strangers
Amplified paraphrase: The LORD continually gives sight, or wisdom, to the blind. The LORD straightens the backs of those who are bent over or bowed down, because he sets up the broken down. The LORD loves righteous upright people. The LORD preserves the strangers, foreigners, or sojourners; he relieves and causes the fatherless and widows to stand: but the way of the wicked he subverts, turns upside down, or makes crooked.
Comments: The Lord God has been setting prisoners of sin free over the centuries by opening sin-blinded eyes to the soul saving truth. Revelation 21:3–4 “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men… And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain.” If our citizenship is in heaven, then no matter where we reside around the earth, we are foreigners, just sojourning here until we reach our final home in heaven. Hebrews 11:10 “For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” But those who reject Christ Jesus will themselves be rejected. Psalm 1:6 “The LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.”
Verse 10 — The Lord Shall Reign Forever
Amplified paraphrase: The LORD shall reign for ever, your God, O Zion, unto all generations. Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!
Comments: As the psalmist concludes his thoughts he returns to where he began: another outburst of praise, and a proclamation that our Sovereign in the Kingdom of Heaven will reign over us throughout eternity. Exodus 15:18 “The LORD shall reign for ever and ever.” Hebrews 12:22–23 “But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven.” Revelation 11:15 “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.”
Reflections in Prayer
Hallelujah. Praise the LORD, O my soul. By your strength Lord, I want to use the remainder of my life to the last breath, to praise you continually in my own quietness, with melody in my heart, and also in open ways before others. Guide me in my interaction with people, and guard me against undue trust in the supply of man as I remember my true salvation in Christ. O the happiness, delight, and blessedness I realize knowing that I have placed my trust in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I believe the scripture that declares “death where is your sting, grave where is your victory!” It is by your grace that my eyes were opened to the truth of your salvation from sin and death, and you will sustain me even though appearances may sometimes seem to favor ones who remain rebellious against you while believers have many trials. Thank you for bringing me over from death to life. You Lord, preserve those who are yet in this world only as strangers and foreigners, and have a special concern for the widows and fatherless. But the way of the wicked who will not allow you to reign in their hearts will be utterly confounded. Your kingdom shall last forever and ever. Come quickly Lord Jesus! Hallelujah!
Published 18 August 2006