Psalms · Chapter 146 of 150

Psalm 146

Why we should not trust in men. · Why we should trust in God.

1Praise ye the Lord. Praise the Lord, O my soul. 2While I live will I praise the Lord: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being. 3Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. 4His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.

5Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God: 6Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever: 7Which executeth judgment for the oppressed: which giveth food to the hungry. The Lord looseth the prisoners: 8The Lord openeth the eyes of the blind: the Lord raiseth them that are bowed down: the Lord loveth the righteous: 9The Lord preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down. 10The Lord shall reign for ever, even thy God, O Zion, unto all generations. Praise ye the Lord.

King James Version (1769) · public domain

About Psalms

Psalm 146 commentary

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible (1706), public domain.

Verses 1-4

If it is our delight to praise the Lord while we live, we shall certainly praise him to all eternity. With this glorious prospect before us, how low do worldly pursuits seem! There is a Son of man in whom there is help, even him who is also the Son of God, who will not fail those that trust in him. But all other sons of men are like the man from whom they sprung, who, being in honour, did not abide. God has given the earth to the children of men, but there is great striving about it. Yet, after a while, no part of the earth will be their own, except that in which their dead bodies are laid. And when man returns to his earth, in that very day all his plans and designs vanish and are gone: what then comes of expectations from him?

Verses 5-10

The psalmist encourages us to put confidence in God. We must hope in the providence of God for all we need as to this life, and in the grace of God for that which is to come. The God of heaven became a man that he might become our salvation. Though he died on the cross for our sins, and was laid in the grave, yet his thoughts of love to us did not perish; he rose again to fulfil them. When on earth, his miracles were examples of what he is still doing every day. He grants deliverance to captives bound in the chains of sin and Satan. He opens the eyes of the understanding. He feeds with the bread of life those who hunger for salvation; and he is the constant Friend of the poor in spirit, the helpless: with him poor sinners, that are as fatherless, find mercy; and his kingdom shall continue for ever. Then let sinners flee to him, and believers rejoice in him. And as the Lord shall reign for ever, let us stir up each other to praise his holy name.

Key verses in Psalm 146

  • Psalms 146:9

    The Lord preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down.

  • Psalms 146:3

    Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.

  • Psalms 146:4

    His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.

  • Psalms 146:5

    Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God:

  • Psalms 146:7

    Which executeth judgment for the oppressed: which giveth food to the hungry. The Lord looseth the prisoners: