| 
												
												Verses 3-6Psalms 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.
 |