Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 146:5
Happy [is he] that [hath] the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope [is] in the LORD his God:
5. Happy is he, whose help is the God of Jacob;
Whose hope resteth upon Jehovah his God.
Cp. Psa 33:12; Psa 144:15; Psa 20:1. The word for hope is Aramaic, and is found elsewhere only in Psa 119:116: the cognate verb is used in Psa 145:15 (A.V. wait).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help – Who may rely for protection on the God who defended Jacob in his travels and dangers. Or, perhaps the word Jacob is used here collectively to denote Israel – the Jewish people: the God whom they adore and worship, rather than the gods of the pagan. Compare Psa 144:15, note; Psa 54:4, note.
Whose hope is in the Lord his God – In Yahweh, worshipped as his God. That is, who truly worships Yahweh, or makes Yahweh his God.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 146:5
Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help.
The God of Jacob
Few of Gods names are more suggestive than the one in the verse before us–the God of Jacob. It is very instructive, for example, and very comforting too, to find that God is willing to have His name so closely associated with that of a human being. The vastness of the material universe, with all its myriad hosts of suns and stars, sometimes staggers our faith, and makes us wonder if human life can really be the object of the Almighty care and love. To all such questionings we find an answer in this beautiful name. The God of unfathomable Space and immeasurable time is not unmindful of the life of man, The Lord of all those starry hosts–He also is the God of Jacob. And then this name shows, still further, that God cares not only for human beings, but for individual souls. The God of Jacob must be–
I. One who loves great sinners and pardons great transgressions. Sometimes a man feels as if he were too far gone in trespasses and sins to lift up his head in the presence of God, too full of utter selfishness and worldliness to dream of ever becoming a child of God at all. To such a man I would say, Just look at Jacob. If God became that mans God, surely He may become your God also. And sometimes one who has begun the Christian life, but has been overtaken in a fault, or in some other way has been backsliding in the path on which he started, loses heart and cries, Its useless for me to try to begin afresh; my nature is so weak, and the world around me is so strong. Again I would say, Look at Jacob! Bethel was Jacobs trysting-place with God; but long after Bethel was past Jacob sinned, and sinned again. And yet God did not forsake him or cast him away, but kept His hand upon him and carried him through, until, at last, He set his feet upon a rock and established his goings.
II. One who hears a sinners prayer. It is these prayers of Jacob which form the great redeeming feature of his character, and which, eventually, work out the mans salvation. With all his earthliness and selfishness he was a man who believed in God, and who believed also in prayer. The fact that he had a very sinful heart is no proof that his prayers were hypocritical. It teaches us, rather, that we must not wait untill we are saints before we begin to pray, for it is only by praying that we shall ever rise to any kind of sainthood.
III. One who purifies His sons by painful trial. Jacob has been called a Janus, with two faces, one turned upwards to heaven, the other downwards to hell. But Jacob was more than a Janus, for Janus only had two faces, while Jacob had two hearts. His two names point to his two natures–Jacob and Israel, the natural man and the spiritual man, the supplanter of his brother and the prince of God. Now, here was the problem of Jacobs life: How is the natural man to be spiritualized; how is the sinner to become a saint; how is the Jacob nature to be cast out, and the Israel nature to prevail? And this was the answer which God gave on every page of Jacobs history, It can only be done by sore and bitter trial. As a refiner of silver or gold deals with the impure but precious metal, so did God deal with this wayward child of His love. He sent him sorrow upon sorrow, until all the earthiness and dross was purged out of his heart, and Jacob became, not only in name, but in very nature, Israel, the Prince of God. (J. C,. Lambert, B. D.)
Happiness
I. Happiness in a worldly sense is an impossible attainment. This is proved–
1. By the wants, calamities, passions, and weaknesses of human nature. Each of these would prevent the attainment of happiness.
2. By the changing, transitory nature of the world and its contents. That pleasure which can be dashed away in a moment cannot be happiness.
3. By the fact that all here are under the dominion of sin. Sin blights all things, sin embitters all things, sin brings a curse on all things.
II. Happiness in a spiritual sense is a possible and a blessed reality. The reasons for this, given in our text, are two-fold–assistance in the present and hope in the future.
1. Assistance in the present. The God of Jacob is his help. Notice that a man may have difficulties and yet be happy. God is his help. Oh, what a help! His power, greatness, goodness, all exercised on the Christians behalf.
2. Hope for the future–Whose hope is in the Lord. Hope, even in the present, can give happiness. But this hope will one day be realized and its fruition will be perfect joy. It is in the Lord our God that perfect happiness is only to be found. May we seek Him for our help and make Him our hope. (Homilist.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 5. Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help] While he that trusts in man is miserable, he that trusts in God is happy. In the son of man, ben Adam, there is no help, teshuah, no saving principle. Every son of Adam naturally comes into the world without this, and must continue so till the Lord open the eyes of the blind, Ps 146:8; but a measure of light is given from that true Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. This son of Adam returns to his earth, leadmatho, to the ground, from which he was taken; this refers directly to Ge 2:7; Ge 3:19. But he that has the God for his help who helped Jacob in his distress, and was with him, and sustained him in and through all adversities, can never be destitute; for this God changes not; he lives for ever, and his projects cannot perish. He has purposed that Israel shall be delivered from this captivity. Cyrus may change, but God will not; trust therefore in HIM. He has all power; he made heaven and earth; he has them under his government and at his disposal; and should earth itself fail, heaven endures. And he keeps his truth for ever; and therefore his promises must be fulfilled to them that trust in him. Fear not.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Happy [is he] that [hath] the God of Jacob for his help,…. The God of the patriarch Jacob, the Messiah, who is that God that fed him all his life, the Angel that redeemed him from all evil, with whom in the form of a man he wrestled, when he had power over God, and saw him face to face; the God of the posterity of Jacob, the Angel of Jehovah’s presence, who went before them by day and night in the wilderness, and saved and carried them all the days of old; the God of spiritual Jacob, or Israel, the church of the chosen, redeemed, and called ones; the God of every Israelite indeed, of every true believer, as he was Thomas’s Lord and God: now happy is that man that has him for his help, who helps his servant Israel, all his people out of the sad estate of sin and misery into which they are brought; helps them to all the blessings of grace, and to all the supplies of it in their time of need; helps them under all their infirmities, temptations, and afflictions; helps them in all their way to heaven, and against every enemy of their souls; and at last helps them to everlasting glory and happiness;
whose hope [is] in the Lord his God; in Immanuel, God with us, God manifest in the flesh; Christ the hope of Israel, and the Saviour thereof; who is our hope, and in all his people the hope of glory; not only the author and giver of the grace of hope, but the object, ground, and foundation of it: now happy is that man whose hope alone is in him; who hopes for salvation, pardon, righteousness, and eternal life, through him, and him only; such are safe and secure, who, as prisoners of hope, turn to him their strong hold; those shall want no good thing that hope and trust in him; they have peace now through his blood and righteousness, and shall be saved with an everlasting salvation; see
Jer 17:7.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Man’s help is of no avail; blessed is he (this is the last of the twenty-five of the Psalter), on the contrary, who has the God of Jacob ( like in Psa 144:15) as Him in whom is his succour ( with Beth essentiae , vid., on Psa 35:2) – he, whose confidence ( as in Psa 119:116) rests on Jahve, whom he can by faith call his God. Men often are not able to give help although they might be willing to do so: He, however, is the Almighty, the Creator of the heavens, the earth, and the sea, and of all living things that fill these three (cf. Neh 9:6). Men easily change their mind and do not keep their word: He, however, is He who keepeth truth or faithfulness, inasmuch as He unchangeably adheres to the fulfilling of His promises. is in form equivalent substantially to and . And that which He is able to do as being the Almighty, and cannot as being the Truthful One leave undone, is also really His mode of active manifestation made evident in practical proofs: He obtains right for the oppressed, gives bread to the hungry, and consequently proves Himself to be the succour of those who suffer wrong without doing wrong, and as the provider for those who look for their daily bread from His gracious hand. With , the only determinate participle, the faithfulness of God to His promises is made especially prominent.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| Encouragement to Trust in God. | |
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.
The psalmist, having cautioned us not to trust in princes (because, if we do, we shall be miserably disappointed), here encourages us to put our confidence in God, because, if we do so, we shall be happily secured: Happy is he that has the God of Jacob for his help, that has an interest in his attributes and promises, and has them engaged for him, and whose hope is in the Lord his God.
I. Let us take a view of the character here given of those whom God will uphold. Those shall have God for their help, 1. Who take him for their God, and serve and worship him accordingly. 2. Who have their hope in him, and live a life of dependence upon him, who have good thoughts of him, and encourage themselves in him, when all other supports fail. Every believer may look upon him as the God of Jacob, of the church in general, and therefore may expect relief from him, in reference to public distresses, and as his God in particular, and therefore may depend upon him in all personal wants and straits. We must hope, (1.) In the providence of God for all the good things we need, which relate to the life that now is. (2.) In the grace of Christ for all the good things which relate to the life that is to come. To this especially the learned Dr. Hammond refers this and the following verses, looking upon the latter part of this psalm to have a most visible remarkable aspect towards the eternal Son of God in his incarnation. He quotes one of the rabbies, who says of v. 10 that it belongs to the days of the Messiah. And that it does so he thinks will appear by comparing Psa 146:7; Psa 146:8, with the characters Christ gives of the Messiah (Mat 11:5; Mat 11:6), The blind receive their sight, the lame walk; and the closing words there, Blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in me, he thinks may very well be supposed to refer to v. 5. Happy is the man that hopes in the Lord his God, and who is not offended in him.
II. Let us take a view of the great encouragements here given us to hope in the Lord our God. 1. He is the Maker of the world, 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 (v. 6): He made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and therefore his arm is not shortened, that it cannot save. It is very applicable to Christ, by whom God made the world, and without whom was not any thing made that was made. It is a great support to faith that the Redeemer of the world is the same that was the Creator of it, and therefore has a good-will to it, a perfect knowledge of its case, and power to help it. 2. He is a God of inviolable fidelity. We may venture to take God’s word, for he keepeth truth for ever, and therefore no word of his shall fall to the ground; it is true from the beginning, and therefore true to the end. Our Lord Jesus is the Amen, the faithful witness, as well as the beginning, the author and principle, of the creation of God, Rev. iii. 14. The keeping of God’s truth for ever is committed to him, for all the promises are in him yea and amen. 3. He is the patron of injured innocency: He pleads the cause of the oppressed, and (as we read it) he executes judgment for them. He often does it in his providence, giving redress to those that suffer wrong and clearing up their integrity. He will do it in the judgment of the great day. The Messiah came to rescue the children of men out of the hands of Satan the great oppressor, and, all judgment being committed to him, the executing of judgment upon persecutors is so among the rest, Jude 15. 4. He is a bountiful benefactor to the necessitous: He gives food to the hungry; so God does in an ordinary way for the answering of the cravings of nature; so he has done sometimes in an extraordinary way, as when ravens fed Elijah; so Christ did more than once when he fed thousands miraculously with that which was intended but for one meal or two for his own family. This encourages us to hope in him as the nourisher of our souls with the bread of life. 5. He is the author of liberty to those that were bound: The Lord looseth the prisoners. He brought Israel out of the house of bondage in Egypt and afterwards in Babylon. The miracles Christ wrought, in making the dumb to speak and the deaf to hear with that one word, Ephphatha–Be opened, his cleansing lepers, and so discharging them from their confinements, and his raising the dead out of their graves, may all be included in this one of loosing the prisoners; and we may take encouragement from those to hope in him for that spiritual liberty which he came to proclaim, Isa 61:1; Isa 61:2. 6. He gives sight to those that have been long deprived of it; The Lord can open the eyes of the blind, and has often given to his afflicted people to see that comfort which before they were not aware of; witness Gen. xxi. 19, and the prophet’s servant, 2 Kings vi. 17. But this has special reference to Christ; for since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind till Christ did it (John ix. 32) and thereby encouraged us to hope in him for spiritual illumination. 7. He sets that straight which was crooked, and makes those easy that were pained and ready to sink: He raises those that are bowed down, by comforting and supporting them under their burdens, and, in due time, removing their burdens. This was literally performed by Christ when he made a poor woman straight that had been bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself (Luke xiii. 12); and he still does it by his grace, giving rest to those that were weary and heavily laden, and raising up with his comforts those that were humbled and cast down by convictions. 8. He has a constant kindness for all good people: The Lord loveth the righteous, and they may with the more confidence depend upon his power when they are sure of his good-will. Our Lord Jesus showed his love to the righteous by fulfilling all righteousness. 9. He has a tender concern for those that stand in special need of his care: The Lord preserves the strangers. It ought not to pass without remark that the name of Jehovah is repeated here five times in five lines, to intimate that it is an almighty power (that of Jehovah) that is engaged and exerted for the relief of the oppressed, and that it is as much the glory of God to succour those that are in misery as it is to ride on the heavens by his name Jah, Ps. lxviii. 4. (1.) Strangers are exposed, and are commonly destitute of friends, but the Lord preserves them, that they be not run down and ruined. Many a poor stranger has found the benefit of the divine protection and been kept alive by it. (2.) Widows and fatherless children, that have lost the head of the family, who took care of the affairs of it, often fall into the hands of those that make a prey of them, that will not do them justice, nay, that will do them injustice; but the Lord relieveth them, and raiseth up friends for them. See Exo 22:22; Exo 22:23. Our Lord Jesus came into the world to help the helpless, to receive Gentiles, strangers, into his kingdom, and that with him poor sinners, that are as fatherless, may find mercy, Hos. xiv. 3. 10. He will appear for the destruction of all those that oppose his kingdom and oppress the faithful subjects of it: The way of the wicked he turns upside down, and therefore let us hope in him, and not be afraid of the fury of the oppressor, as though he were ready to destroy. It is the glory of the Messiah that he will subvert all the counsels of hell and earth that militate against his church, so that, having him for us, we need not fear any thing that can be done against us. 11. His kingdom shall continue through all the revolutions of time, to the utmost ages of eternity, v. 10. Let this encourage us to trust in God at all times that the Lord shall reign for ever, in spite of all the malignity of the powers of darkness, even thy God, O Zion! unto all generations. Christ is set King on the holy hill of Zion, and his kingdom shall continue in an endless glory. It cannot be destroyed by an invader; it shall not be left to a successor, either to a succeeding monarch or a succeeding monarchy, but it shall stand for ever. It is matter of unspeakable comfort that the Lord reigns as Zion’s God, as Zion’s king, that the Messiah is head over all things to the church, and will be so while the world stands.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
5. Blessed is he, etc. As it would not have been enough to reprove the sin, he submits the remedy upon which the proper correction of it depends; and this is, that the hopes of men are only stable and well-founded when they rest entirely upon God. For even the wicked sometimes come the length of acknowledging the folly of trust in man. Accordingly they are often angry with themselves for being so inconsiderate as to expect deliverance from men; but by neglecting the remedy, they are not extricated from their error. The Psalmist having condemned the infatuation, which we have seen to be natural to us all, wisely subjoins that they are blessed who trust in God. Jeremiah observes the same order. (Jer 17:5.)
“
Cursed is he that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm,” etc.;
and then — “Blessed is the man whose hope the Lord is.” When David pronounces those blessed whose help is the Lord, he does not restrict the happiness of believers to present sense, as if they were only happy when God openly and in outward acts appeared as their helper, but he places their happiness in this — that they are truly persuaded of its being entirely by the grace of God they stand. He calls him the God of Jacob, to distinguish him from the multitude of false gods in which unbelievers gloried at that time; and there was good reason for this; for while all propose to themselves to seek God, few take the right way. In designating the true God by his proper mark, he intimates that it is only by an assured faith of adoption that any of us can rest upon him; for he must show himself favorable to us before we can look for help from him.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(5) For the different aspects of the Divine nature and character inspiring trust see Introduction. With this verse comp. Psa. 33:12; Psa. 144:15.
Hope.The Hebrew word is rare in the psalter, expressing earnest looking for, or waiting for. (See Psa. 104:27; Psa. 119:166.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
5. Happy The first word of the Psalms occurs here for the twenty-fifth and last time. It is a word of great force, always exclamatory. “O the blessednesses!”
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
DISCOURSE: 744
THE BLESSEDNESS OF TRUSTING IN GOD
Psa 146:5. Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God.
HOW exalted was the frame of the Psalmists mind at the time he penned these words! Praise ye the Lord. Praise the Lord, O my soul. While I live will I praise the Lord: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being [Note: ver. 1, 2.]. Who that reads these words does not envy him, and desire to be like him? But how shall we attain this frame? How did he acquire it? He had been contemplating the character of the Most High, and the interest which he himself enjoyed in the divine favour: and he records this as his decided testimony for the benefit of all future generations: Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God.
May the same benefit result to you, my Brethren, whilst I,
I.
Confirm his testimony
Doubtless a carnal mind can see no blessedness in such contemplations as these: but one who is taught of God will fully accord with this inspired penman, from a conviction that the person here characterized may assure himself of two most important facts:
1.
However numerous or powerful his enemies be, he can never be overcome
[Were his confidence in himself, he might soon be vanquished. Peter has shewn us how weak the most intrepid man is, when left to himself; for, after all his boasting that he was ready to die with his Lord and Master, he denied him with oaths and curses. Nor is a person at all more secure who trusts in any created power; for, however powerful a man may be, he may not be able to afford the assistance that is needed; or, if able, he may not be willing; or, if willing, he may change his mind; or, if fixed in purpose, he may be removed by death, when, of course, all his thoughts and purposes must perish [Note: ver. 3, 4.]. But the man who trusts in God has an ever-present, an ever-willing, an immutable, an all-sufficient help No confederacy, whether of men or devils, can prevail against him who sanctifies the Lord God in his heart [Note: Isa 8:12-13.]: There is a wall of fire round about him, that will both afford him protection, and destroy his every assailant [Note: Zec 2:5. with 2Ki 6:16-17.]. He may confidently challenge the whole universe: If God be for me, who can be against me [Note: Rom 8:31.]? Whether it be his body or his soul that is assaulted, he is equally secure: No weapon that is formed against him, whether wielded by men or devils, can ever prosper [Note: Isa 54:17.]: his God will be his shield and buckler [Note: Psa 18:2.]; and he shall be more than conqueror, through Him that loveth him [Note: Rom 8:37.].]
2.
However enlarged his expectations be, he can never be disappointed
[We cannot expect too little from man, or too much from God. God, in giving himself to us as our God, authorises us to expect from him all that he himself can do, so far at our necessities require it. He himself says to us, Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it [Note: Psa 81:10.]. We cannot open it too wide. Take all the promises in Gods blessed word: take all that he has engaged for in his everlasting covenant; take all that the Lord Jesus Christ has merited in our behalf; take all that by any possibility we may ever need, for body or for soul, for time or for eternity; take all the glory and blessedness of heaven: take the very throne and kingdom of God himself; and put all this into one petition, and it shall all be given: not an atom of it shall ever be wanting to the believing suppliant, so far as his soul shall be capable of enjoying it. The Believer should not be straitened in himself; for he is not straitened in his God. His hopes can never be too large; for God is both able and willing to do for him all, and above all, and abundantly above all, yea, exceeding abundantly above all, that he can either ask or think [Note: Eph 3:20.].]
Such being the testimony here given us; namely, that the man whose help is in God can never be overcome, and whose hope is in God can never be disappointed; let me,
II.
Commend it to your special attention
We suppose you all to wish for a participation of the Psalmists happiness. To all of you, then, I would say,
1.
Seek to know the character of Jehovah, as here drawn
[We have not, in general, worthy conceptions of the Deity, either as a God of Providence or as a God of Grace. We do not at all realize in our minds his universal agency, or the tender care which he takes of his believing people, insomuch that not a hair falls from the head of any of them without his special permission. But see in what light the Psalmist viewed him, when he gave concerning him the testimony which we are now considering: Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God; who made heaven and earth, the sea and all that therein is; who keepeth truth for ever; who executeth judgment for the oppressed; who giveth food to the hungry; who looseth the prisoners, and openeth the eyes of the blind, and raiseth them that are bowed down, and loveth the righteous, and preserveth the strangers, and relieveth the fatherless and the widow [Note: ver. 59.]: see all these diversified conditions; see the relief administered agreeably to the necessities of all; and then say, whether he be not happy who has this God for his help? If you had all the men upon earth engaged for your support, yea, and all the angels in heaven too, it were nothing in comparison of the blessings you enjoy. Only realize the thought, that every perfection of the Deity is occupied day and night in your behalf, for the express purpose of securing and consummating your eternal happiness; and you will need nothing more to render you completely happy, amidst all the diversified scenes of this vain and troublesome world.]
2.
Seek to obtain an interest in him, as your God
[Doubtless, unless he be your God, you can derive no comfort from the consideration of his perfections; for, whatever he may be to others, to you he will be only a consuming fire [Note: Heb 12:29.]. But how shall he be made your God? There is but one way, and that is by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ: for to all that believe in Christ, is given the privilege of becoming sons of God [Note: Joh 1:12.]; and if sons, then heirs, heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ [Note: Rom 8:17.]. Look then, and see what an interest Christ himself possesses in the Fathers love: see all that the Father did for him: see him now sitting at the right hand of the Father, in inconceivable blessedness and glory. All this shall you also inherit together with him: for, all things are yours, if ye be Christs [Note: 1Co 3:22-23.]. Will ye not, then, come to Christ, and cleave unto him, and live by faith upon him? Me-thinks I need not urge this upon you: your own minds are already bent upon this; and you are determined, through grace, to renounce every thing in comparison of Christ, and to make him all your salvation and all your desire.]
3.
Make use of him for all the ends for which he has given himself to you
[When once you can say, with David, O God, thou art my God! then carry to this almighty Friend your every want, your every wish. Lean not at any time to your own wisdom; and undertake nothing in your own strength. Look to your God for guidance, even in the most common affairs of life; and, in all the difficulties which you may be called to encounter, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Remember all that he did for Jacob, whose God he was And remember the promise he has made to you; Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness [Note: Isa 41:10.]. What though in yourself you be only as a worm? he says to you, Fear not, thou worm Jacob; for thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and make the hills as chaff [Note: Isa 41:14-15.]. Only make him your help, and him your hope, and you have nothing to fear. Let nothing, on the one hand, be deemed too great to carry to him; nor, on the other hand, account any thing so small that you may engage in it without his aid. Let Him work all your works in you [Note: Isa 26:12.], and you are safe, even as if you were already before his throne: for you are in his hands, nor shall any be ever able to pluck you thence [Note: Joh 10:28-29.]. To every one, then, who really and altogether relies on God, I will address that inspired congratulation: Happy art thou, O Israel: who is like unto thee, O people saved by the Lord, the shield of thy help, and who is the sword of thine excellency! Thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee; and thou shalt tread upon their high places [Note: Deu 33:29.].]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
There can be no hesitation to determine to whom these verses refer. The God of Jacob, is God’s Covenant name in Christ. And the offices that covenant God hath performed, and is performing, as plainly manifest the Lord Jesus. See Isa 61:1 , compared with Luk 4:18-19 . And he that in the days of his flesh opened the eyes of the blind; and now in the day of his power openeth the eyes of the soul, is the King of Zion upon his holy hill; and will be Zion’s Husband, Lord, and Redeemer, forever and ever. Well may we say Hallelujah!
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 146:5 Happy [is he] that [hath] the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope [is] in the LORD his God:
Ver. 5. Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help ] Since he is the King immortal, all powerful, as Psa 146:6 , and no less willing, since he is a God in covenant.
Whose hope is in the Lord his God
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Happy. The last of the twenty-seven Beatitudes in the Book of Psalms. See App-63.
GOD. Hebrew El. App-4.
of Jacob: i.e. the God who met Jacob (Gen 28:13) when he had nothing (Gen 32:10 and deserved nothing (but wrath, Genesis 27) and promised him everything. This title answers to the N.T. title “the Godof all grace” (1Pe 5:10). Happy indeed are all they who have this God for their God.
Whose. Supply the Ellipsis by repeating [Happy he] whose, &c.
hope = expectation.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Psa 146:5-10
Psa 146:5-10
POSITIVE INSTRUCTION TO TRUST IN THE LORD
“Happy is he that hath the God of
Jacob for his help,
Whose hope is in Jehovah his God:
Who made heaven and earth,
The sea, and all that in them is;
Who keepeth truth forever.
Who executeth justice for the oppressed;
Who giveth food to the hungry.
Jehovah looseth the prisoners;
Jehovah openeth the eyes of the blind;
Jehovah raiseth up them that are bowed down;
Jehovah loveth the righteous;
Jehovah preserveth the sojourner;
He upholdeth the fatherless and widow;
But the way of the wicked he turneth upside down.
Jehovah will reign forever,
Thy God, O Zion, unto all generations.
Praise ye Jehovah.”
It was upon the basis of this paragraph that we entitled this psalm, “Praise the Lord for What he Does.” Some of the psalms praise God for what he has done, but the emphasis here is rather upon what he is doing. A mere list of these is impressive.
The Lord keepeth truth forever (Psa 146:6).
He executeth judgment for the oppressed (Psa 146:7).
He giveth food to the hungry (Psa 146:7).
He looseth the prisoners (Psa 146:7).
He openeth the eyes of the blind (Psa 146:8).
He raises up them that are bowed down (Psa 146:8).
He loveth the righteous (Psa 146:8).
He preserveth the sojourners (Psa 146:9).
He upholdeth the fatherless and widow (Psa 146:9).
He turns the way of the wicked upside down (Psa 146:9)
He reigns forever, unto all generations (Psa 146:10).
Rhodes gave voice to a popular error, writing that, in the light of this passage, “According to both Testaments, personal gospel and social gospel are one gospel.” The truth is that what men today call the “social gospel” is nothing but a thinly-veneered “humanism,” utterly void of the eternal salvation available “in Christ” as the Lord’s devoted follower.
“The God of Jacob” (Psa 146:5). In time, this expression came to be the virtual equivalent of “The God of Israel.” It is by no means enough to praise “deity.” One must praise the true God, even the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God revealed in the Holy Bible.
This final paragraph cannot be read without an acute consciousness of the fact that our Lord Jesus Christ stressed all of these things during his earthly ministry.
“Looseth the prisoners” (Psa 146:7). “Deliverance from the bondage of sin may be intended here.
“Openeth the eyes of the blind” (Psa 146:8). “The spiritually blind, rather than the physically blind may be meant, because there was no healing of the physically blind in the Old Testament.
“These verses belong to the `God of Jacob’ exclusively and to no other. He is the God known to Israel and to Zion. This is the exclusivism of the Old Testament. The abstract concept of `deity’ is not enough for a man to trust; nor is any other claimant to the title, `God.’ Only one God is worthy of trust. He is to be found only in Jacob (Israel) and Zion.
“Who keepeth truth forever” (Psa 146:6). Barnes pointed out that two reasons are here given for trusting God: (1) He is the one and only true God, the Creator, able indeed to help those whom he loves. (2) He is faithful and may always be relied upon.
“Turneth the way of the wicked upside down” (Psa 146:9). Dummelow explained this as meaning that, “God turns aside the way of the wicked into the trackless desert where it disappears.”
“Jehovah will reign forever, Thy God, O Zion, unto all generations” (Psa 146:10). Briggs pointed out that Psa 146:10 a here is a quotation from Exo 15:18, and that 10b is a quotation from Psa 147:12.
One of the most interesting comments we have seen on this psalm is that of Rawlinson, who identified the “Zion of this passage as that of Heb 12:22, adding that, “God is the God of Zion and will remain so unto all generations, since the Church of Christ is now the true Zion of Heb 12:22. It is also a fact that the Church of Christ is the true “Israel of God” (Gal 6:16).
E.M. Zerr:
Psa 146:5. Jacob is frequently used in the Bible to mean the nation of Israel, because Jacob was the father of the 12 tribes. The God of Jacob, then, would be the God who was worshiped by the nation. Certainly it would be a true source of happiness to lean upon Him for help.
Psa 146:6. The argument is that a Being who could make the universe could certainly help one of the little creatures of that vast domain. Keepeth truth means that God always makes his word good, and that proves that his promises were truthful.
Psa 146:7. Judgment for the oppressed would be to decide their case in their behalf and then execute or enforce the decision. The last clause means the Lord will loose the prisoners from their bondage to the state of oppression.
Psa 146:8. All miraculous deeds of kind- ness are done by power coming from the Lord. Likewise, all favors of a spiritual and mental nature originate with Him. The motive for the blessings is God’s love for the righteous.
Psa 146:9. The strangers is defined in the original as “a guest; by implication a foreigner.” God is good to all unforunate people if they are deserving, even though they are not of his own. The same principle is taught by Paul in Gal 6:10. Turneth upside down means the Lord will upset or defeat the way of the wicked.
Psa 146:10 This verse should be read in connection with the comments at ch. 145:13. Praise ye the Lord is an exclamation, pronounced “Hallelujah.”
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Happy: Psa 33:12, Psa 84:12, Psa 144:15, Deu 33:29
the God: Psa 46:7, Psa 46:11, Psa 84:8, Gen 32:24-29, Gen 50:17, Exo 3:6
whose: Psa 39:7, Psa 71:5, Jer 17:7, Jer 17:8, 1Pe 1:21
Reciprocal: Num 22:12 – for they Deu 33:7 – and be thou 2Ki 18:5 – trusted 1Ch 5:20 – And they 2Ch 2:12 – that made heaven 2Ch 13:18 – relied Psa 1:1 – Blessed Psa 9:10 – put Psa 16:1 – for Psa 20:8 – but we Psa 31:24 – all ye Psa 32:10 – but Psa 71:1 – do I Psa 78:7 – set Psa 91:9 – Because Psa 115:9 – trust Psa 115:15 – made Psa 118:6 – The Lord Psa 121:2 – My help Psa 124:8 – General Psa 131:3 – Let Israel Psa 132:2 – the mighty Psa 134:3 – Lord Pro 16:20 – whoso Jer 10:12 – hath made Jer 27:5 – made Jer 32:17 – thou Jer 51:15 – hath made Dan 3:28 – that trusted Hos 13:9 – but Jon 1:9 – which Mat 5:3 – Blessed Act 4:24 – Lord Act 7:50 – General Act 14:15 – which Act 17:24 – that made Rom 4:6 – blessedness Rom 8:24 – saved 1Co 13:13 – hope Heb 6:19 – both 1Pe 4:14 – happy 1Pe 4:19 – a faithful Rev 10:5 – lifted Rev 14:7 – worship
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
2. God’s ability to save 146:5-6
In contrast to those who look to other people for deliverance, those who trust in Israel’s God, Yahweh, will experience blessing. He is the Creator who even made the humanly uncontrollable sea and all its creatures. Yahweh is not only supremely powerful, but He is also faithful to His Word.