Bird's-eye view
Following the psalmist's stark warning against trusting in mortal princes, whose plans perish with their last breath (vv. 3-4), this section of Psalm 146 presents the glorious alternative. The entire psalm is a call to praise Yahweh, and these verses provide the robust theological reasons for that praise. The central theme is the blessedness of the one who abandons all creaturely confidence and places his help and hope entirely in the covenant God of Israel. This God is not like the princes of the earth; He is the omnipotent Creator, the eternally faithful promise-keeper, and the righteous Judge who actively intervenes in His creation on behalf of the lowly and the oppressed. The psalm paints a picture of a God whose character is revealed in His actions: He creates, He keeps truth, He executes justice, He feeds, He liberates, He heals, He restores, He loves, and He protects. This is the God in whom our hope is secure, and this is why He alone is worthy of our unending praise.
The structure is a beautiful cascade of divine attributes and actions. It begins with a general statement of blessing (v. 5), grounds that blessing in God's identity as Creator and covenant-keeper (v. 6), and then unpacks the practical outworking of that identity in a magnificent list of redemptive activities (vv. 7-9). This is the resume of our God. It is a declaration that our hope is not in a vague, abstract deity, but in the God who has a demonstrated track record of powerful, faithful, and just engagement with His world, particularly on behalf of those who have no other help.
Outline
- 1. The Foundation of True Blessedness (Ps 146:5-9)
- a. The Source of Help and Hope (Ps 146:5)
- b. The Character of the Helper: Creator and Covenant-Keeper (Ps 146:6)
- c. The Actions of the Helper: A Sevenfold Redemptive Work (Ps 146:7-9)
- i. Justice and Provision (Ps 146:7a)
- ii. Liberation (Ps 146:7b)
- iii. Illumination and Restoration (Ps 146:8a)
- iv. Love for the Righteous (Ps 146:8b)
- v. Protection for the Vulnerable (Ps 146:9a)
- vi. Judgment on the Wicked (Ps 146:9b)
Context In Psalms
Psalm 146 is the first of the final five "Hallelujah" psalms (146-150) that form a grand, concluding doxology to the entire Psalter. Having journeyed through the full range of human experience, from the depths of lament and imprecation to the heights of thanksgiving and praise, the book of Psalms ends with this sustained, climactic crescendo of praise. This psalm sets the tone for that conclusion by redirecting our ultimate trust away from the failing arm of flesh and onto the everlasting arms of God. It functions as a wisdom psalm, contrasting the folly of trusting in man with the blessedness of trusting in God. This contrast is a theme woven throughout the Psalms (e.g., Ps 118:8-9) and the whole of Scripture. The specific descriptions of God's care for the oppressed, hungry, and marginalized echo the foundational principles of the Mosaic Law and the constant cry of the prophets, establishing that the God we praise is the God of biblical justice and mercy.
Key Issues
- The Folly of Trusting in Man
- The Nature of Biblical Hope
- God as Creator and Sustainer
- The Relationship Between God's Character and His Actions
- The Meaning of Biblical Justice
- God's Special Concern for the Vulnerable
The Only Safe Bet in the Universe
The first few verses of this psalm have already cleared the ground for us. The psalmist has issued a blunt, necessary warning: "Put not your trust in princes" (v. 3). Why not? Because they are sons of Adam, which is to say, they are made of dirt and they are heading back to the dirt. On the very day a man dies, all his grand schemes, his five-year plans, and his political platforms evaporate. To place your ultimate hope in a mortal man is to build your house on a sandbar during a hurricane. It is not just unwise; it is theological insanity.
So, having demolished all false hopes, the psalmist now turns to the only true and living hope. Where is a man to place his trust? If the thrones of men are sinking sand, where is the solid rock? The answer is the central theme of this entire section. The blessed man, the happy man, the man whose life is rightly oriented, is the one who has staked everything on Yahweh, the God of Jacob. What follows is not a list of sentimental platitudes, but a hard-headed, reality-based case for why trusting God is the only sane and rational choice in the entire cosmos.
Verse by Verse Commentary
5 How blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, Whose hope is in Yahweh his God,
The psalm pivots here from the negative warning to the positive declaration. The word for "blessed" here conveys a sense of deep happiness and rightness. This is not a superficial, circumstantial happiness, but a profound state of well-being that comes from being rightly related to reality. And what is that right relationship? It is to have the God of Jacob as your help. This is not just a helper, one among many, but your definitive source of aid. The name "God of Jacob" is significant. It recalls the whole history of God's dealings with a flawed, striving, and conniving patriarch whom God nonetheless chose, protected, and blessed. It is a name that reeks of covenant grace, of a God who sticks with His undeserving people. And this help is the foundation for our hope, which is not a flimsy wish, but a confident expectation placed squarely "in Yahweh his God." To hope in Yahweh is to anchor your soul to the unshakeable reality of who He is.
6 Who made heaven and earth, The sea and all that is in them; Who keeps truth forever;
Why is this hope a sure thing? The psalmist immediately gives us two bedrock reasons. First, our God is the omnipotent Creator. He made everything. The one you are trusting in is not a regional deity or a limited power; He is the one who spoke galaxies into existence. The problems you face, which seem so immense, are trifles to the one who engineered the cosmos. If He can make heaven, earth, and the sea, He can certainly handle your predicament. Second, He is the eternally faithful covenant-keeper. He keeps truth forever. His word is His bond. His promises are not subject to political winds or changing moods. His faithfulness is as constant as His creative power is vast. He has both the ability (as Creator) and the integrity (as truth-keeper) to be utterly reliable. This is the God you are dealing with.
7 Who does justice for the oppressed; Who gives food to the hungry. Yahweh sets the prisoners free.
Now the psalmist moves from God's essential character to His characteristic actions. What does this all-powerful, ever-faithful God actually do in the world? First, He is a God of justice. He does justice for the oppressed. He is not a neutral observer of human affairs; He takes sides. He is on the side of the one who is being crushed and has no earthly recourse. Second, He is a God of provision. He gives food to the hungry. This is both literal and spiritual. He is the one who provides our daily bread and the one who is the Bread of Life. Third, He is a God of liberation. Yahweh sets the prisoners free. This speaks of deliverance from literal dungeons, but in the light of the whole canon, it points to the great exodus from our bondage to sin and death. These are the things our God does. This is His business.
8 Yahweh opens the eyes of the blind; Yahweh raises up those who are bowed down; Yahweh loves the righteous;
The list of God's redemptive activities continues. He brings illumination: Yahweh opens the eyes of the blind. Again, this is a work that Jesus did literally, and it is a perfect picture of the spiritual sight He gives to those dead in their trespasses. He brings restoration: Yahweh raises up those who are bowed down. He lifts the head of the shamed, the burdened, and the grief-stricken. He is a God who straightens what has been bent crooked by sin and sorrow. And then we have a summary statement of His disposition: Yahweh loves the righteous. This is not to say He loves them because they have achieved a state of personal perfection. The righteous, in the biblical sense, are those who have been declared righteous by faith and who, as a result, are oriented toward God's law and His ways. He doesn't just help the righteous; He loves them. His actions flow from His affectionate, covenantal heart.
9 Yahweh keeps the sojourners; He helps up the orphan and the widow, But He bends the way of the wicked.
The final verse of this section focuses on God's care for the most vulnerable members of society, those who lacked a natural protector in the ancient world. He keeps the sojourners, the resident aliens who had no tribal or family standing. He helps up the orphan and the widow, literally sustaining them and lifting them to their feet. This is the consistent testimony of the law and the prophets: the health of a society in God's eyes is measured by how it treats these three groups. Our God is their divine protector. But the verse ends with a sharp and necessary contrast. While He helps up the helpless, He actively opposes the wicked. He bends the way of the wicked. The Hebrew word implies making it crooked, frustrating their plans, and turning their straight path to success into a twisted road to ruin. God's tender care for the lowly is the flip side of His holy opposition to the proud and rebellious.
Application
This psalm is a potent antidote to the political despair and cynicism that so easily besets us. We live in a world of failing princes. We see their plans perish daily. We are constantly tempted to place our hope in the next election, the next movement, or the next charismatic leader, only to be disappointed. This psalm commands us to lift our eyes higher. Our ultimate hope for justice, for provision, for freedom, and for restoration does not rest in any human institution. Our hope is in Yahweh our God.
This means we are free to engage in the world without being crushed by it. We can work for justice because we know the ultimate Judge of all the earth will do right. We can feed the hungry because our God is the great Provider. We can care for the widow and the orphan because we are imitating the God who is their ultimate protector. We are not trying to build utopia with our own failing strength; we are acting as faithful citizens of a kingdom that cannot be shaken, whose king is the Maker of heaven and earth.
And of course, we cannot read this list of God's redemptive works without seeing them perfectly and finally fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ. Who opened the eyes of the blind? Jesus. Who fed the hungry? Jesus. Who set the prisoners of sin and death free? Jesus. Who was oppressed and yet now executes all justice? Jesus. He is the God of Jacob in the flesh, the one who became a sojourner, who was orphaned on the cross, whose widowed mother stood at his feet. He is the embodiment of all these truths. To put your hope in Yahweh your God is to put your hope in Jesus Christ, the one who keeps truth forever.