For every reprobate and me."
Verse 10
All thy works shall praise thee - The God who is good to all.
Thy saints - חסידיך chasideycha, thy compassionate ones; those who are partakers of thy great mercy, [Psa 145:8]. These shall bless thee, because they know, they feel, that thou willest the salvation of all. The dark, the gloomy, the hard-hearted, the narrow-minded bigots, who never have had thy love shed abroad in their hearts, can unfeelingly deal in the damnation of their fellows.
Verse 12
To make known - They delight to recommend their God and Father to others.
Verse 13
Thy dominion endureth - There is neither age nor people in and over which God does not manifest his benignly ruling power. As the above verse begins with the letter מ mem, the next in the order of the alphabet shouid begin with נ nun: but that verse is totally wanting. To say it never was in, is false, because the alphabet is not complete without it; and it is an unanswerable argument to prove the careless manner in which the Jews have preserved the Divine records. Though the Syriac, Septuagint, Vulgate, Ethiopic, Arabic, and Anglo-Saxon, have a verse, not in the Hebrew text, that answers to the נ nun, which is found in no printed copy of the Hebrew Bible; yet one MS., now in Trinity College, Dublin, has it thus, I suppose by correction, in the bottom of the page: - נאמן יהוה בכל דבריו וחסיד בכל מעשיו
Neeman Yehovah bechol debaraiv; vechasid bechol maasaiv. "The Lord is faithful in all his words; and merciful in all his works." Πιστος Κυριος εν τοις λογοις αυτου· και ὁσιος εν πασι τιος εργοις αυτου. - Septuagint.
Fidelis Dominus in omnibus verbis suis: et sanctus in omnibus operibus suis - Vulgate.
These two Versions, the Septuagint and Vulgate, are the same with the Hebrew given above. The Anglo-Saxon is the same: - "True Lord in all words his, and holy in all works his."
The Latin text in my old Psalter is the same with the present printed Vulgate: "Fidelis Dominus in omnibus verbis suis, et sanctus in omnibus operibus suis."
Thus translated in the same MSS.: Lorde true in all his words: and holy in al his workes.
It is remarkable that the whole verse is wanting in the Vulgate, as published in the Complutenstan Polyglot, as also the Antwerp and Paris Polyglots, which were taken from it. It is wanting also in the Polyglot Psalter of Porus, because he did not find it in the Hebrew text.
Verse 14
The Lord upholdeth all that fall - נפלים nophelim, the falling, or those who are not able to keep their feet; the weak. He shores them up; he is their prop. No man falls through his own weakness merely; if he rely on God, the strongest foe cannot shake him.
Verse 15
The eyes of all wait upon thee - What a fine figure! The young of all animals look up to their parents for food. God is here represented as the universal Father, providing food for every living creature.
In due season - The kind of food that is suited to every animal, and to all the stages of life in each animal. This is a wonderful mystery. It is a fact that all are thus provided for; but how is it done? All expect it from God, and not one is dsappointed! For,
Verse 16
Thou openest thine hand - What a hand is this that holds in it all the food that meets the desires and necessities of the universe of creatures! A very large volume might be written upon this: The proper kinds of food for the various classes of animals.
Verse 17
The Lord is righteous - It was the similarity of this to the omitted verse, which should have been the fourteenth, that caused it to be omitted.
Verse 18
The Lord is nigh - Whoever calls upon God in truth, with a sincere and upright heart, one that truly desires his salvation, to that person God is nigh. The following verse shows he is not only near to praying people, but
1. He will hear their cry.
2. Fulfil their desires.
3. Save them. Reader, lift up thy soul in prayer to this merciful God.
Verse 20
The Lord preserveth - He is the keeper of all them that love him.
But all the wicked will he destroy - They call not upon him; they fight against him, and he will confound and destroy them. There is something curious in the שומר shomer, the keeper or guardian of the pious; he is שמיד shamid, the destroyer of the wicked. The first word implies he is continually keeping them; the second, that he causes the others to be destroyed.
Verse 21
Let all flesh bless his holy name - He is good to all, wants to save all, actually feeds and preserves all. And as near as שמר shamar is to שמד shamad, so near is he a Savior to those who stand on the brink of destruction, if they will look to him.
For the application of all this Psalm to the Church of Christ, see the analysis.
Introduction
The psalmist, full of gratitude, purposes to praise God for ever, [Psa 146:1], [Psa 146:2]; and exhorts not to trust in man, not even the most powerful; for which he gives his reasons, [Psa 146:3], [Psa 146:4]. The great advantage of trusting in God, [Psa 146:5]. The mercies which they who trust in God may expect, [Psa 146:6-9]. The Divine government is everlasting, [Psa 146:10].
This is the first of the Psalms called Hallelujah Psalms, of which there are five, and which conclude the book. No author's name is prefixed to this, either in the Hebrew or Chaldee. But the Syriac, Vulgate, Septuagint, Ethiopic, and Arabic, attribute it to Haggai and Zechariah. It was probably written after the captivity, and may refer to the time when Cyrus, prejudiced by the enemies of the Jews, withdrew his order for the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem, to which revocation of the royal edict the third verse may refer: Put not your trust in princes etc.
Verse 2
While I live will I praise - The true feeling of a heart overpowered with a sense of God's goodness.
While I have any being - בעודי beodi, in my continuance, in my progression, my eternal existence. This is very expressive.
Verse 3
Put not your trust in princes - This may refer, as has been stated above, to Cyrus, who had revoked his edict for the rebuilding of Jerusalem. Perhaps they had begun to suppose that they were about to owe their deliverance to the Persian king. God permitted this change in the disposition of the king, to teach them the vanity of confidence in men, and the necessity of trusting in himself.
Verse 4
His breath goeth forth - His existence depends merely, under God, on the air he breathes. When he ceases to respire he ceases to live; his body from that moment begins to claim its affinity to the earth; and all his thoughts, purposes, and projects, whether good or evil, come to nought and perish. He, then, who has no other dependence, must necessarily be miserable.