Psalm 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.

Psalm 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.

Psalm 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.