Psalm 146:5

Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God:

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(5) For the different aspects of the Divine nature and character inspiring trust see Introduction. With this verse comp. Psalm 33:12; Psalm 144:15.

Hope.—The Hebrew word is rare in the psalter, expressing earnest” looking for,” or “waiting for.” (See Psalm 104:27; Psalm 119:166.)

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

146:5-10 The psalmist encourages us to put confidence in God. We must hope in the providence of God for all we need as to this life, and in the grace of God for that which is to come. The God of heaven became a man that he might become our salvation. Though he died on the cross for our sins, and was laid in the grave, yet his thoughts of love to us did not perish; he rose again to fulfil them. When on earth, his miracles were examples of what he is still doing every day. He grants deliverance to captives bound in the chains of sin and Satan. He opens the eyes of the understanding. He feeds with the bread of life those who hunger for salvation; and he is the constant Friend of the poor in spirit, the helpless: with him poor sinners, that are as fatherless, find mercy; and his kingdom shall continue for ever. Then let sinners flee to him, and believers rejoice in him. And as the Lord shall reign for ever, let us stir up each other to praise his holy name.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

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 Psalm 144:15, note; Psalm 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.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

PSALM 146

Ps 146:1-10. An exhortation to praise God, who, by the gracious and faithful exercise of His power in goodness to the needy, is alone worthy of implicit trust.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

No text from Poole on this verse.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire 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 Jeremiah 17:7.

Geneva Study Bible

Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God:

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

5. Happy is he, whose help is the God of Jacob;

Whose hope resteth upon Jehovah his God.

Cp. Psalm 33:12; Psalm 144:15; Psalm 20:1. The word for hope is Aramaic, and is found elsewhere only in Psalm 119:116 : the cognate verb is used in Psalm 145:15 (A.V. wait).

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 5. - Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his Help. "God of Jacob" is a favorite expression in the later psalms, where it almost supersedes the phrase, "God of Israel" (see Psalm 76:6; Psalm 81:1, 4; Psalm 84:8; Psalm 94:7; Psalm 114:7; Psalm 132:2, 5; and the present passage). It is rare in the historical books and in the prophets. Whose hope is in the Lord his God (comp. Psalm 22:9; Psalm 39:7; Psalm 62:5; Psalm 71:5, etc.). Psalm 146:5

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

Man's help is of no avail; blessed is he (this is the last of the twenty-five אשׁרי of the Psalter), on the contrary, who has the God of Jacob (שׁאל like שׁיהוה in Psalm 144:15) as Him in whom is his succour (בּעזרו with Beth essentiae, vid., on Psalm 35:2) - he, whose confidence (שׂבר as in Psalm 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. Nehemiah 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. שׁמר אמת is in form equivalent substantially to שׁמר חסד and שׁמר הבּרית. 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 השּׁמר, the only determinate participle, the faithfulness of God to His promises is made especially prominent.