Psalm 146
"Praise to Yahweh Elohim for His Support of the Afflicted
and the Down-Trodden"
Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE ®,
Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation.
Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)
A1 THE OPENING CALL TO PRAISE YAHWEH 146:1-2
B1 The Psalmist's Call to Praise Yahweh 146:1
C1 His Call to Corporate Praise: {1} Praise the LORD! 1
C2 His Call to Personal Praise: Praise the LORD, O my soul!
B2 The Psalmist's Life-Long Vow to Praise Yahweh 146:2
C1 To Praise Yahweh: {2} I will praise the LORD while I live;
C2 To Sing Praises to His Elohim: I will sing praises to my God while I have
my being.
A2 THE VALUE OF RELYING NOT UPON MAN, BUT UPON YAHWEH ELOHIM
146:3-9
B1 The Futility of Relying upon Man 146:3-4
C1 The Warning Not to Rely upon Nobility: {3} Do not trust in princes,
C2 The Warning Not to Rely upon Impotent, Mortal Man
D1 His mortality: In mortal man,
D2 His impotence: in whom there is no salvation.
C3 The Description of Man's Mortality 146:4
D1 His departing spirit: {4} His spirit departs, he returns to the earth;2
D2 His stilled intellect: In that very day his thoughts perish.3
1
Psalm 146:1 - Praise the LORD: Heb. Hallelu-Yahh! Hallelu (praise) is an intensive (Piel) masculine plural
Imperative. The psalm opens with a corporate call to praise Yahh, and it will conclude with the same corporate call.
Yahh is the abbreviated designation for Yahweh.
2
Psalm 146:4 - earth: The term refers not to the planet earth ('erets, 776, Gen. 1:1) but to the dust of the ground
or soil ('adamah, 127) from which man ('adam, 120) was made (Gen. 2:7).
3
Psalm 146:4 - thoughts perish: The normal Hebrew perspective is that death is the end of things. From the
grave one can do nothing, he ceases to exist. "The dead experience no remembrance (Pss. 6:5; 88:12), no thought
(Eccl. 9:10), no speech (Pss. 31:17; 94:17), especially no words of praise (Pss. 6:5; 30:9), and no work (Eccl. 9:10)"
(Chris Church, "Sheol," Holman Bible Dictionary). There are, however, substantial glimmers of the resurrection in
the Old Testament: Job 19:25-27; Psalms 16:10-11 (cf. Acts 2:27-28, 31; 13:34-37); 17:15; 49:15; 73:24; Isa.
26:19; Ezek. 37:1-14; Dan. 12:2; Hos. 6:1-2.
Expanded Analysis of Psalm 146 by James T. Bartsch 2
B2 The Blessings of Relying upon Yahweh Elohim 146:5-9
C1 The Statement of Blessing 146:5
D1 From the help of Elohim of Jacob: {5} How blessed is he whose
help is the God of Jacob,
D2 From hope in Yahweh His Elohim: Whose hope is in the LORD his
God,
C2 The Greatness and Faithfulness of God 146:6
D1 Creator of all 146:6a
E1 Heaven and earth: {6} Who made heaven and earth,
E2 The sea and its contents: The sea and all that is in them;
D2 Eternally faithful: Who keeps faith forever; 146:b
C3 The Compassion of Yahweh for the Afflicted and Downtrodden 146:7-9
D1 Justice for the oppressed: {7} Who executes justice for the
oppressed; 146:7
D2 Food for the hungry: Who gives food to the hungry.
D3 Freedom for the prisoners: The LORD sets the prisoners free.
D4 Sight for the blind: {8} The LORD opens the eyes of the blind;
146:8
D5 Elevation for those bowed down: The LORD raises up those who
are bowed down;
D6 Love for the righteous: The LORD loves the righteous;
D7 Protection for the aliens: {9} The LORD protects the strangers;
146:9
D8 Support for the bereaved; He supports the fatherless and the widow,
D9 Obstacles for the wicked: But He thwarts the way of the wicked.
Expanded Analysis of Psalm 146 by James T. Bartsch 3
A3 THE CLOSING CALL TO PRAISE YAHWEH 146:10
B1 The Grounds for Praise: Yahweh's Eternal Reign
C1 The Eternal Reign of Yahweh: {10} The LORD will reign forever,
C2 The Unending Influence of Zion's Elohim: Your God, O Zion,4 to all
generations.
B2 The Call to Corporate Praise: Praise the LORD! 5
Expanded Analysis of Psalm 146
Prepared by James T. Bartsch
August, 2006, updated August 19, 2019
WordExplain.com
Email Contact: [email protected]
Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE ®,
Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation.
Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)
4
Psalm 146:10 - Zion: It is impossible to worship Yahweh Elohim fully without observing and supporting His
connection with Zion.
5
Psalm 146:10 - Praise the LORD! Heb. Hallelu-Yahh! Hallelu is an intensive (Piel) masculine plural
Imperative. The psalm opened with a corporate call to praise Yahh, and it concludes with the same corporate call.
