Keil and Delitzsch Commentary - Psalms 146:5 - 146:5

Online Resource Library

Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com

Keil and Delitzsch Commentary - Psalms 146:5 - 146:5


(Show All Books | Show All Chapters)

This Chapter Verse Commentaries:

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 (שֶׁאֵל like שֶׁיְהֹוָה in Psa 144:15) as Him in whom is his succour (בְּעֶזְרֹו with Beth essentiae, vid., on Psa 35:2) - he, whose confidence (שֵׂבֶר as in Psa 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. Neh 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. שָׁמַר אֱמֶת is in form equivalent substantially to שָׁמַר חֶסֶד and שָׁמַר הַבְּרִית. 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 הַשֹּׁמֵר, the only determinate participle, the faithfulness of God to His promises is made especially prominent.