Click on one of the links to below to read a respective Psalm in poetic form.
PSALM 146
PSALM 147
PSALM 148
PSALM 149
PSALM 150
Background
Psalms 146-150 are in the Deuteronomy Book of the Psalms (Psalms 107-150). These 44 Psalms, like the Book of Deuteronomy in the Old Testament, show God’s Word as the source of salvation, deliverance, and healing. This would be fully carried out in the life of the coming Messiah, the living Word, Jesus Christ. Psalms 146-150 are the final five “Hallelujah” Psalms.
These final five Psalms are a recap and summary of the entire book of Psalms. They praise the Lord for all that He has done, as recorded in the five “Books of the Psalms” that correspond to the first five books of the Bible. This is seen in the following list:
Psalm 146 (Genesis)—God’s creation for mankind: “the Lord his God: Which made heaven, and earth, The sea, and all that therein is” (verses 5,6)
Psalm 147 (Exodus)—Israel as His people: “His statutes and His judgments unto Israel” (verse 19)
Psalm 148 (Leviticus)—God’s sanctuary: “He also exalteth the horn of His People, The praise of all His saints” (verse 14)
Psalm 149 (Numbers)—Israel and the nations of the earth: “Let Israel rejoice…To execute vengeance upon the heathen (nations)” (verses 2,7)
Psalm 150 (Deuteronomy)—God’s Word made flesh, the Messiah: “Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord” (verse 6)
Structure of Psalm 146
Recap and Summary of the Genesis Book of Psalms
(Verses 1,2) Praise the Lord (Hallelujah)
(Verse 3) Don’t trust in princes or the son of Adam, in whom is no help
(Verse 4) Reason: when he takes his last breath and returns to dust, his thoughts perish
(Verse 5) Happy the man who hopes in the Lord his God
(Verses 6-9) Reason: He reigns forever, and constantly cares for His people
(Verse 10) Praise the Lord (Hallelujah)
Key Scriptures
Verse 5—“Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope [trust] is in the Lord his God.” Blessed are those who have Jacob’s God to help them. God changed Jacob’s name to Israel to show a change in this man’s perspective and trust in the Lord.
Jacob means “contender,” and refers to natural five-senses perspective, and thus those born in his physical genealogical line. Since his birth when he grabbed his twin brother’s heel, “Jacob” contended to get ahead in life (compare his time with Laban and gaining his wives and flocks in Genesis 24 – 31).
In Genesis 32 (after leaving Laban), Jacob finally submits to the Lord and becomes more spiritual in his perspective. Thus, God changed his name. Genesis 32:28: “And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.” The name “Israel” means God commands, orders, rules. God is in charge, not Jacob. Those who trust in the Lord God will be blessed.
Verses 8,9—“The Lord openeth the eyes of the blind: the Lord raiseth them that are bowed down: the Lord loveth the righteous: The Lord preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down.” This shows the contrast between those who humbly seek the Lord and the wicked who refuse Him. Jesus Christ came to open the eyes of those who were spiritually blind. Luke 4:18: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.”
In John 9, he literally opened the eyes of a man born blind. Yet those who refused him were “turned upside down.” This was also true of his followers when they preached the risen Christ and “turned the world upside down” (Acts 17:6).
Verse 10—“The Lord shall reign for ever, even thy God, O Zion, unto all generations. Praise ye the Lord.” This is quoted in Revelation 11:15: “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.” That is the ultimate fulfillment of all prophecy.
Structure of Psalm 147
Recap and Summary of the Exodus Book of Psalms
(Verse 1) Praise the Lord (Hallelujah)
(Verses 2,3) His healing care for Israel (in the Messiah)
(Verses 4-6) The Lord’s great creative works: builds up His people, names the stars, shows His great power and infinite understanding, lifts up the meek and casts down the wicked
(Verse 7) Praise the Lord
(Verses 8-11) The Lord’s great creative works: heavens, earth, land, living creatures; He takes pleasure in those who respect Him and hope in His loving kindness
(Verse 12) Praise the Lord
(Verses 13-18) The Lord’s great creative works: strengthening and blessing, snow, frost, wind, waters
(Verses 19,20) His revealed Word to Israel (in the Messiah)
(Verse 20) Praise the Lord (Hallelujah)
Key Scriptures
Verse 3—“He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.” God sent His Word, Jesus Christ, and healed them (see notes on Psalm 107:20 and Psalm 103 for more details).
Verse 4—“He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names.” God literally named the stars. See the publication God’s Celestial Word by the author for more details.
Verse 5—“Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.” That is how God could name the stars. That is how He could plan our eternal salvation. Our God is infinite in His understanding, and He shares His knowledge, wisdom, and understanding with us when we are meek.
Verse 6—“The Lord lifteth up the meek: he casteth the wicked down to the ground.” This theme is repeated throughout scripture. God saves the lowly and humble, but He brings down the proud and haughty (James 4:6-10; I Peter 5:5-7). The scriptures show the Messiah’s humble heart toward the Father. Moses was “very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth” (Numbers 12:3).
Jesus Christ was a prophet like unto Moses (Deuteronomy 18:18), and Jesus was “meek and lowly in heart” (Matthew 11:29). Jesus Christ always went to his Father for counsel and advice on what to do. Jesus said, “I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.” (John 5:30).
Structure of Psalm 148
Recap and Summary of the Leviticus Book of Psalms
(Verse 1) Praise the Lord (Hallelujah)
(Verse 1) Praise the Lord from the heavens, in the highest
(Verses 2-4) Heavenly things to praise the Lord: angels, hosts, sun, moon, stars of light, heavens of heavens, waters above the heavens
(Verse 5) Let them praise the name of the Lord
(Verses 5,6) Reason to praise Him: commanded the creation, stablished them forever, made a decree that they shall not pass
(Verse 7) Praise the Lord from the earth
(Verses 8-12) Earthly things to praise the Lord: dragons, deeps, fire, hail, snow, vapors, stormy wind, mountains, all hills, fruitful trees, all cedars, beasts, all cattle, creeping things, flying fowl, kings of the earth, all people, princes, judges of the earth, young men, maidens, old men, children
(Verse 13) Let them praise the name of the Lord
(Verses 13,14) Reason to praise Him: His name alone is excellent, His glory is above the earth and heaven, He exalts the horn of His people Israel who are near Him
(Verse 14) Praise the Lord (Hallelujah)
Key Scriptures
Verses 1-4—“from the heavens…above the heavens.” God gives a good overview of heavenly things: angels, hosts, sun, moon, stars of light, heavens of heavens, waters above the heavens. This is similar to what the Apostle Paul wrote in I Corinthians 15:40,41: “There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.”
Astronomy has star cycles with stellar “births” and “deaths.” These include protostars, blue supergiants, blue giants, red giants, red dwarfs, supernovas, sun-like stars (yellow), brown dwarfs, white dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes. The 48 visible constellations in the sky are made of 12 major pictures that pass through the ecliptic, and each has three other associated pictures that add detail. The result is a detailed story of God’s promised redeemer and the work he would do.
Verses 7-12—“Praise the Lord from the earth…Old men, and children.” God gives a good overview of earthly things as well: dragons, deeps, fire, hail, snow, vapors, stormy wind, mountains, all hills, fruitful trees, all cedars, beasts, all cattle, creeping things, flying fowl, kings of the earth, all people, princes, judges of the earth, young men, maidens, old men, children.
This is also similar to what the Apostle Paul wrote in I Corinthians 15:39. “All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.” One day, believers will have a new spiritual body, like unto Jesus Christ’s resurrected body (Philippians 3:21).
Structure of Psalm 149
Recap and Summary of the Numbers Book of Psalms
(Verse 1) Praise the Lord (Hallelujah)
(Verse 2) Saints sing His praise in the congregation
(Verse 3) His people show their pleasure in dance, song, timbrel, and harp
(Verse 4) His people are the Lord’s pleasure, He will beautify the meek with salvation (in the Messiah)
(Verses 5-9) Saints sing His praise upon their beds
(Verse 9) Praise the Lord (Hallelujah)
Key Scriptures
Verse 4—“For the Lord taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation.” The Hebrew word translated “beautify” means to cause to gleam or shine. God takes pleasure, He enjoys fellowshipping with those who love and worship Him. He causes us to shine as lights in this world. Philippians 2:15: “That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world.”
Verses 6-9—“a two-edged sword in their hand; To execute vengeance…To execute upon them the judgment written: This honour have all His saints.” This will come to pass in the future when those who are gathered together with Christ help to carry out eternal justice (see I Thessalonians 1:10; 3:13; II Thessalonians 2:1-8 for more details).
Structure of Psalm 150
Recap and Summary of the Deuteronomy Book of Psalms
(Verse 1) Praise the Lord (Hallelujah)
(Verse 2) Praise God in His heavenly sanctuary
(Verse 3) Praise Him in the firmament
(Verse 3) Praise Him for His might and greatness
(Verse 2) Praise Him with music from His earthly sanctuary: trumpet, psaltery, harp, timbrel, dance, stringed instruments, organs, loud cymbals, high sounding cymbals, and everything that has breath
(Verse 6) Praise the Lord (Hallelujah)
Key Scriptures
Verse 2—“Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness.” At the close of the Psalms, we are reminded to praise our loving God for all of His might and the majestic greatness of His grandeur. His great work in Christ reigns supreme.
Verse 6—“Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord.” The final words of the Psalms proclaim their clear message: Everything that is alive should praise the Lord. Amen.
This is the final installment of this blog series on The Psalms. We thank you for taking the time to learn more about God’s Word and His heart for us in these beautiful poems and hymns.
FOR FURTHER STUDY
All 150 of The Psalms in Poetic Form are available from Amazon in a book, either Large Print or a smaller Bedside Reader.
The Background, Structure, and Key Scriptures for all 150 Psalms are available from Amazon in a book The Psalms: Background & Structure with Key Scriptures Explained.
