Psalm 146

Background

Psalm 146 is the first of five final concluding praise Psalms in the Book of Psalms. These psalms are not attributed to David; in the Septuagint, Psalms 145 (this psalm) to 148 are given the title "of Haggai and Zechariah". Psalms 146 and 147 are seen by some as twin Psalms. Both psalms draw on images from Isaiah 61 (which Jesus takes as applying to himself in Luke 4), such as setting captives free and opening blind eyes in Psalm 147, and healing the brokenhearted in Psalm 148. Besides Isaiah 61, the themes in this Psalm are also found on Leviticus 25 (the year of Jubilee). This is one of six Psalms involving preaching to self, with the evocative phrase "O my soul" being used. Preaching to self was highly recommended by Welsh Minister Martyn Lloyd-Jones as he said "Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself?"

Uses

New Testament

• Verse 6 is quoted in the New Testament in Acts ; Acts

Judaism

• The psalm in its entirety is recited during Pesukei Dezimra, the initial section of the daily morning prayer service.
• The blessings Pokeiakh Ivrim ("gives sight to the blind"), Matir asurim ("releases the bound"), Zokef kefufim ("straightens the bent"), from the Birkat HaShachar are derived from Psalm 146:7-8.
• Verse 10 is part of Kedusha, and is a part of the third blessing of the High Holidays Amidah.

Catholic Church

• Since the Middle Ages, this psalm was recited or sung during the vespers office on Thursday, according to the Rule of St. Benedict, established in 530 AD. In the modern Roman Catholic Liturgy of the Hours, Psalm 139 is recited at Vespers, and also Wednesdays in the fourth and final week of the cycle of liturgical prayers. In the liturgy of the Mass, it is played or sung for the feast of St. John the Baptist.

Book of Common Prayer

In the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer, this psalm is appointed to be read on the morning of the thirtieth day of the month.

Coptic Orthodox Church

In the Agpeya, the Coptic Church's book of hours, this psalm is prayed in the office of Compline and the third watch of the Midnight office. It is also in the prayer of the Veil, which is generally prayed only by monks.

Musical settings

Psalm 146 was paraphrased in Paul Gerhardt's hymn in German "Du meine Seele singe" (You my soul sing), published in 1667 with a melody by Johann Georg Ebeling in the collection Pauli Gerhardi Geistliche-Andachten (Spiritual devotions by Paul Gerhardt).

Heinrich Schütz composed a four-part setting of a metric German version for the Becker Psalter, "Mein Seel soll loben Gott den Herrn (My soul shall praise God the Lord), SWV 251. Johann Sebastian Bach based an early church cantata, Lobe den Herrn, meine Seele, BWV 143 (Praise the Lord, my soul), on verses from the psalm. Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach included a setting for voice and in his collection of 42 psalms, Psalmen mit Melodien, H. 733, completed in 1774. The psalm is titled "Es werde Gott von uns erhoben!" (God shall be exsultet by us).

Alan Hovhaness set portions of this text, along with portions of Psalms 33 and 150, for his work Praise the Lord with Psaltery. Norma Wendelburg set the psalm to music in 1973, as Praise the Lord for mixed chorus and optional organ. Peter Heeren wrote a setting for mixed choir and piano in 2012, Der 146. Psalm.

Text

The following table shows the Hebrew text of the Psalm with vowels, alongside the Koine Greek text in the Septuagint and the English translation from the King James Version. Note that the meaning can slightly differ between these versions, as the Septuagint and the Masoretic Text come from different textual traditions.A 1917 translation directly from Hebrew to English by the Jewish Publication Society can be found here or here, and an 1844 translation directly from the Septuagint by L. C. L. Brenton can be found here. Both translations are in the public domain. In the Septuagint, this psalm is numbered Psalm 145.

Verse 2

:While I live I will praise the Lord; :I will sing praises to my God while I have my being. The wording of Psalm 104:33 is "almost identical".

Notes

References

| author-link = Pamela Dellal | access-date = 27 February 2014

| access-date = 12 June 2015

References

1. (2 May 2019). "Parallel Latin/English Psalter / Psalmus 145 (146)". medievalist.net.
2. Henry, Matthew. "Psalms 147". Bible Study Tools.
3. [[Alexander Kirkpatrick. Kirkpatrick, A.]], [https://biblehub.com/commentaries/cambridge/psalms/146.htm Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges] on Psalm 146, accessed 6 July 2022
4. Brodersen, A. (2017), The End of the Psalter: Psalms 146-150 in the Masoretic Text, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the Septuagint
5. Lloyd-Jones, Martyn. (1965). "Spiritual Depression: Its Causes and Its Cure". Pickering & Inglis.
6. Kirkpatrick, A. F.. (1901). "The Book of Psalms: with Introduction and Notes". At the University Press.
7. The Complete Artscroll Siddur, page 70
8. The Complete Artscroll Siddur, page 18
9. The Complete Artscroll Siddur, page 100
10. The Complete Artscroll Machzor for Rosh Hashanah, page 67
11. Prosper Guéranger, Règle de saint Benoît, (traduction de Prosper Guéranger, réimpressin 2007)
12. Psautier latin-français du bréviaire monastique, 1938/2003 p 519.
13. Church of England, [https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files/2019-10/The%20Book%20of%20Common%20Prayer%201662.pdf Book of Common Prayer: The Psalter] as printed by [[John Baskerville]] in 1762, p. 307
14. "Compline". agpeya.org.
15. "Midnight". agpeya.org.
16. "Veil". agpeya.org.
17. {{IMSLP. Psalmen mit Melodien, H.733 (Bach, Carl Philipp Emanuel)
18. "Alan Hovhaness List of Works by Opus Number".
19. {{IMSLP. Der 146. Psalm (Heeren, Peter)
20. "Psalms – Chapter 146". Mechon Mamre.
21. "Psalms 146 - JPS 1917". [[Sefaria.
22. "Psalm 145 - Septuagint and Brenton's Septuagint Translation". Ellopos.
23. {{bibleverse. Psalm. 146:2. NKJV: [[New King James Version]]