Psalm 146:1-3

New Catholic Bible

Footnotes

1. Psalm 146:1 The Concluding Hallel (see notes on Pss 113–118). After all the prayers and praises of the Psalter, we are now at the end; all the instruments of creation and all the voices of human beings enter into a great chorus, a symphony destined never to end. The Psalms are a foretaste of and prelude to the acclamations of eternity.
2. Psalm 146:1 The long procession of the unhappy and the persecuted has wound its way through the Psalter, endlessly repeating their supplications. This time, their prayer takes the form of a hymn of happiness and security. How uncertain is the help of the mighty! God alone truly frees us of every anxiety.
   Inaugurating the third Hallel and composed of reminiscences, this hymn sings of what the Prophets promised (see Isa 29:18f; 49:9; 61:1), promises whose fulfillment Jesus proclaims (see Lk 4:16-21). “The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them” (Mt 11:5)—such is the kingdom that comes; it inaugurates a new time, that of peace. Accordingly, like the next four psalms, it is framed with “Alleluia” or “Hallelujah” (“Praise [or bless] the Lord”).
   We can pray this psalm in honor of the heavenly Father but also in honor of Christ “[whom] God exalted . . . at his right hand as leader and Savior so that he might grant repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel” (Acts 5:31).
3. Psalm 146:1 The psalmist calls upon his people to praise and trust the Lord, for human beings are unable to provide salvation owing to their mortality.
4. Psalm 146:1 The Septuagint and Vulgate attribute this psalm to the prophets Haggai and Zechariah. Soul: see note on Ps 6:4.
5. Psalm 146:2 Life is for the purpose of praising the Lord (see Pss 103:1; 104:33).