1 Praise yee the Lord: prayse the Lord, O my soule.
2 While I liue, will I praise the Lord: I will sing praises vnto my God, while I haue any being.
3 Put not your trust in Princes: nor in the sonne of man, in whom there is no helpe.
4 His breath goeth foorth, he returneth to his earth: in that very day his thoughts perish.
5 Happy is he that hath the God of Iacob for his helpe: whose hope is in the Lord his God:
6 Which made heauen and earth, the Sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth trueth for euer:
7 Which executeth iudgement for the oppressed, which giueth food to the hungry: the Lord looseth the prisoners.
8 The Lord openeth the eyes of the blinde, the Lord raiseth them that are bowed downe: the Lord loueth the righteous.
9 The Lord preserueth the strangers, he relieueth the fatherlesse and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth vpside downe.
10 The Lord shall reigne for euer, euen thy God, O Zion, vnto all generations: Praise ye the Lord.
Why we should not trust in men. (1-4) Why we should trust in God. (5-10)
1-4 If it is our delight to praise the Lord while we live, we shall certainly praise him to all eternity. With this glorious prospect before us, how low do worldly pursuits seem! There is a Son of man in whom there is help, even him who is also the Son of God, who will not fail those that trust in him. But all other sons of men are like the man from whom they sprung, who, being in honour, did not abide. God has given the earth to the children of men, but there is great striving about it. Yet, after a while, no part of the earth will be their own, except that in which their dead bodies are laid. And when man returns to his earth, in that very day all his plans and designs vanish and are gone: what then comes of expectations from him?
5-10 The psalmist encourages us to put confidence in God. We must hope in the providence of God for all we need as to this life, and in the grace of God for that which is to come. The God of heaven became a man that he might become our salvation. Though he died on the cross for our sins, and was laid in the grave, yet his thoughts of love to us did not perish; he rose again to fulfil them. When on earth, his miracles were examples of what he is still doing every day. He grants deliverance to captives bound in the chains of sin and Satan. He opens the eyes of the understanding. He feeds with the bread of life those who hunger for salvation; and he is the constant Friend of the poor in spirit, the helpless: with him poor sinners, that are as fatherless, find mercy; and his kingdom shall continue for ever. Then let sinners flee to him, and believers rejoice in him. And as the Lord shall reign for ever, let us stir up each other to praise his holy name.
Commentary by Matthew Henry, 1710.