When his spirit departs, he returns to the ground; on that very day his plans perish.
David stirs himself and us to praise God, then warns against the near-universal disease: we deceive ourselves by trusting in princes and great men, who have no power to save. The remedy is plain, center all hope in God alone, and He will show you His power and mercy.
AI summary
Commenting on Psalm 146:1-10
His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth. His breath goes from his body, and his body goes to the grave. His spirit goes one way, and his body another. High as he stood, the want of a little air brings him down to the ground, and lays him under it.
David is supposed to have penned this psalm; and he was himself a prince, a mighty prince; as such, it might be thought, 1. That he should be exempted from the service of praising God, that it was enough for him to see that his priests and people did it, but that he needed not to do it himself in his own person.
Commenting on Psalm 146:1-4