The Meaning of Psalms 146:6 Explained

Psalms 146:6

KJV: Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever:

YLT: Making the heavens and earth, The sea and all that is in them, Who is keeping truth to the age,

Darby: Who made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is therein; who keepeth truth for ever;

ASV: Who made heaven and earth, The sea, and all that in them is; Who keepeth truth for ever;

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Which made  heaven,  and earth,  the sea,  and all that therein [is]: which keepeth  truth  for ever: 

What does Psalms 146:6 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 146:1-10 - The Lord Loveth The Righteous
This and the four following psalms are the "Hallelujah" Psalms. Each begins with that word. They were probably composed for use in the second Temple. In the Septuagint this psalm is ascribed to Zechariah and Haggai. The key to it is Psalms 146:5, which is the last of the twenty-six "Blesseds" in the Psalter. What can bring more blessedness into life than the recognition of Jehovah as Help and Hope?
Psalms 146:6-10 emphasizes the present tense in a way which reminds us of the words of our Lord: "My Father worketh hitherto." It is true that with the oppressed and the prisoners in iron circumstance, the blind and the bowed-down, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widowed, the promises appear unfulfilled. This, however, is probably due to the failure of God's Church and of themselves to realize that the Kingdom has been set up in the unseen sphere, but that we need to appropriate its deliverances by faith. "They which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign." But all God's promises, like the great promise of salvation, are contingent on the exercise of faith. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 146

1  The Psalmist vows perpetual praises to God
3  He exhorts not to trust in man
5  God, for his power, justice, mercy, and kingdom, is only worthy to be trusted

What do the individual words in Psalms 146:6 mean?

who made heaven and earth - the sea and all that [is] in them who keeps truth forever
עֹשֶׂ֤ה ׀ שָׁ֘מַ֤יִם וָאָ֗רֶץ אֶת־ הַיָּ֥ם וְאֶת־ כָּל־ אֲשֶׁר־ בָּ֑ם הַשֹּׁמֵ֖ר אֱמֶ֣ת לְעוֹלָֽם

עֹשֶׂ֤ה ׀  who  made 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: עָשָׂה 
Sense: to do, fashion, accomplish, make.
שָׁ֘מַ֤יִם  heaven 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: שָׁמַיִם  
Sense: heaven, heavens, sky.
וָאָ֗רֶץ  and  earth 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
הַיָּ֥ם  the  sea 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: יָם  
Sense: sea.
אֲשֶׁר־  that  [is] 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
בָּ֑ם  in  them 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine plural
הַשֹּׁמֵ֖ר  who  keeps 
Parse: Article, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: שָׁמַר  
Sense: to keep, guard, observe, give heed.
אֱמֶ֣ת  truth 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֱמֶת  
Sense: firmness, faithfulness, truth.
לְעוֹלָֽם  forever 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular
Root: עֹולָם  
Sense: long duration, antiquity, futurity, for ever, ever, everlasting, evermore, perpetual, old, ancient, world.