Psalms Reading – 5.16.2022
Psalm 146
1 Praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord, my soul.
2 I will praise the Lord all my life;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
3 Do not put your trust in princes,
in human beings, who cannot save.
4 When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;
on that very day their plans come to nothing.
5 Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord their God.
6 He is the Maker of heaven and earth,
the sea, and everything in them—
he remains faithful forever.
7 He upholds the cause of the oppressed
and gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets prisoners free,
8 the Lord gives sight to the blind,
the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down,
the Lord loves the righteous.
9 The Lord watches over the foreigner
and sustains the fatherless and the widow,
but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.
10 The Lord reigns forever,
your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the Lord.
This psalm, along with all the psalms in the final section of 146-150, begins and ends with “Praise the Lord” which is the Hebrew word Hallelujah. These psalms also emphasize many of the themes we have already seen through the whole book.
The psalmist begins with a personal vow to praise God all of his life. Then he calls on his audience not to trust in human beings, even leaders, because they cannot ultimately save. They will eventually die and so will their plans with them.
Instead, we find one of the many “blesseds” of the Psalms where we will find true joy if we acknowledge that our help and hope is in the Lord who made heaven and earth. In contrast to humans who die, God remains faithful forever. He is always there for us.
God watches over and provides for the oppressed and hungry. He sets prisoners free and gives sight to the blind. He lifts up those who are overwhelmed with life. He cares for those who have no one else to care for them, including, the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow. God loves those who are in a right relationship with Him but is at work against the efforts of those who do evil.
The psalmist gives us a beautiful description of God and why we should put all our trust in Him. We can be confident that the Lord rules over all forever so we should always be found praising the Lord!
Memory Verse: Psalm 147:3, He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
Question(s) to Consider: What does this psalm tell you about God? How does it inspire you to offer praise to God?