PSALM 146

Theme: The help of man versus the help of God. Help from man is temporal and unstable, but help from God is lasting and complete.

Author: Anonymous

https://www.biblestudytools.com/psalms/146.html

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.

Study Notes:

146--150 These last five psalms overflow with praise. Each begins and ends with Praise the LORD.". They show us where, why, and how to praise God. What does praise do? (1) Praise takes our minds off our problems and shortcomings, and focuses them on God. (2) Praise leads us from individual meditation to corporate worship. (3) Praise causes us to consider and appreciate God's character. (4) Praise lifts our perspectives from the earthly to the heavenly.

146:3-8 The psalmist portrays man as an inadequate savior, a false hope; even princes cannot deliver (146:3). God is the hope and help of the needy. Jesus affirms his concern for the poor and afflicted in Luke 4:18-21; 7:21-23. He does not separate the social and spiritual needs of the people, but attends to both. While God, not the government, is the hope of the needy, we are his instruments to help here on earth.

146:9 God's plans frustrates the "ways of the wicked" because his values are the opposite of society's. Jesus turned society's values upside down when he proclaimed that "many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first" (Matthew 19:30), and that "whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it" (Matthew 16:25). Don't be surprised when others don't understand your Christian values, but don't give in to theirs.

This psalm begins and ends with Praise the Lord. Love it when this is because even if you get turned upside down, you still start and end up with Praise the Lord. It kinda implies we are going around in circles, doesn't it? We have been conditioned to live linearly, with time lines and deadlines and shortest connections between two points. But I am thinking that's man's way. It seems to me that God's way is more like the circle of life.

Oh, Lord, thank you that you allow us to think for ourselves even in our very limited understanding. Thank you for having the patience and understanding of us to be able to tolerate our stupidity when we talk to you. Even in whatever state or condition we are in, you love us and hear our pleas. We praise you for all that you are and do. Forever, over and over daily. In Jesus name, Amen.

A Song: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=awkO61T6i0k

Have a blessed day.