For those who may wish to ‘study’ this chapter, the following simple resources are provided for you. Each passage has a four-Part approach to help you take in and think further about what you have read.

Passage: Psa 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 for ever.
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 for ever,
    your God, O Zion, for all generations.

Praise the Lord.

A. Find Out

1. What does the psalmist declare he will do? v.1,2
2. What does he say not to do, and why? v.3,4
3. Who is blessed? v.5
4. How does he describe the Lord? v.6
5. List the things he says the Lord does. v.7-9
6. What does he finally declare about the Lord? v.10

B. Think:

1. What does the psalmist instruct us about trust?
2. What are the grounds given for trusting the Lord?
3. What does he feel this should evoke in us?

C. Comment:

                This is a simple psalm of praise (v.1) by an unknown psalmist who declares that he will always praise the Lord (v.2). He starts by warning us not to put our trust in people (v.3) who cannot save us, [people whose plans are thwarted by death (v.4). That point was made to contrast with trusting in the Lord.

                Such a person is blessed, he declares, by the God of Jacob (v.5) the twister (which says things about the Lord), the all powerful eternal One, the same God who is Creator of all things (v.6) who remains true or faithful to Himself and thus his people, for ever.

                Then come ways He does that: caring for the oppressed and providing food for the hungry and setting prisoners free (v.7), giving sight to the blind, lifting up those who are bowed down by life, loving those who hold to righteousness (v.8), even watching over the alien who has joined the people of God (inferred by history), and looking after  vulnerable widows and orphans, while hindering the wicked (v.9).

                In all these ways the Lord expresses His reign and His reign goes on for ever (v.10) and Israel (and especially the occupants of Jerusalem should remember this and praise Him for it. Within this psalm the character of the Lord is revealed through His acts on behalf of the weak and needy and it is on these grounds that we praise Him.

D. Application:

1. Think of all good things God has done for you.
2. Praise Him for those things.