Psalm 146: The wonder and goodness of the Lord

[Preliminary Comments: This anonymous psalm is a delightful ‘self-help’ psalm whereby the psalmist exhorts himself to praise God [v.1] and keep on praising Him [v.2] and then not to trust men [v.3,4] but only the Lord [v.5]. God is The Creator of all things [v.6] but not a God who stands outside His world but is completely involved with it, blessing mankind [v.7-10]. An amazingly powerful psalm.]

v.1 The psalmist’s call to himself to praise God

v.1 Praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord, my soul.

v.2 It should be enduring and lasting praise

v.2 I will praise the Lord all my life;
    I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.

v.3,4 He calls himself not to trust in man…

v.3 Do not put your trust in princes,
    in human beings, who cannot save.
v.4 When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;
    on that very day their plans come to nothing.

v.5  … but trust should be in the Lord

v.5 Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
    whose hope is in the Lord their God.

v.6 Why? Because He is the all-powerful Creator of all things

v.6 He is the Maker of heaven and earth,
    the sea, and everything in them –
    he remains faithful for ever.

v.7-10 the good works of the Lord in respect of mankind

v.7 He [i] upholds the cause of the oppressed
    and [ii] gives food to the hungry.
The Lord [iii] sets prisoners free,
v.8     the Lord [iv] gives sight to the blind,
the Lord [v] lifts up those who are bowed down,
    the Lord [vi] loves the righteous.
v.9 The Lord [vii] watches over the foreigner
    and [viii] sustains the fatherless and the widow,
    but he [ix] frustrates the ways of the wicked.

v.10 The Lord [x] reigns for ever,
    your God, O Zion, for all generations.

Praise the Lord.

[Additional Comments: Verses 7 to 10 should act as an antidote to those foolish people who would, in ignorance, criticize God or wrongly attribute bad to Him. Take in each of the first eight things in that list – and give thanks.

After perhaps going back and meditating on individual verses, now read it meaningfully out loud straight through

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.

For those who may wish to make a study of this chapter, to perhaps think some more about what you have been reading, use the link below: