Psalms 146

The psalmist vows to praise the LORD for as long as he lives. He warns against trusting human rulers, who die, and points instead to the God who made everything and never fails. The psalm lists how the LORD cares for the oppressed, the hungry, the blind, the foreigner, the orphan and the widow, and ends with his reign forever.

Psalms 146:1

The psalm opens with a shout of praise and then turns inward. The writer speaks to his own soul and tells it to praise the LORD. Praise is not left to mood. He stirs his whole inner self to join in.

BSA: soul (“the essence of a person”): The call is for his whole being to praise, not just his lips. Praise (“extol, magnify”): To praise is to lift God up and make him look as great as he truly is.

See also: Psalm 103:1.

Psalms 146:2

He makes a lifelong vow. Every day he has breath, he will give it to praising and singing to his God. Praise is not meant for one season of life but for all of it.

BSA: sing praises (“make music, celebrate with joy”): His praise is joyful and musical, not merely dutiful. all my life (“while I have breath, as long as I exist”): He gives praise for as long as he has breath.

Psalms 146:3

Here is the warning. Do not put your final trust in princes, however powerful. They are human, and they cannot save. Leaders can help in small ways, but they cannot rescue us from death or sin.

BSA: trust (“confidence, faith”): The word is about where we rest our full weight, and rulers cannot bear it. mortal man (“a son of man, human being”): The phrase stresses that even the great are merely human.

See also: Psalm 118:8-9; Jeremiah 17:5.

Psalms 146:4

A ruler’s power ends when his breath does. He goes back to the dust from which man was made, and his plans die with him. Human schemes are only as lasting as the one who makes them.

BSA: spirit (“spirit or breath of life”): Life is a loan of breath, and when it is withdrawn the person is gone. plans (“thoughts or ideas”): Even his best thoughts and projects vanish with him.

See also: Genesis 3:19; Ecclesiastes 12:7.

Psalms 146:5

In contrast, the truly happy person is the one whose help is the God of Jacob. Jacob was a flawed man whom God kept and helped. The same God stays with those who hope in him.

BSA: Blessed (“happy, fortunate”): This is deep, settled well-being that comes from having the right helper. hope (“expectation, confidence”): Hope here is a confident expectation, not wishful thinking.

See also: Psalm 33:12; Jeremiah 17:7.

Psalms 146:6

This helper is no small god. He made heaven, earth, sea and all that fills them, so nothing is beyond his power. He also keeps faith forever. His strength and his promise-keeping go together.

BSA: faithful (“true, trustworthy, keeping truth”): God not only speaks truth but keeps his word. Maker (“Creator, One who brings into being”): He is the source of all things, so every need falls within his reach.

Hebrew: הַשֹּׁמֵר (hashomer, H8104) — “the one who keeps, guards.” The word is used for a watchman who guards something carefully. God guards his truth and keeps it safe, so it never lapses.

See also: Genesis 1:1.

Psalms 146:7

The Creator is also a champion of the weak. He sees that justice is done for those who are crushed, feeds the hungry, and frees those who are bound. His power is used for the helpless.

BSA: oppressed (“those treated unfairly, crushed down”): These are people pressed down by those with power. free (“untied, released from bondage”): The picture is of chains being loosed.

See also: Luke 4:18.

Psalms 146:8

The list continues with three actions, each beginning with the LORD. He opens blind eyes, raises up those bent low with grief or burden, and loves the righteous. Jesus later did these very things, which Christians see as a sign of who he is.

BSA: weighed down (“bowed down, bent”): The picture is of someone bent double under a heavy load. righteous (“just, upright, made right with God”): God’s love rests on those who are set right with him.

See also: Luke 13:10-13; John 9:1-7.

Psalms 146:9

God watches over those with no natural protector: the foreigner, the orphan and the widow. Yet he turns the plans of the wicked off course, so their way ends in failure. His care for the weak is also opposition to those who harm them.

BSA: foreigners (“sojourners, temporary residents”): These were people living far from home, without land or family to defend them. frustrates (“turns upside down, perverts”): The wicked find their road twisted so it does not reach where they meant to go.

See also: Deuteronomy 10:18; Psalm 68:5.

Psalms 146:10

The psalm ends with the answer to the fading rule of princes: the LORD reigns forever. Unlike kings who die, he is Zion’s God through every generation. The psalm closes where it began, with Hallelujah.

BSA: reigns (“rules as King, has dominion”): He is the true King, and his rule does not end when a throne changes hands. generations (“through every age, to all people”): Each age finds the same God on the throne.

See also: Exodus 15:18; Revelation 11:15.