**********PSALMS 146

The Happiness of Those Whose Help Is the Lord

146 Praise[a] the Lord!

Praise the Lord, O my soul! 2 While I live I will praise the Lord; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

3 Do not put your trust in princes, Nor in [b]a son of man, in whom there is no [c]help. 4 His spirit departs, he returns to his earth; In that very day his plans perish.

5 Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, Whose hope is in the Lord his God, 6 Who made heaven and earth, The sea, and all that is in them; Who keeps truth forever, 7 Who executes justice for the oppressed, Who gives food to the hungry. The Lord gives freedom to the prisoners.

8 The Lord opens the eyes of the blind; The Lord raises those who are bowed down; The Lord loves the righteous. 9 The Lord watches over the strangers; He relieves the fatherless and widow; But the way of the wicked He [d]turns upside down.

10 The Lord shall reign forever— Your God, O Zion, to all generations.

Praise the Lord!

When You Approach and Seek to Worship the Lord, 146:1–10)

(146:1–10) Introduction: if we will be honest with ourselves, most of us will admit that we want to be as self-sufficient as possible. However, some circumstances leave us no choice but to rely on the assistance of others. And, then, there are times when we face desperate situations, times when we do not know where to turn. We realize that no person, regardless how powerful, skillful, or well-intentioned, can change our circumstances. We also know that beyond encouraging and praying for us, no one can do anything for us. Psalm 146 speaks to us in those times.

Psalm 146 is the first of five exuberant psalms of praise that close the Hebrew hymnal. Psalms 146–149 begin and end with a thunderous shout of Praise the LORD (halal Yah) or Hallelujah, leading up to the booming climax of Psalm 150, in which every verse calls for praising God.

Noted pastor and commentator James Montgomery Boice offers a perspective that puts these five psalms—as well as the entire book of Psalms—into clear focus:

In the earlier psalms, we have studied the writers’ griefs, shames, sins, doubts, and fears. We have witnessed the people of God in their defeats and victories, their ups and downs in life. We have encountered rebellious words and struggling faith. All this is behind us now. In these final psalms every word is praise.

Praise is where all true religious contemplation should end. When all is said, the hearts of those who are truly God’s people beat their last praising God. Do we understand all that God is doing in our lives or in the world? Of course not, but we understand enough about the nature of God to praise him in spite of the difficulties.1

The unnamed author of Psalm 146 emphasizes the LORD’s trustworthiness. We should not place our trust in other people, he warns, for they can do little to help us (vv. 3–4). God, on the other hand, is all-powerful and completely faithful (vv. 5–6). When no other person can help us, God, the Creator of heaven and earth, can (v. 6). Furthermore, He cares deeply about the needy (vv. 7–10).

Beyond the fact that other people can do little to help us in this life lies the reality that they can do absolutely nothing for us in eternity. God, on the other hand, can help us both now and forever.

When our hope is in Him, we are blessed. This is, When You Approach and Seek to Worship the LORD, 146:1–10.

1. Rouse yourself to praise the LORD (vv. 1–2).

2. Do not place your trust in people (vv. 3–4).

3. Trust the LORD, the God of Jacob: Place your hope in Him (vv. 5–9).

4. Praise the LORD because He is your God and He reigns forever—throughout all generations, Ex. 15:18; Ro. 5:16–17 (v. 10).

1 (146:1–2) Rouse yourself to praise the LORD.

Psalm 146 begins with an exclamation: Praise the LORD (halal Yah)—Hallelujah! Something in the psalmist’s soul stirred him to exalt the LORD. He praised God with all his heart, with every ounce of emotion he could draw upon from within (v. 1). Overcome by awe, gratitude, and love for God, he made a fresh commitment to praise the LORD as long as he lived (v. 2). He vowed to give God glory while I have any being (be’odi). Hebrew scholar Franz Delitzsch (1813–1890) rendered this as “in my yet-being.” Simply stated, the psalmist was declaring that he would praise God as long as he had any trace of life in him—to his dying breath.

Thought 1. Praising the LORD should be the natural instinct of our souls. When we fully grasp who God is and how much He loves us, we cannot contain our praise. Our souls fill with love, and gratitude toward God until we burst into praise. Difficult circumstances cannot quench our passion for God. Forced, half-hearted efforts do not suffice. From that point on, a lifetime is not long enough to express our deepest devotion to Him. We long to fulfill the purpose for which God created us—to glorify Him forever.

“And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud him, all ye people” (Ro. 15:11).

“By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name” (He. 13:15).

2 (146:3–4) Do not place your trust in people.

The psalmist then issued a solemn warning along with some wise counsel: we should not place our trust in people, neither in princes nor in the son of man. Princes speaks of powerful, influential leaders. The son of man refers to any human being. No person, regardless of who he or she is, is worthy of our absolute confidence.

a. Because they are mere mortals: They cannot save you—not permanently (v. 3).

Man (adam) also stresses the fact that humans are mere mortals. Any help that people can give is temporary and pertains only to this life. Help (teshuah) is usually translated as salvation (2 Ch. 6:41; Ps. 119:81; 144:10). No human being can save us—not permanently.

b. Because they too will die and their plans (thoughts) will perish with them (v. 4).

The psalmist reminds us that all people die eventually (He. 9:27). Our breath (ruach) leaves us; our spirits depart; and we return to the earth or ground.

Notice a play on words in these verses in the Hebrew language. The word man (adam) is derived from the word earth (adamah). Literally, man means of the earth. Our bodies are of the earth. When we die, our bodies decompose and return to the earth from which they were made (Ge. 3:19; Ps. 104:29). At that moment, all of our thoughts or plans—everything we can imagine doing—dies with us. The psalmist is reinforcing the truth that no human can do anything for us beyond this life. Therefore, we need to place our trust in the only one who has the power to save us for all eternity.

Thought 1. Pastor and professor Donald M. Williams gives an excellent explanation of these verses:

We are faced with only two alternatives in life, either to trust men (including ourselves) or to trust God. Most people, when they are really honest, admit that they spend most of their time trusting men. They trust politicians to run the country. They trust news commentators to tell them what’s going on in the world. They trust professors to educate them. They trust doctors to diagnose them, and they trust pastors and priests to care for their souls. Here is where we make our investments. We put our faith, time, money, and energy into what people say. Most of us would admit that we do not really pray over decisions. We do not expect God to run our lives day to day. Nevertheless, the psalmist clearly tells us that we are foolish to continue this.… As we look to men, even great spiritual leaders, we need to ask one question: “Can this person save me?” This question places [every human being] into perspective.2

“And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man” (Jn. 2:25).

“For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh” (Ph. 3:3).

“It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes” (Ps. 118:9).

“Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD” (Je. 17:5).

3 (146:5–9) Trust the LORD, the God of Jacob: Place your hope in Him.

Instead of trusting in people, we should trust in the LORD, the God of Jacob. The name God of Jacob “brings to mind all that God did to help this patriarch.”3 The God of Jacob is the LORD (Jehovah, Yahweh), the only true and living God. He is the covenant-keeping God who is characterized by His unfailing love. We should place our hope in Him and in Him alone.

a. Because He will bless and help you (v. 5).

The psalmist stated rightly that the only people who are truly happy or blessed (esher) are those who turn to the LORD for help (see DEEPER STUDY #1—Ps. 112:1 for discussion). Just as God was faithful to Jacob, He will be faithful to us. He will bless and help us, just as He did Jacob and his descendants, the nation of Israel.

b. Because He is the Creator and Sustainer of all things: He is faithful and will keep every promise He has ever made (vv. 6–9).

In contrast to mortal beings, the LORD is eternal. He is the Creator and Sustainer of all things (v. 6). His life, His power, and His reign extend beyond the boundaries of the universe. He is the one who dwells in eternity (Is. 57:15). Therefore, unlike any human being, He is able to give us eternal help. As the Creator of the universe, He is naturally its most powerful force.

The LORD is also absolutely trustworthy, unlike humans. If there is one thing we can be sure of concerning people, it is that they will fail us. And if there is one thing we can be sure of concerning God, it is that He will not. The LORD keeps truth (emeth) forever; that is, He is faithful to the uttermost. He will keep every promise He has ever made.

This eternal, all-powerful, trustworthy God cares about people, the beings He created in His own image. The psalmist specified nine ways that the LORD exhibits His faithful love for humanity:

⮚ He upholds justice for the oppressed, both the physically and spiritually oppressed (v. 7a).

⮚ He feeds the hungry, both the physically and spiritually hungry (v. 7b).

⮚ He sets prisoners free—those incarcerated unjustly—both physically and spiritually (v. 7c).

⮚ He gives sight to the blind, both the physically and spiritually blind (v. 8a).

⮚ He lifts up those who are weighed down and heavily burdened (v. 8b).

⮚ He loves the righteous (v. 8c).

⮚ He watches over strangers or foreigners (v. 9a).

⮚ He cares for the fatherless and the widow (v. 9b).

⮚ He frustrates the plans of the wicked so they cannot prevail over His people (v. 9c).

Thought 1. Too often, we are guilty of trusting our own wisdom and strength or other human resources instead of trusting the LORD. God and God alone is completely trustworthy. He is able to do what we and others cannot do. We can depend on Him for every need.

Even the best people will occasionally fail or let us down, but the LORD will never fail us. People come and go, but God remains. People rise and fall, but God is forever the same. People are limited in what they can do, but God is unlimited in power and knowledge. People are fair some of the time, but God is just all of the time. Human wisdom is sometimes right, but God’s wisdom is always right. People are faithful to some degree, but God is faithful in all.

Trusting the LORD releases us from enslavement to fear, doubt, and anxiety. When we place our trust fully in Him, we will be blessed indeed!

“Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy” (1 Ti. 6:17).

“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths” (Pr. 3:5–6).

“Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is” (Je. 17:7).

Thought 2. While the Lord Jesus Christ walked among us, He proved that God could be trusted by demonstrating His love for people. He declared that He was the one that Isaiah prophesied about (Is. 61:1–2):

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord” (Lu. 4:18–19).

Scanning the list above (vv. 7–9) reminds us of the works and miracles of Christ. As followers of Jesus Christ, we are His body, His hands and feet in the world. We are to carry out His work, showing the people around us that they can trust the LORD, that they can place their hope in Him. The LORD does His work through us. Certainly, there are times when God intervenes miraculously; however, He usually ministers to the needy by touching the hearts of His people, who, in turn, act in obedience to Him.

It is one thing to tell people to trust God, but it is entirely another to show people that God can be trusted by letting God use us to meet their needs. Remember the convicting words of Jesus’ brother James and then the apostle John:

“If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?” (Js. 2:15–16).

4 (146:10) Praise the LORD because He is your God and He reigns forever—throughout all generations, Ex. 15:18; Ro. 5:16–17.

The psalmist closed this song with a strong and comforting declaration about the LORD. First, the LORD is faithful and He keeps His covenant, the wonderful promises He has given His people, the seed of Abraham. This is Zion’s or Israel’s God. His people know Him, and they can trust in Him. Second, the LORD reigns forever, throughout all generations. The world and the wicked will always rise up against God’s people, but they will not prevail. The LORD is on His throne, and the Creator of heaven and earth will reign throughout eternity.

Praise the LORD—Hallelujah!

Thought 1. We who have believed in Christ are also Abraham’s seed (Ro. 4:1–25; Ga. 3:6–9). And Israel’s God is our God just as much as He is theirs. The LORD has revealed Himself to us through His Word and through His Son. Therefore, we can know Him personally and trust Him completely.

Even more marvelous, because we have believed in God’s Son and thereby received His abundant grace, we will reign with Him forever! We will reign in this life while on the earth, and we will reign with Christ over this earth throughout eternity (Ro. 5:16–17; Re. 5:10). As commentator Matthew Henry wrote:

Let this encourage us to trust in God at all times that the Lord shall reign for ever, in spite of all the malignity [evil] of the powers of darkness, even thy God, O Zion unto all generations. Christ is set King on the holy hill of Zion, and his kingdom shall continue in an endless glory. It cannot be destroyed by an invader; it shall not be left to a successor, either to a succeeding monarch or a succeeding monarchy, but it shall stand for ever. It is matter of unspeakable comfort that the Lord reigns as Zion’s God, as Zion’s king, that the Messiah is head over all things to the church, and will be so while the world stands.4

“He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end” (Lu. 1:32–33).

“The LORD shall reign for ever and ever” (Ex. 15:18).