Praying Through the Psalms - Psalm 146: Because of Who He Is

Introduction

We are in week four of our Praying through the Psalms series

It has been a powerful time of digging into each of these Psalms and then turning around and praying them back to the Lord.

We have walked through Psalm 85, 17, and 63.

Psalms 85 and 17 are both considered Psalms of Lament, although Psalm 17 is more of an individual lament Psalm and Psalm 85 is more of a communal lament.

Psalm 63 (last week) is a Psalm of Trust

This week, we are in Psalm 146 which is a Psalm of Praise

So theme that will undergird everything we are focusing on is the Praise of the Lord

How we will be praying

We will be praying like we did last week.

If you weren’t here, I want to quickly let you know what will happen during our prayer time.

You will turn to the 2-3 people closest to you and pray with them.

You can glance side to side now and figure out who is going to be in your group this week.

During our prayer times, If you are not the one actively praying, then you will be agreeing in prayer, saying things like “yes, Lord” or “Amen” - something like that.

I will close each prayer time by simply saying “Lord...” and then close us in prayer and move to the next point.

Prayer

Before we dive into the scriptures, let’s pray and ask the Lord to meet with us!

Jeremiah 33:3 ESV

3 Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.

Father, I pray that as we open Your word, in Psalm 146 today, that we would see you for who you are, and not who we think you are, or who this world has made you out to be.

And I pray that our response would be worship and to commit ourselves more deeply to You and your mission to seek and save the Lost.

Background on Psalm 146

Hallelujah Psalm

Psalm 146-150 all begin and end with the same phrase - “Praise the Lord”

We will recognize the Hebrew word used here - “Hallelujah”

This word is made of two root words

Hallel - which means to admire or to praise

And Yah - which is part of the covenant name of the Lord - Yahweh.

Since all of these Psalms open and close with the word Hallelujah, they have earned the name “Hallelujah Psalms.”

They are all categorized appropriately as Psalms of Praise

Author

We are not exactly sure who the author is of Psalm 146.

Some have suggested King David while others have suggested that Haggai and Zechariah wrote it jointly.

If Haggai and Zechariah did write this Psalm, then the thought is that it was written for the dedication of the rebuilt temple that we read about in Ezra and Nehemiah.

I tend to lean towards this camp, but it Is still in question.

Theme

As we look at the progression of the 5 chapters - what we see is that they are somewhat stepwise

Psalm 146 - Praise God for who He is

Psalm 147 - Praise God for what he has done

Psalm 148 - Calling everything that God has made (sun, moon, creatures, mountains, etc) to praise Him

Psalm 149 - Calling God’s own children to praise Him

Psalm 150 - Calling all of the Heavens to join into the song of praise

The Praise talked about in these Psalms was not simply descriptive of what was happening at the time, they are also prescriptive for us to praise the Lord.

Chiastic Structure

This Psalm was written in Chiastic form or as a Chiasm.

A Chiasm is named after the Greek letter Chi, which looks like the English letter X.

chiasms follow a mode of thought and story telling, that go “Beginning, Middle, Beginning”

Like an X, the lines are converging at a central point in the middle of the text and this is the point that the author is trying to make.

This is the thought that the author wants to hammer home for the readers.

Along the way, the lines (not necessarily verses) will correspond with one another in either identical or complementary ideas and typically, they are the path by which one gets to the main point.

We see this here in Psalm 146

v. 1a - Praise the Lord!

v. 10b - Praise the Lord!

We tend to struggle with this method of writing and story-telling as westerners, because we are linear in our thinking - “Beginning, Middle, End”

But this is a very common manner of writing found throughout the entirety of the Bible.

The Entire Bible in many ways, follows Chaistic form.

A - In Genesis, it starts with “In the Beginning - and there is the creation of the earth

A’ - In Revelation, it is not so much of an end as it is a new beginning

B - After creation, people try to find their way to the Lord, through adherence to the Law and through the Judges, Priests, and Kings

B’ - In the NT, before Revelation, Jesus comes not to help us get to God, but to bring God to us

C - And it just so happens that in the middle chapter of the Bible is Psalm 117, the shortest Psalm of the Bible

Psalm 117 ESV

1 Praise the Lord, all nations! Extol him, all peoples! 2 For great is his steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord!

This drives home the point of the whole Bible

The Praise of the Lord among ALL PEOPLES

I wish I had more time to talk about this, because it is one of my favorite literary features of the Bible and it has dramatically impacted the way I read much of scripture.

Go look it up and check it out!

Let’s dive into Psalm 146

1. Trust in the Lord (vv. 1-4)

Psalm 146:1–4 ESV

1 Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul! 2 I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being. 3 Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. 4 When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish.

Beginning with Hallelujah

This Psalm begins with this word, Hallelujah (Praise the Lord)

This is not just a declaration, it is an imperative

The Psalmist is telling us/commanding us to Praise the Lord.

When we say Hallelujah, we are both declaring praise for the Lord AS WELL AS calling those around us to do the same.

And he exemplifies this as well - having commanded his readers to “praise the Lord,” he makes this statement in v. 2

“I will praise the Lord (hallelujah) for as long as I live, I will sing praises while I have my being.”

His life (and his life beyond this one) is meant to be wholly devoted to the praise of the Lord

The Psalmist will unpack the reasons behind why he is calling us to Praise the Lord in vv. 6-10, but he is setting the stage for us with a call to praise…

This is the beginning and also the end of the Psalm

Remember, beginning/middle/beginning

In a few moments for our first prayer time we will start with Praise.

He will get to the reasons for this praise, but must first address another issue… misplaced trust

Misplaced Trust

The Psalmist strikes a stark contrast here

vv. 1-2 are exhortations to surrender our hearts to the Lord.

vv. 3-4 are warnings about surrendering out hearts in the wrong places.

What are those wrong places?

People…

Psalm 146:3–4 ESV

3 Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. 4 When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish.

Don’t get thrown off by the princes thing here…

The word can mean ruler or someone of noble status, but it can also imply someone who is influential.

Someone that you hold in a high regard, whose opinion will influence your decision making process, and whose presence or absence will dramatically alter your trajectory - good or bad, btw.

What does the text say about these people?

They offer us no salvation.

They are going to one day die, they will return to the earth and their plans - or their thoughts about the future will die with them.

Let’s look at some context here to help us understand:

If this Psalm was written by Haggai and Zechariah, then this would have been on the heels of the Persian King, Cyrus decreeing that the temple be rebuilt around 535 BC.

This would have been a HUGE boost in confidence to have such a powerful man behind their efforts.

The human tendency would be to want to build a strong allegiance to this person and hold them in almost a god-like status because they had done so much to help their cause.

The problem is - people are terrible saviors.

And Cyrus was no different…

Spoiler alert… He died - I know, shocker.

And after him, King Artaxerxes came along and shut things down.

Since Cyrus was dead, there was nothing he could do about it.

Which is why the Psalmist says - “put not your trust in princes, or in a son of man - because he will not be here forever and his plans and decrees go to the grave with him.”

There is a funny word-play here in the Hebrew.

Do not put your trust in a son of Man (Adam), when his breath departs, he returns to the earth (Adamah).

When the man was formed from the dust of the earth, the Lord looked at him and called him Adam, which is basically short for dirt.

When we put our trust in people, we are putting our trust in dirt…

As a clarification here, I am not saying that we don’t seek wisdom from others, or cultivate meaningful relationships in our life - because the Lord absolutely intends for us to do this.

I am saying that we shouldn’t look to man instead of the Lord

The Problem is that we do this all the time

We trust in ourselves to accomplish things on our own

So we think “what can I do” when faced with a challenge

We trust in others for approval

So we put on a face so that they see us the way we want them to see us

We trust in our spouse to meet the needs that we have

So we idolize them And expect from them what only God can give.

We trust in our children to represent us a certain way

So we try as hard as we can to make them be good in public

We trust in the government to keep us safe

So we lose our minds hanging on every word a government doctor has to say and credit a president with getting us through dark times…

The list goes on and on...

And all the while, ignoring the Lord who is described as the the alpha and omega… He’s kinda been around for a while…

And I get it - people are easy to trust in, because they are tangible…

We can see them… and sometimes they give us good reason to trust in them.

But the Psalmist showed us the problem with this…

When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day, his plans perish

I’ve got news for us

None of the people that we put our trust in will live forever.

And when their time comes to die, their memory may remain, but their plans perish.

Let’s trust in the Lord, not in people - no matter how amazing they are.

First Prayer Time Points:

Hallelujah!

Realign your trust - where is your trust misplaced?

“Lord…” close prayer time

We do not look for our help, for our security, for our peace, for our trust in man… For the Christ-follower, all of this comes from one place…

This also happens to be the chiastic focal point of Psalm 146.

2. Blessing is Found in Christ (v. 5)

Psalm 146:5 ESV

5 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God,

First, Where Blessing is found

Look at how this verse begins - Blessed is he…

This is called a beatitude and it is the last one in the Psalms.

Most people tend to think about Matthew 5, and the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount when they hear the word Beatitude

But, the word Beatitude simply means a state of utmost bliss

When we see beatitudes in scripture, they are telling us where blessedness is found.

Here in Psalm 146, blessedness comes to those whose help and hope is in the Lord.

So let’s unpack this a little bit.

What does it mean to be blessed?

The word blessed simply means to find happiness

I think most people would tie blessing to something that we can lay hold of in this world: a a person, a job, status, wealth, etc.

Because of this:

When I get a new job or a raise, of if I get married, or buy a new house - I might say I am blessed

I don’t think that we would be using this word incorrectly if we said these things because technically, these things can bring us some happiness.

Is that what the Psalmist talks about here?

This word for blessed is used 44 times in 41 different verses throughout the Old Testament.

And, it is a noun that appears only in the construct plural form, translated literally as “the blessings of ___________.”

For instance, here, it would be the “blessings of help and hope in God”

As far as I could tell, every instance of this noun was tied to a direct experience of the Lord

Discipline of God

Fear of God

forgiveness by God

walking in God’s ways

etc.

I could not find a single usage of this word that expresses my blessing in the form of material enrichment.

Perhaps the closest that I could find was that if you allow your ox and your donkey to free range, you will be blessed.

It doesn’t say specifically what those blessings are

but I would imagine that when you free range your donkey and ox, you don’t have to shovel as much… well, you know… which sounds like a pretty big blessing.

When the Psalmist (or any OT author) uses this word for blessing, it usually refers to the covenantal love of the Lord

Which is reinforced in the words that the author uses for “help” and “hope”

Help = Ezer

College Ladies, this should sound familiar to you, as we do a recurring event called Ezer.

V. 5 says Blessed is he whose help IS the God of Jacob…

Not whose help is from the God of Jacob.

Used here, Ezer is a noun and means “one who assists and serves another with what is needed.”

Get the image in your head of The Lord serving His children and providing them with what they need.

Are you living like He is your help?

Or are you trying to do this on your own?

Hope = Seber

It is looking forward with expectation towards something good.

Hope is confident expectation

It bears noting that this word is only used twice in the whole Bible and it is here and in Psalm 119 - and they are both referring to one’s hope in the Lord.

It is never used of hope in man or in stuff.

The Lord is the only one who can measure up to our hopes.

Not only this, but He far exceeds our wildest hopes.

I defy you to find anything else in creation that can do that.

Blessing is not tied to or based on the material provision in our lives- but rather to the Lord Himself.

Here’s the application for us…

The Lord is the prize - and the ultimate source of blessing.

It is not so much the help and hope that make one blessed, it is the Lord Himself.

We will miss the point if we get caught up in what God does for us and not who God is to us.

The things He does for us can serve as reminders of who He is, which should awaken our love for Him even more.

so, our blessing is the Lord who is our help and our hope.

Second, The “God of Jacob”

You will see this phrase several times throughout Scripture, but we see it quite a bit in the Psalms.

The significance of this phrase is found in who Jacob was.

Jacob’s name literally means “supplanter” or “cheater”

Jacob’s life was marked by always trying to game the system or get one up on someone else.

God changed his name to Israel in Genesis 32 - which means to strive or contend.

We do see the Lord referred to as the God of Israel or the Holy one of Israel.

Yet here, and several places throughout scripture we find reference to the God of Jacob.

Why is this significant?

It illustrates that the Lord is not afraid of being identified as the God of the worst versions of ourselves…

In many ways, Jacob was a wreck - but God doesn’t mind being identified by the name God of Jacob, or God of the Cheater.

How does this apply to you?

You do not need to get yourself cleaned up for the Lord to be your hope and your help.

In fact, quite the contrary.

You need to admit your brokenness and face down your sin so that you can see your need for the Lord to be your help and your hope.

Without coming face to face with your own sinfulness, you will be fooled into thinking that you do not need help or hope from the Lord.

This should bring a huge measure of peace to someone who is sitting in the room thinking that the Lord is disgusted with them because of how they have screwed things up…

He looks at us with grace and compassion and comes to us to be our help and our hope even when we are the cheater, the liar, the adulterer, the addict, the angry one...

But don’t think that this means that He is ok with your sin.

When he wrestled with Jacob, he put the dude’s hip out of socket and caused him to limp for the rest of his life.

The Lord will confront your sin head on, and in doing so, will be your help in breaking that sin, and your hope in redeeming you from that sin.

There’s a chance that you may walk away from that with a limp - but you will be His

Let’s keep that in mind as we enter into our second prayer time.

Second Prayer Time Points

How have you been blessed in the Lord?

Recall how He has been your help and your Hope

Thank the Lord for pursuing you in your worst moments, not just your best.

“Lord…”. Close prayer time

Our first prayer point was centered around Trust in the Lord

The second was, Blessing is found in Christ

and our final prayer point is this:

3. Reasons to Praise (vv. 6-10)

Psalm 146:6–10 (ESV)

6 [God] who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever; 7 who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free; 8 the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous. 9 The Lord watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. 10 The Lord will reign forever, your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the Lord!

The Psalm closes with five verses which form the basis for WHY we sing Hallelujah by telling us WHO God is - supporting our main point, that blessedness is found in the Help and Hope of God.

5 Reasons for praise

1. His unbridled power (v. 6a)

He created “heaven and earth, the sea and everything that is in them.”

Translation, there is nothing that He didn’t create, and there is nothing that He doesn’t own.

Colossians 1:16 - By Him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities - all things were created through Him and for Him.

This means that all of your stuff, is not really your stuff - it’s His

This should impact how we live our lives, how we spend our money, how we treat our bodies, how we care for creation, how we interact with others, and how we think about “our stuff”.

We should praise Him because He has unbridled Power

2. His unceasing faith (v. 6b)

“who keeps faith forever”

He is reliable, trustworthy, dependable, loyal, enduring, and steadfast.

Interestingly, the text qualifies this for us by adding the word forever.

In the “Dictionary of Biblical Languages” by James Swanson, he says that this word forever conveys a quote “unlimited duration of time, usually with a focus on the future” and with “no anticipated end.”

Think about this for a second...

There has never been and will never be a time when the Lord is not faithful.

He was faithful before anything was made and He will be faithful a million years from now when we are face to face with Him singing Hallelujah.

There is no expiration date on his faithfulness and it doesn’t change based on our circumstances - good or bad.

We should praise Him because he has unceasing faith

3. His infinite mercy (v. 7-8)

“He brings justice for the oppressed, feeds the hungry, releases prisoners, makes the blind to see, lifts up those who are bowed down and loves the righteous.”

God goes after those who are in need of rescue.

Isaiah 61 uses some of the same language that we see here in Psalm 146 and Jesus actually quoted those words in Luke 4:18 to describe what He had come to do

Luke 4:18 ESV

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed,

Psalm 146:7-8 is fulfilled in the person and work of Jesus.

We should praise Him because of His infinite mercy

4. His uncompromising justice (v. 9)

“He watches over the sojourners (strangers or foreigners in the land), he upholds or sustains the widow and the orphan“

Those that are unable to defend themselves - the Lord is their defender, their guardian, their sustainer.

It also says that “ He brings the way of the wicked to ruin.“

Literally - He will make the path of the wicked crooked and twisted so as to spoil their plans if not here on this earth, then at Judgement.

we need to know this today - God is for those in need and he is against the oppressors.

and He administers justice perfectly.

We should praise Him because of His uncompromising Justice

5. His Indisputable Majesty (v. 10)

“The Lord WILL reign forever (again - an “unlimited duration of time, usually with a focus on the future” and with “no anticipated end.”) your God, O Zion to all generations”

There is no one that can challenge Him

There is no one that is greater than Him

His reign will not end and His power will not cease

He will forever be King over His people and He will rule them perfectly without any sin or abuse.

We should praise Him for His indisputable majesty

Making Sense of why we should not put our trust in people

Do you see why the Psalmist said in v. 3 to not put your trust in princes or in a son of man?

Not only is there no salvation in them, they come nowhere close to the Lord.

Third Prayer Time Points

What are your reasons for praise? Declare them!

If you’re having a hard time doing this, then personalize these reasons listed...

When have you been impacted by:

His Power

His Faithfulness

His Mercy

His Justice

His Majesty

How have you experienced these aspects of God’s nature?

use these verses to remind yourself of all of the Ways that He has given you to praise Him

if you want to, use these verses and pray them back to the Lord, personalizing them for yourself.

My prayer is that this passage will help give voice to our praise.

Hallelujah

Closing Prayer

Lord, our Trust is in you, our Blessing is found in You, and we have an infinite number of reasons to praise you, so we will spend the rest of eternity extolling your praise and worshipping your name.

“Praising God will not cease when we die; rather the next life will be characterized by our seeing, loving and praising God forever and ever” - Augustine