Psalm 146

The Lord Reigns Forever

I like this psalm because it starts and ends with the same phrase; "Praise the Lord".  The word praise appears five times in just 10 verses.  Why the emphasis?  Well, as this psalm tells us, God is very worthy of praise, so you really can't praise Him enough.  Praise for the Lord is encouraged not just as an activity, but as an entire way of life.  The psalm writer takes two avenues to encourage us to praise God, both of which I have covered before, but both of which are worth repeating.

The first reason we should praise God as a way of life is because living for the world is a path to ruin.  When we put our ultimate faith in other people, we will get nowhere.  Although it may seem like a somewhat bleak view of human existence, the writer reminds us that humans cannot save themselves, and when they die, that's it.  We are not eternal like the Lord, so when we put faith in man, that faith dies with men.  No matter what grand things man has done, when they die, "they return to the ground".  So while we can have meaningful and holy relationships with other people, those relationships should not consume all of our attention.  Our priority should be on praising God, not praising each other, because, while even saints dies and are buried, God reigns forever and ever.

The other reason we are given to live a life of praise is because we can celebrate God's majesty.  The psalm spends several verses telling us all of the things that God does for us.  As I go through the list, it seems a little bit off when compared to reality.  We learn that God feeds the hungry, yet we still have the hungry.  We're told God sustains the weak, yet, in this world, the weak are still exploited.

How do we bridge this apparent contradiction.  In my view, we have to take a wider view, outside of ourselves.  Earlier, we are told that the actions of men are fruitless, since all return to dust.  God is still with the hungry, and the weak, and the blind, and the imprisoned, even if they suffer in this life.  God is larger than the actions of men.  Even if you are hungry or weak, God does not abandon you.  While God may not be literally doing the things listed in this psalm, they are reminders of God's justice, grace, and mercy.

This psalm reminds us that the Lord reigns forever, and after we finish this life of suffering, the Lord brings us to Him where we can live in his love and comfort forever.  While the plans of man end, the plans of God are everlasting. Praise the Lord.

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 forever.
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 forever,
    your God, O Zion, for all generations.

Praise the Lord.