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Psalms 146
The first of the five "Hallelujah" psalms that close the Psalter, each opening and ending with "Praise the LORD." The poet vows lifelong praise (v.2), then draws a sharp contrast between two kinds of help. Don't trust princes, he warns; when their breath departs, "his thoughts perish" the same day (vv.3-4). Set against that mortal frailty stands the God of Jacob, maker of heaven and earth, who actually keeps his promises.
- 1
Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD, my soul.
- 2
While I live, I will praise the LORD. I will sing praises to my God as long as I exist.
- 3
Don’t put your trust in princes, in a son of man in whom there is no help.
- 4
His spirit departs, and he returns to the earth. In that very day, his thoughts 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 frees the prisoners.
- 8
The LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD raises up those who are bowed down. The LORD loves the righteous.
- 9
The LORD preserves the foreigners. He upholds the fatherless and widow, but he turns the way of the wicked upside down.
- 10
The LORD will reign forever; your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the LORD!
What this God does for the powerless
The happiness of verse 5 is unpacked by a list of God's concrete acts: justice for the oppressed, food for the hungry, freedom for prisoners, sight for the blind (vv.7-8).
Notice who he names: the foreigner, the fatherless, the widow (v.9). The princes you shouldn't trust tend to overlook exactly these, which is the point of the contrast.
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