PSALM 146 - PRAISE THE POWERFUL PROTECTOR AND PROVIDER

PSALM 146

PRAISE THE POWERFUL

PROTECTOR AND PROVIDER

INTRODUCTION: The human writer and occasion of Psalm 146 are unknown. The psalms from 146 to 150 are known as the “Praise” or “Hallelujah” psalms and each of them begins and ends with “Praise the LORD.” Many scholars believe they were written after the return from captivity in Babylon.

Psalm 146:1 Praise ye the Lord. Praise the Lord, O my soul.

Susan: The soul is the seat of the mind, will, and emotions. To me it encompasses the personality . . .

Susie: . . . that which makes us individual persons.

Susan: Our soul is that which makes us unique.

Susie: In addition to corporate praise, we as individuals must praise the Lord in our own distinct relationship with Him.

Susan: The soul and spirit are what make us in the image of God. God spoke the animals into existence but He personally and intimately breathed life into Adam.

Genesis 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

Genesis 2:7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

Psalm 146:2 While I live will I praise the Lord: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.

Susie: As one who trusts in God, praises to Him should emanate from my entire being, a lifelong symphony of praise.

Susan: When our earth-suits expire, those souls who believe and trust in Jesus will immediately find ourselves in the presence of our Lord continuing our chorus of praise.

Psalm 146:3-4 Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.

Susan: We are not to put our trust in rulers and governments for they are mere men and women: even presidents are dust.

Susie: The mightiest king or president with the most powerful army is not what protects us. Ultimately, our Defender is the Lord.

Psalm 20:7 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God.

Psalm 146:5 Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God:

Susie: God changed Jacob’s name to Israel.

Susan: Jacob means “supplanter” because he stole his brother’s place, his birthright, and his inheritance. As a sign of blessing, God changed his name to Israel which means “God perseveres.”

Susie: Our trust is not in Jacob but in His God, the One who perseveres, the One who never fails.

Susan: God’s love for His people never fails:

1 John 4:8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

1 Corinthians 13:8a (AMPC)    Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end].

Psalm 146:6 Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever:

Susie: Genesis and many of the psalms establish over and over that God spoke everything into being. He sustains it with the power of His words as well.

Hebrews 1:3a (NIV) The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.

Genesis 8:22 While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.

Susan: God cannot lie. If God says it, that is better than a guarantee. Whatever He says WILL be reality. We can count on God to honor the promises He has made.

Numbers 23:19 God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

2 Corinthians 1:20 For however many promises God has made, they all find their “Yes” in connection with him; that is why it is through him that we say the “Amen” when we give glory to God.

Susie: Not only does God always tell the truth, He IS the truth. Jesus is the embodiment of truth.

John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

John 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Susan: Since Jesus is the truth, it is trust and relationship with Him that sets us free.

Psalm 146:7 Which executeth judgment for the oppressed: which giveth food to the hungry. The Lord looseth the prisoners:

Susan: God watches over the underdog. He wisely judges between the oppressed and the oppressors. Since He is truth, He possesses complete discernment.

Susie: God provides for the truly hungry and those imprisoned unjustly. He uses His people to take care of them. Jesus said that in doing so, we are ministering to Jesus Himself.

Matthew 25:35 & 40 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in . . . And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Psalm 146:8 The Lord openeth the eyes of the blind: the Lord raiseth them that are bowed down: the Lord loveth the righteous:

Susie: The old testament prophets performed many miracles, but none of them healed a person with blindness.

Susan: However, Jesus healed several blind people including my favorite, the man born blind (John 9).

Susie: God through the Holy Spirit also opens our spiritual eyes. He illuminates the truth and helps us to understand it.

John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

Susan: The psalmist goes on to say that the Lord raises up those who are bowed down. I am thinking of a woman who was literally bowed down but trusted in Jesus for healing:

Luke 8:43-44 And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any, came behind him, and touched the border of his garment: and immediately her issue of blood stanched.

Susie: Verse 8 says that God loves the righteous. However, in Romans we are told that no one is righteous.

Romans 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

Susie: How, then, can God love any of us?

Susan: Our own righteousness is as filthy rags, but God the Father sees believers through the filter of Jesus’s righteousness which is completely perfect.

Isaiah 61:10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.

Isaiah 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

Philippians 3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

Psalm 146:9 The Lord preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down.

Susie: One way God provided for the stranger was by instructing the Israelites to leave a portion of their grain fields and grape vines unharvested:

Leviticus 19:10 And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the Lord your God.

Susan: The stranger was someone who did not have anyone or a place to stay in a community. To me, this is much like the homeless person today who seems invisible to many, other than to see them as an eyesore and nuisance. We, as Christians, should minister to them a people with value, dignity, and worth.

Susie: They are more of the “least of these” that Jesus was speaking about in Matthew 25. We have a responsibility to take care of widows and orphans as well.

James 1:27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

Susan: The word visit means more than a casual drive by “hello.” According to Strong’s, the connotation of this word is to “look out” for or “relieve.” This means we should nurture them, making sure their needs are met compassionately.

Susie: God provides for those who are in difficult situations, especially those who trust in Him for provision.

Susan: However, God confuses and disrupts the paths of those who arrogantly reject Him. Various translations say God makes their way slippery, crooked, twisted, and frustrating.

Psalm 146:10 The Lord shall reign forever, even thy God, O Zion, unto all generations. Praise ye the Lord.

Susie: Zion is sometimes synonymous with the people of Zion which would be the nation of Israel.

Susan: God and His provision for His people are not temporary. They are continual and eternal.

Susie: Our complete trust is in our Lord who is faithful, trustworthy, and true. We can count on Him to provide for us, not only today, but forever.

QUESTIONS

1.               List some reasons you personally have for praising God.

2.               Why should we not depend on human leaders?

3.               Why is God completely dependable?

4.               God is the champion of the oppressed. What does He do to those who do not submit to His will?