Psalm 146 is full of praise for God and His interaction with man and creation. The psalmist starts out with the focus on praise. “Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul! I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being”. Praising God is not a once in a while thing. It is continual, comes from the depths of our soul, and will last as long as we have breath. God is worthy of our praise. We should make praise part of our daily routine, finding time to give God the focus and place He deserves in our lives.
The writer reminds us that God alone is the source of our salvation. If we put our trust anywhere beside Jesus, who is God’s plan for salvation, we will be sorely disappointed. Man can never save us. We can never meet God’s standard for holiness and righteousness on our own. “Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation”. There is only one place we can find salvation, and that is in God’s provision of His Son Jesus Christ. All others fail. “When his breath departs he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish”. Anything else will come up short.
God alone is our hope and salvation. “Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God”. The psalmist goes on to remind us of who God is and what He has done:
- “who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them
- who keeps faith forever
- who executes justice for the oppressed
- who gives food to the hungry”
These are things the Lord does.
But the writer goes on to show us more of who God is:
- “The Lord sets the prisoners free
- the Lord opens the eyes of the blind
- The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down
- the Lord loves the righteous
- The Lord watches over the sojourners
- he upholds the widow and the fatherless
- the wicked he brings to ruin
- The Lord will reign forever”
This is the God we serve – the one and only true God who cares for us deeply and has provided the only way to live everlasting. God is our keeper and our Savior!
Arlin Sorensen's Thoughts on Scripture 