Psalm 146 — Help when we’re bowed down — Reading the Psalms

1 Praise ye the LORD.
Praise the LORD, O my soul.
2 While I live will I praise the LORD:
I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.
3 Put not your trust in princes,
Nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.
4 His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth;
In that very day his thoughts perish.
5 Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help,
Whose hope is in the LORD his God:
6 Which made heaven and earth, the sea,
And all that in them is;
Which keepeth truth for ever:
7 Which executeth judgement for the oppressed;
Which giveth food to the hungry:
The LORD looseth the prisoners;
8 The LORD openeth the eyes of the blind;
The LORD raiseth up them that are bowed down;
The LORD loveth the righteous;
9 The LORD preserveth the strangers;
He upholdeth the fatherless and widow;
But the way of the wicked he turneth upside down.
10 The LORD shall reign for ever,
Thy God, O Zion, unto all generations.
Praise ye the LORD.

What an encouraging psalm! “I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being!” God is such a great help, isn’t he? Think back to what he’s helped you with. What have you overcome? From what have you been freed? To what hope to you now look?

The contrast between the help of God and the help of man is striking. We, mere mortals, can do so much. Yet, we wear down, we wear out, we get hurt, we get sick, we die. I have a cold today, maybe you can hear it in my voice, and while I know many of you have worse troubles than a mere cold, the lines in this psalm resonated with me.

I wear out and need help; that’s natural. But what of my helpers? Will not they wear out, too? To what unending source of help can one go but to the Lord? Philosophies change. Scientific developments are surpassed. Nations and political minds rarely last long enough to provide genuine help. Let us, then, turn to our Great God with praise!