PSALM 146

Psaalm 146 begins a series of praise Psalms. By Psalm 150 we've got so excited we bring in a praise band and clang cymbals! We keep running into the word “Hallelujah,” often left untranslated or rendered as “Praise the Lord.” The Hebrew lexicons indicate the basic meaning comes from “to shine” but expands, depending on the tense, to mean “to flash forth light, to praise or boast. I have some young friends who maintain it means to brag on Jesus!

In fact, the singer immediately says, “Praise the Lord, O my soul!” Soul here is the same word from Genesis and creation when man becomes a living soul. The created ones are praising – and thanking – the Creator!

Verse 2 – He will praise while he lives and has his being! I think immediately of Jesus's statement, “Night comes when no one can work.” And neither can we praise when night comes. This psalmist is building thanksgiving and praise into his lifestyle. Someone has pointed out that thanksgiving helps build faith. When we remember what God has done, we can trust that He can and will continue to lead us effectively.

Verse 3 – Don't trust people, not even the powerful, for they are mortal and cannot guide the destiny of the world and they that dwell therein. But God can. Right now the US is incredibly polarized. Yet too many on both sides speak and write as if their side brings salvation. The Bible says all humans are flawed, limited, sinful. Politics will not save us, nor will armies and diplomacy. All these issues are vitally important, but nore are ultimate issues.

Verse 5 – The true source of happiness, security, and faith the God of the Bible. He's the same on who led and commanded Jacob, the father of Israel, and all of the other heroes of the Bible. We worship the same God today, knowing even more about His nature now that He has come in Jesus Christ!

Verse 6 – He shifts from his history reference back to the general revelation of Creation. Then the writer adds a couple of new ideas: He keeps truth forever.

Truth here has its roots in firmness or faithfulness. It can also refer to the body of ethical or religious knowledge, which the OT often calls the Word of the Lord. Truth is something you can rely on, trust, put your weight down on. To keep truth means to preserve it, guard it, watch over it, even to observe it. I believe the psalmist here is stating his faith that eternal truth will win over error, evil, and the stuff today we call fake news.

He pictures God as being the ultimate avenger, making sure justice is done, that the oppressed gets a fair hearing. NIV translates this part of the verse as “He upholds the cause of the oppressed. In Hebrew there are only two words here. The first is “mishpat,” The same word can refer to a commentary by a scholar, somewhat similar to the Arabic word fatwa that we sometimes hear of an imam delivering. The word is equivalent to handing down justice. This is a promise of eventual justice to victims, the abused, and downtrodden.

God continues His care for humanity by providing bread to the hungry. He created the world with nutritious food for us. Sometimes, however, we must recognize He uses us to distribute that food. I appreciate the way the whole community supports CCA and I especially like the SBC Hunger Offering promoted in October.

And the Lord frees the prisoners. Compare this with Jesus's declaration of His purpose which includes “preaching release to the captives.” While we must declare sin as sin, we must do so in a way that shows the freedom that comes from releasing its shackles.

The next verse continues this theme by giving vision to the blind. Could this mean opening our eyes to see the world as God sees it? Further, he riases up those for whom life is a burden, bowing beneath their heavy load. God raises them up. He is a God of resurrection in many senses! Finally, He loves the righteous or the just. I read an article by a Spanish translator, who maintained the the Spanish translations tended much more often to translate “tzedek” as “just” or “justice” than do the English ones. I checked three Spanish versions in this case, and, sure enough, they each used the word “justo” out of four possible choices.

Verse 9 – The Lord continues to bbe seen as the champion of the helpless. The near east was and is a above average region in hospitality. (When you're not around the fighting.) Strangers and refugees were welcome, and in some verses commanding this, the Lord reminds them they were slaves in Egypt. He also takes care of the widow and orphan. Remember, He may choose to do it today through His church – through YOU!

Again we hit antithetical parallelism. The opposite of this is how the Lord treats the wicked. And rather than make their paths straight, he sends them down a confusing maze, where they will be confusede and ineffective in their evil.

The Psalm concludes with the strongest kind of optimism. “The Lord will reighn forever!” It's a shout, ending with Halleluyah!