146 Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
2 I will praise the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.
3 Put not your trust in princes,
in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.
4 When his breath departs, he returns to the earth;
on that very day his plans perish.
5 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord his God,
6 who made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them,
who keeps faith forever;
7 who executes justice for the oppressed,
who gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets the prisoners free;
8 the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;
the Lord loves the righteous.
9 The Lord watches over the sojourners;
he upholds the widow and the fatherless,
but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
10 The Lord will reign forever,
your God, O Zion, to all generations.
Praise the Lord!
Reflection
This, first of the five Hallelujah psalms that close the palms, focuses our attention on who Israel’s God is and what he does.
God is our only real source of help and deliverance. This is the God who bound himself by covenant oath to be the God of Israel. We celebrate him for this God is the maker of all, faithful forever, sustainer of the oppressed, who frees the prisoner, heals the infirm, loves the righteous, watches over the alien, sustains the helpless, and frustrates the ways of the wicked.
“The Lord will reign forever”, this is the capstone. The one we know and celebrate is sovereign in this universe. In him we are safe and secure.
145 I will extol you, my God and King,
and bless your name forever and ever.
2 Every day I will bless you
and praise your name forever and ever.
3 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,
and his greatness is unsearchable.
4 One generation shall commend your works to another,
and shall declare your mighty acts.
5 On the glorious splendor of your majesty,
and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
6 They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds,
and I will declare your greatness.
7 They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness
and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.
8 The Lord is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 The Lord is good to all,
and his mercy is over all that he has made.
10 All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,
and all your saints shall bless you!
11 They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom
and tell of your power,
12 to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds,
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures throughout all generations.
[The Lord is faithful in all his words
and kind in all his works.]
14 The Lord upholds all who are falling
and raises up all who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food in due season.
16 You open your hand;
you satisfy the desire of every living thing.
17 The Lord is righteous in all his ways
and kind in all his works.
18 The Lord is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
19 He fulfills the desire of those who fear him;
he also hears their cry and saves them.
20 The Lord preserves all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.
21 My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.
Reflection
This is an acrostic psalm: we might call it “Praising God from A through Z”, as each letter brings to mind a different reason to praise the Lord.
David resolved to praise the Lord daily and forever. And urged parents to declare God’s great acts and awesome deed to their children. And praise the Lord for his greatness, goodness, and righteousness.
God’s grace is his favor and divine enablement to those who do not deserve it. He is merciful to those who deserve his wrath. He is patient with those who arouse his anger with sinning. His loyal love is amazingly strong and long-lasting. He is good to everyone, even sending rain and many other blessings on the unjust as well as the just. God consistently sustains the fallen, uplifts the oppressed, and provides for all. He cares for his creatures faithfully and lovingly all the time.
God is attentive to those who pray to him sincerely. He will grant the petitions of believers and will deliver them in times of need. He will protect those who love him, but destroy those who do not. For these reasons, David said he would praise God, and all people will bless Him forever.
How do you retell God’s awesome deeds and praise the Lord for his greatness, goodness, and righteousness among fellow-believers? Among your non-Christian friends and relatives?
144 Blessed be the Lord, my rock,
who trains my hands for war,
and my fingers for battle;
2 he is my steadfast love and my fortress,
my stronghold and my deliverer,
my shield and he in whom I take refuge,
who subdues peoples under me.
3 O Lord, what is man that you regard him,
or the son of man that you think of him?
4 Man is like a breath;
his days are like a passing shadow.
5 Bow your heavens, O Lord, and come down!
Touch the mountains so that they smoke!
6 Flash forth the lightning and scatter them;
send out your arrows and rout them!
7 Stretch out your hand from on high;
rescue me and deliver me from the many waters,
from the hand of foreigners,
8 whose mouths speak lies
and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
9 I will sing a new song to you, O God;
upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you,
10 who gives victory to kings,
who rescues David his servant from the cruel sword.
11 Rescue me and deliver me
from the hand of foreigners,
whose mouths speak lies
and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
12 May our sons in their youth
be like plants full grown,
our daughters like corner pillars
cut for the structure of a palace;
13 may our granaries be full,
providing all kinds of produce;
may our sheep bring forth thousands
and ten thousands in our fields;
14 may our cattle be heavy with young,
suffering no mishap or failure in bearing;
may there be no cry of distress in our streets!
15 Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall!
Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord!
Reflection
David began this prayer by praising God for training him to be a successful warrior and for granting him victories in the past. He piled image upon image to describe his loving God as my rock, my fortress, my stronghold, my deliverer, my shield. David is confident that God would be all this for him, and God would be all this for us, too!
The psalmist described God’s intervention—in the present battle David faced—in terms of nature. In the past, God had used rain, thunder, lightning, and hail to give His people victory (vv5-8). And David appealed for similar deliverance from his enemy army.
The outcome of deliverance is peace and prosperity. David cried, “Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall! Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord!” (v15).
God saves us from all our troubles and he intends to bless.
Are you a blessed person? Where do you see God’s salvation and God’s blessings in your life?
