Psalm 146 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 146 on biblegateway.com
Verse 1Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul!
Verse 2I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God all my life long.
Verse 3Do not put your trust in princes, in mortals, in whom there is no help.
Verse 4When their breath departs, they return to the earth; on that very day their plans perish.
Verse 5Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God,
Verse 6who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith forever;
Verse 7who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free;
Verse 8the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous.
Verse 9The Lord watches over the strangers; he upholds the orphan and the widow, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
Verse 10The Lord will reign forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the Lord!
Devotion
We live in a culture where authority is mistrusted. Too many times, those in authority have abused their power for their own gain, leaving us suspicious. Too often, authority is used to oppress and punish. Some things never change. Psalm 146 presents a sharp contrast between those transitory princes, those ephemeral powers that we ought not trust and the everlasting Lord on whom we can safely rely. A mere two verses summarize the flaws of mortal authority. Death guarantees an end to their power. In contrast, the attributes of the Lord take up the rest of the verses in this brief Psalm. The kings of earth pale in comparison.