Psalm 146:1-10 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!
The final chapters of the Psalms are filled with hallelujahs. Psalms 146 through 150 all begin and end with the same command: “Praise the Lord!” It is as though the entire book of Psalms builds toward this crescendo of worship, with Psalm 146 leading the way.
This psalm is deeply personal. The psalmist says, “Praise the Lord, O my soul!” (v. 1). Worship begins with the heart turned toward God. The psalmist even makes a lifelong resolution: “I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being” (v. 2). Praise is not dependent on circumstances but on the unchanging goodness of God.
But Psalm 146 also carries a warning. We are told: “Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation” (v. 3). Human power is fleeting. Leaders rise and fall. Even the strongest among us return to dust, and their plans perish with them (v. 4). Scripture echoes this truth elsewhere: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength” (Jeremiah 17:5). In other words, to rest our hope on human ability is to build on sinking sand.
The blessed alternative is to trust in the Lord: “Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God” (v. 5). Why is this so? Because the Lord is the Maker of heaven and earth, the faithful One who never fails His people (v. 6). He is the God of justice and mercy:
- He gives food to the hungry.
- He sets prisoners free.
- He opens the eyes of the blind.
- He lifts up the broken.
- He protects the stranger.
- He cares for the widow and the fatherless.
Every one of these promises finds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ. When Jesus began His public ministry, He read from Isaiah: “He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind” (Luke 4:18). He literally opened blind eyes (John 9). He lifted the weary and heavy laden, saying, “Come to me…and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28–30). And above all, He is our righteousness, as Paul declares: “Christ Jesus…became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption” (1 Corinthians 1:30).
The psalm closes with this assurance: “The Lord will reign forever, your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the Lord!” (v. 10). Earthly rulers come and go, but Christ reigns forever. His kingdom cannot be shaken.
The message of Psalm 146 is simple and profound: Don’t trust in man. Trust in the Lord. Where human strength fails, God’s strength prevails. Where human plans perish, God’s purposes stand forever. And in Jesus Christ, every promise of God is fulfilled for His people.
So let us, with the psalmist, lift our voices and our hearts in worship: “Praise the Lord, O my soul!”
Jason K. Boothe serves as a pastor at Redeemer Church of Piketon, Ohio.
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