Scripture Reading(s)
Psalm 146
146:1 Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD, O my soul!
146:2 I will praise the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God all my life long.
146:3 Do not put your trust in princes, in mortals, in whom there is no help.
146:4 When their breath departs, they return to the earth; on that very day their plans perish.
146:5 Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD their God,
146:6 who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith forever;
146:7 who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free;
146:8 the LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous.
146:9 The LORD watches over the strangers; he upholds the orphan and the widow, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
146:10 The LORD will reign forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the LORD!
Reflections
Do not put your trust in princes, in mortals, in whom there is no help. When their breath departs, they return to the earth; on that very day their plans perish. Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD their God.
How easy it is to put our faith in tangible things. We rely on our money to provide for us. Our jobs to provide the money. We count on our significant others or friends to make us happy. We put our security in the hands of hired men with a badge. We put our happiness in assets and toys that will decompose just like everything else.
We must resist the urge to look to the tangible and rest our faith on God. Yes we still need to work and make money but it is the Lord who makes all that possible in the first place. If we chose to place our trust in mankind we will be let down around every corner. But God never fails. He is always good and He is always in control.
While mortals are turning to dust God is ruling the universe with His feet up.
Putting our faith and trust in God is no easy task. However, putting our faith in something else other then God is a trap that we often fall into. This Psalm speaks of God’s never changing faithfulness towards those who trust Him. It also gives a warning not to trust in other things because as it says in verse 4 “When their breath departs, they return to the earth; on that very day their plans perish.”
There is nothing that we put our trust in other then God that lasts or is foundational. As Christians, we can always rest assured that when we put our faith in God, He will take full control of our lives and circumstances and use our hard times to bring us closer to Him and for His Glory.
We sometimes find ourselves coming to a point in our lives when we look at our hard situation and say that we have no control over what is going to happen. The future becomes unknown, plans change and we suddenly are faced with either coming before a God who can control these things or falling into anxiety and despair. The beauty of this Psalm is that we do not have to be in control. We don’t have to try to do things to bring us comfort because our God is the source of comfort and will work on our behalf. I am thankful that we serve a God who does not stand on the sidelines of life but is actively working out all things because when we put our hope in Him alone, we can also pray as the Psalmist did “Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD, O my soul! I will praise the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God all my life long.”