Psalm 146

Do Not Put Your Trust in Princes

Psalms 146 & 147 are the last of the Descriptive Praise Psalms - these psalms praise God for His attributes and acts.  Psalm 146 and the remainder of the psalms begin and end with "Hallelujah!"  Some Bible translations read "Praise the Lord!"  In Psalm 146, the psalmist:

• engages himself to praise God (v. 1-2)
• engages other to trust in Him, which is one way of praising Him
• he shows why we shouldn't trust in men (v. 3-4)
• he shows why we should trust in God (v. 5 - 10)

Do not put your trust in princes,
nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help.
~ Ps. 146:3

In verse 3, David tells us of the folly of putting our trust in men; man is fallible and mortal. 

 

For one man to put confidence in another, is as if one beggar should ask an alms of another, or one cripple should carry another, or the blind lead the blind.

—Anthony Farindon

To trust man is to lean not on a pillar but on a little heap of dust.

—Johannes Paulus Palanterius

We should trust in God alone, and as in Psalm 144, we are reminded again in verse 5 that a happy (blessed) person is one whose hope is in the Lord.  

Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help,

Whose hope is in the Lord his God.

~ Ps. 146:5

The God of Jacob is a famous and significant description of God.  As the true God is the God of Jacob, so the God of Jacob is the true God. He is God alone, and there is no other besides him.  Christopher Wordsworth further comments regarding Psalm 146 and the remainder:

The office of these Psalms is to declare to the universe that Jehovah, and He alone, is Elohim; and to invite all to worship Him as such, by their oft repeated Hallelujah.



We must hope in the providence of God for all we need as to this life,
and in the grace of God for that which is to come.
~M. Henry

WHAT CAN I LEARN ABOUT GOD THROUGH THIS PSALM:

• God is worthy of my praise
• God is my help and worthy of my trust
• God is Creator
• God is Judge
• God is my provider
• The Lord loves the righteous
• God defeats the wicked
• God shall reign forever

HOW CAN I PRAISE GOD THROUGH THIS PSALM:

• Psalm 146 is an entire psalm of praise, and as we read and meditate on it, may we praise Him through each verse.

 

PRAYER:

     Praise the Lord, O my soul!  While I live I will praise the Lord; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

     How I bless You, Father, that You are worthy of my whole trust.  May I turn from placing my trust in any person, pastor, situation, or government - and place all of my hope in the Lord my God alone. 

     How I thank You for Your provision in my life - that You have opened my spiritually blind eyes and lifted my head bowed low with sin.  How I bless You, O God, for my family and my children, for my physical needs, for my spiritual needs, for the countless many blessings You have bestowed in my life - none of which I deserve.  Your kindness and goodness to me have been exceedingly abundantly above anything I could ever ask or think.  Thank You for knowing the things I need more than I do!  Forgive me when I ask amiss, and tune my heart & prayers to Your will.  May I trust You more and more each day.

     I praise You, O Lord - and make this prayer in Jesus' name ~ Amen