Love goes both ways Pt 26: God reigns
Psalm 146 1Praise the LORD. Praise the LORD, my soul. 2I will praise the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. 3Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save. 4When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing. 5Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD their God. 6He is the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them— he remains faithful forever. 7He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free, 8the LORD gives sight to the blind, the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down, the LORD loves the righteous. 9The LORD watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked. 10The LORD reigns forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the LORD.
I suppose it is fair to say that people go through stages in their lives regarding who they can trust. When we are young we trust our parents, except for the most abusive of them, because they are the humans who guide, shape, and nurture us. As we grow and begin to develop awareness of the world outside our home, we begin to place trust in people and public institutions who have influence over our lives. Later, having seen those people or institutions fail, maybe multiple times, we develop a cynicism that ends in a belief that no person is worthy of trust. Finally there is a select few people who find relationship with Jesus and learn He is the only Being worthy of trust.
I will praise the LORD all my life
Who one trusts is the theme of this Psalm and the writer has reached the time in his life where he realizes it is only God who is worthy of trust. When he says, "Praise the LORD. Praise the LORD, my soul," the writer is not merely giving a command to others—he is preaching to himself. In verse 2, he makes it personal: "I will praise the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live." This kind of praise is not circumstantial. It’s not dependent on things going well, but is rooted in the character and faithfulness of God. Praise is both a response and a discipline. It's what the soul was made for, and this psalm reminds us that worship is a lifelong calling.¹
I have noticed that when my time with God diminishes, I regularly seem to enter a downward spiral of depression, or at least a ‘poor me’ ism. But when I turn to God, when I remember the things He has done in my life, praise seems to naturally flow
Human beings cannot save
It's easy to invest our hopes in charismatic leaders, financial systems, or institutions. But Psalm 146 reminds us: all human plans eventually expire with the planner. Only God offers lasting hope. So verses 3–4 make a sharp contrast: “Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save. When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing.” These verses expose the frailty of human power and the ultimate futility of trusting in anything temporal. This is not just political commentary—it’s theological wisdom. Mortals die; God doesn’t. Leaders fail; God remains. The Psalmist is echoing the recurring biblical theme that only God is worthy of full trust (see Jeremiah 17:5–7).²
The thing is that in this chaotic world, people want to know they are doing OK. The world seems to be going down the toilet all around us, so we want to know our little section of it is stable. The thing we miss is that stableness and salvation are different things. When we put our faith in those charismatic leaders we aren’t really thinking they provide salvation, but we are depending upon them to bring order out of the chaos. But only God can do that.
The LORD remains faithful
Verse 6 shifts the focus to God's unchanging nature: “He is the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them—he remains faithful forever.” The psalmist piles on the credentials: God is Creator of everything and faithful in all things. This forever-faithfulness stands in direct contrast to the mortality of princes mentioned earlier.
The following verses elaborate on what this faithfulness looks like in action. God "upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry" (v. 7). He is not only powerful but just. This God is actively working to bring relief, justice, and provision. Isaiah 40:28–31 echoes this assurance that the everlasting God does not grow weary and gives strength to the weary.³
Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
The LORD sets prisoners free
The psalmist describes God as the one who “sets prisoners free,” “gives sight to the blind,” and “lifts up those who are bowed down.” These are more than poetic lines—they are prophetic previews. Jesus Himself would later cite similar phrases in Luke 4:18–19 as a description of His mission, quoting from Isaiah 61.⁴
This passage not only shows us God’s heart for the marginalized but also His power to intervene. Whether someone is in a literal prison or trapped in shame, addiction, or grief—God brings freedom. The phrase “sets prisoners free” evokes the Exodus story, the great liberation moment in Israel’s history, and looks forward to the freedom believers find in Christ (Galatians 5:1).⁵
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
What about me?
Psalm 146 ends with a triumphant reassurance: “The LORD reigns forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the LORD” (v. 10). Human kingdoms come and go, but God's reign is eternal. The psalm reminds us to ground our lives not in the shaky ground of human plans but in the unshakable promises of God. As we praise Him, trust Him, lean on His faithfulness, and receive His freedom—we live as people of hope.