Psalm 146:2 I will praise the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
Psalm 146, like all five of the psalms found at the very end of the psalter, begins and ends with a hallelujah of praise to the LORD. Following a brief introduction, in verse 3 the writer warns against trusting in men because they are mortal. Men do not last and so cannot be worth trusting in as God is worth trusting in. Real blessing is reserved for the one who relies not on human help first and foremost but (5) whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God. In the rest of the psalm, he reminds us of why this God is the one who deserves all our praise. He is the one who is the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them ... the LORD, who remains faithful forever. He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry ... sets prisoners free ... gives sight to the blind ... lifts up those who are bowed down ... loves the righteous ... watches over the alien ... sustains the fatherless and ... widow, but ... frustrates the ways of the wicked. He reigns for ever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. It is a brief summary then of God's character emphasising his creating power, his faithfulness, his love and justice and his eternal reign. How ever brief, it is enough to show that the determination expressed in verse 2 - to praise the LORD all my life, to sing praise to my God as long as I live is an appropriate ambition well worth having. Every person on earth ought to have the same ambition. What better way could there be to live than for the praise of such a great God?
No comments:
Post a Comment