1 Praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord, my soul.
2 I will praise the Lord all my life;
    I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
3 Do not put your trust in princes,
    in human beings, who cannot save.
4 When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;
    on that very day their plans come to nothing.
5 Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
    whose hope is in the Lord their God.

6 He is the Maker of heaven and earth,
    the sea, and everything in them—
    he remains faithful forever.
7 He upholds the cause of the oppressed
    and gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets prisoners free,
8 the Lord gives sight to the blind,
the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down,
    the Lord loves the righteous.
9 The Lord watches over the foreigner
    and sustains the fatherless and the widow,
    But he frustrates the ways of the wicked.

10 The Lord reigns forever,
    your God, O Zion, for all generations.
Praise the Lord. (PSALM 146)
 

Psalm 146 is assigned for this Sunday. It is the first of the five Hallelujah psalms that invite us to praise the Lord as a fitting conclusion to the Psalter. In ancient Hebrew tradition, many, if not all, of the psalms were sung as part of Temple and synagogue worship. These psalms were often accompanied by musical instruments (see Psalm 150), and when instruments were not available, the community likely chanted these sacred words to worship God.

In Psalm 146, the psalmist starts and ends his song with a call to praise the Lord: “Praise the Lord, my soul. I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live… Praise the Lord” (verses 1-2, 10). For this psalmist, praising God is the main goal of his life.

But why does the psalmist stress living a life of praise? There are two reasons. First, he understood that God is not merely a part of life but the heart of life—“In Him, we live, move, and have our being” (Acts 17:28). So, it is appropriate to praise God with every breath we take. The second reason the psalmist highlights living a life of praise is that God, the Creator of heaven and earth, is righteous, and His faithful care for the oppressed, broken, overwhelmed, needy, and vulnerable lasts forever (verses 7-9). The God who created us abounds with lovingkindness for us.

Whether worshiping His majesty or crying out for His mercy, God welcomes our praise (Psalm 22:3; 150:6) and our prayers (Psalm 18:6; 120:1). Therefore, let us boldly enter His presence with songs of praise (Psalm 95:2; 100:2) and with prayers filled with our needs (Matthew 6:11; John 14:12). With this attitude in mind, it seems right to close this morning’s devotional with the Collect for Thursdays found in the Daily Office: Heavenly Father, in you we live and move and have our being: We humbly pray you so to guide and govern us by your Holy Spirit, that in all the cares and occupations of our life we may not forget you, but may remember that we are ever walking in your sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Joe