Psalm 146 – Hallelujah!
With Psalm 146 – hallelujah, we begin the five hallelujah psalms that end the book of Psalms with a chorus of praise of our God. “No sooner is one hallelujah ended, but another begins.” (Horne) Psalm 146 Commentary: Praise to the LORD
Why? What reasons are there to praise God?
Psalm 146
Many translations of Psalms 146 – 150 begin with praise the Lord rather than hallelujah. However, I prefer hallelujah, hallel – jah, and so I will be using the International Standard Version of the Bible for these psalms which begin and end with hallelujah.
“Hallelujah is a compound word made up of two Hebrew words: hallel (an imperative verb meaning ‘praise’) and jah (a contraction of the name for God, Jehovah). So hallelujah means ‘Praise the Lord (or Jehovah).’” (Boice) Psalm 146 Commentary: Praise to the LORD
The author begins by stating how he will praise the Lord for as long as he lives.
“Hallelujah! Praise the LORD, my soul!
I will praise the LORD as long as I live, singing praises to my God while I exist.” (1-2)
Questioning Human Leaders
But where our God is to be praised, humans are to be questioned. “The greatest among men are only men, and subject to death. Ashes turn to ashes and dust to dust, and even the brilliant plans of man perish. These are reasons to set our confidence in God and not in man.” Psalm 146 Commentary: Praise to the LORD
If we put our trust in humans, we will undoubtedly be disappointed. “The psalm suddenly shifts to the topic of human leaders or “nobles.” Even the best public officials, teachers, business leaders, and social change agents are limited in their efforts to help those in trouble, not because they are evil but because they are disappointing.” Commentary on Psalm 146 – Working Preacher from Luther Seminary
Men disappoint. Their plans end with their death, whereas God reigns forever.
“Do not look to nobles, nor to mere human beings who cannot save.
When they stop breathing, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans evaporate!” (3-4)
Trust in God
After this caution, the psalmist abruptly transitions from negative to positive, speaking of a God who deserves our trust. “His negative teaching, if it stood alone, would be a gospel of despair, the reduction of life to a torturing cheat; but taken as the prelude to the revelation of One whom it is safe to trust, there is nothing sad in it.” (Maclaren) Psalm 146 Commentary: Praise to the LORD
“Happy is the one whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God,
maker of heaven and earth, the seas and everything in them, forever the guardian of truth,
who brings justice for the oppressed, and who gives food to the hungry. The LORD frees the prisoners.” (5-7)
The psalm ends with a description of God. “The psalmist here continues a marvelous description of Yahweh as a God of power, care, justice, and compassion. The psalmist seems delighted to describe Yahweh in His great works of love and power.” Psalm 146 Commentary: Praise to the LORD
“The LORD gives sight to the blind. The LORD lifts up those who are weighed down. God loves the righteous.
The LORD stands guard over the stranger; he supports both widows and orphans, but makes the path of the wicked slippery.” (8-9)
Where the psalmist begins by stating he will praise God all of his life, he ends by stating how God reigns forever, for all lives.
“The LORD will reign forever, your God, Zion, for all generations! Hallelujah!” (10)
Reasons for Praising our God
Psalm 146 is full of reasons to praise our God, focusing on God’s nature and God’s relationship with God’s people.
“The qualities that make God praiseworthy are described through a series of wonderful verbs, all participles expressing habitual behaviors. Creation, restoration, and caregiving mark God’s character. God is always acting!” Commentary on Psalm 146 – Working Preacher from Luther Seminary
Besides creating the world, God is a guardian of truth, who brings justice to the oppressed, food to the hunger and frees prisoners. God also brings healing, gives sight to the blind and lifts up those who are weighed down. God helps the stranger and supports widows and orphans.
“People who are exploited, experiencing hunger, and incarcerated are given top priority (verse 7). Providing food for the hungry follows as a parallel to God’s granting of justice. The marginalized and powerless (verse 9). The resident alien (ger), the orphan, and the widow are three groups of vulnerable people whom God protects and expects Israel to protect (Exodus 22:20-23).” Commentary on Psalm 146 – Working Preacher from Luther Seminary
We see reasons to trust God. “Unlike the princes of verses 3-4, Yahweh will reign forever (v. 10). Yahweh demonstrated his power and good will in creation (v. 6). Yahweh helps the vulnerable (vv. 7-9). Unlike the princes of verses 3-4, Yahweh is here today AND here tomorrow. He will not die. He will reign forever––to all generations.” Psalm 146 Commentary – Sermon Writer
With all of this how can anyone not praise our God?
Psalm 146 – Hallelujah
If you are having problem praising God, perhaps your vision of God is clouded. “However humbling the thought may be, and to whatever searching of heart it may drive us, it is certain that if, and when ‘Hosannas languish on our tongues, and our devotion dies,’ the reason is that we have lost our clear vision of God, our keen consciousness of what He is. To know Him is to praise Him, and that without ceasing.” (Morgan) Psalm 146 Commentary: Praise to the LORD
Psalm 146 – hallelujah is a fitting beginning to the end of the book of Psalms, portraying a God worthy of our praise and our trust. “Psalm 146 portrays an amazing vision of healing, restoration, and wholeness. Living in a broken world where disappointment, anger, and injustice remain all too common, we are assured that God’s kingdom is different. We are emboldened to hope and to pray that God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Commentary on Psalm 146 – Working Preacher from Luther Seminary
So let us join in praise with all of creation, crying out “Hallelujah!”
Is anything keeping you from praising God?
(For another take on this psalm, see Psalm 146: Praise the Lord who Lifts Up the Downtrodden! – Patricia M Robertson)
This post is part of a series of blog posts on the Psalms. Sign up to follow this blog and receive a free copy of Still Dancing, the second book in my Dancing through Life Series. click here to sign up
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