Berean Standard Bible · Public domain

Psalm 146

Israel’s prayers give language for praise, grief, repentance, and trust. Poetry uses imagery and parallel lines; each psalm should be read as a whole rather than as a detached promise.

Historical context & book outline

1Hallelujah! Praise the LORD, O my soul.

2I will praise the LORD all my life; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

3Put not your trust in princes, in mortal man, who cannot save.

4When his spirit departs, he returns to the ground; on that very day his plans perish.

5Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God,

6the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them. He remains faithful forever.

7He executes justice for the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free,

8the LORD opens the eyes of the blind, the LORD lifts those who are weighed down, the LORD loves the righteous.

9The LORD protects foreigners; He sustains the fatherless and the widow, but the ways of the wicked He frustrates.

10The LORD reigns forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Hallelujah!

Read closely

  1. What repeated words, contrasts, or actions stand out in this chapter?
  2. How does this chapter fit the surrounding chapters and the book’s purpose?
  3. What did it communicate to its first hearers, before applying it to your life?