Psalm 146 is a Hallelujah psalm often sung by pilgrims as they made their pilgrimages to Jerusalem and the temple for the festivals the Lord called Israel to observe. These psalms praise the Lord for who he is and what he’s done for his people. “Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, my soul,” is a command. The people are ordered to praise the Lord, no matter whether they felt like it, or not. Our God is to be praised! Psalm 146 begins and ends with the command to praise the Lord, and in between these commands, the psalmist tells us why.
As the people climbed the mountain to Jerusalem, they would sing the psalms of ascent or the hallelujah psalms. When they reached the top of the mountain, they would look down over Jerusalem as it sits in a bit of a depression at the top. As they looked down on Jerusalem, their eyes would first seek out the temple, the reason for coming. The temple reminds them of who God is, and who they are as his people, who they belong to. Much of Israel’s praise of God is through music; the psalms are Israel’s songbook, but praise is also expressed to God through how they treat each other.
As the people look down on Jerusalem, their eyes are also drawn to the palace of the king, the second most impressive building in the city. The palace points to the power and position of the king in Israel. As you read through the story of God’s relationship with his people in Scripture, we learn that when the king follows God, the people do as well; when the king rejects God for the idols of the nations around them, many or even most of the people follow the king. It’s easier in many ways to follow a king than to follow God.
The psalmist points the people’s eyes, focus, and hearts to the temple and who God is, reminding them, “I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to God as long as I live,” and then tells them, “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.” We easily fall into political idolatry, trusting in politicians over God to create the culture and society we want. We want to trust in princes rather than being God’s representatives here, building the kingdom of heaven from the church out into our world. God always provided leadership for the people through judges, prophets, and priests, but at the time of the prophet Samuel, the people want to have a king just like the nations around them. Samuel warns them that this would cost them, he’s angry because it shows the people don’t really trust God. So, God gives them kings, beginning with King Saul.
The psalmist reminds us that even the greatest empires eventually crumble and fall; all politicians, princes, kings, and dictators die at some point, only God’s forever. All our human leader’s lives are in God’s hands and God’s plans always work out over their plans in the end. No matter how big a kingdom they build, or how much power they gain, or how much treasure they gather, in the end it all makes no difference because it all ends up in someone else’s hands anyway. Only God’s eternal.
We are first called to live out the values of God’s kingdom in our homes, families, and church families, and then into our communities. The only things that last are those things we build in the kingdom of heaven and our children and community that align with Jesus’ kingdom. This looks like being true disciples of Jesus, trusting his sacrifice for our sins, his resurrection and grace, and allowing the Holy Spirit to shape us according to Jesus’ teaching, life, and death as we build community rooted in who Jesus is and his values and ethics. God calls some of us to live out our faith in the public life in places like politics and community leadership. Even then we need to remember that God’s the one in control, and his timing is often different than ours.
I’m reminded of William Wilberforce. Wilberforce wrote, “God Almighty has set before me two great objects … the suppression of the slave trade and the reformation of manners.” On February 24, 1807, the House of Commons voted by 283 votes to 16 to end the trade in human slaves in all British territories because of the perseverance and commitment of Wilberforce. It was a long battle. Wilberforce became a follower of Jesus in 1785, and his new faith led him to campaign against slavery and for moral reform. The abolition of slavery was his greatest achievement; yet even with the guidance of John Newton, it took him almost 20 years to convince the British Parliament of the evils of slavery.
We praise God and trust in him because he’s the maker of heaven and earth. No matter where we look, whether it’s the depths of the sea, the vastness of the firmament, the miniscule intricacies of the molecular makeup of the world, all we can do is marvel at it and say, “God made that, hallelujah!” We confess, “He remains faithful forever!” In his faithfulness, God gives us a moral and ethical framework as part of creation, and justice is part of this framework.
The psalmist praises God for being a God of justice, the protector and champion of the oppressed, hurting, poor, and outsiders. His justice begins with each of us personally; God’s justice against us is made right through Jesus. Belgic Confession, Article 20 teaches us, “We believe that God—who is perfectly merciful and also very just—sent the Son to assume the nature in which the disobedience had been committed, in order to bear in it the punishment of sin by his most bitter passion and death. So God made known his justice toward his Son, who was charged with our sin, and he poured out his goodness and mercy on us, who are guilty and worthy of damnation, giving to us his Son to die, by a most perfect love, and raising him to life for our justification, in order that by him we might have immortality and eternal life.” We’re made right with God through Jesus, praise the Lord!
God cares about everyday justice. In the Old Testament, the writers use a Hebrew word “anawim,” a word that refers to people like the widows, orphans, and foreigners living in Israel. These were the most vulnerable people at that time, people who were easily taken advantage of and abused. God put all kinds of laws in place in Leviticus and Deuteronomy to protect the poor and disadvantaged so that they didn’t slip through the cracks. It’s not much different today. Even in a place like Lacombe, God has given some a more difficult life to live, and then calls us to hear and see them, and to engage them with his generosity and compassion. I regularly give thanks for the work and hearts of our deacons!
Justice is part of God’s character, it’s also important to many of our youth and young adults. God’s not only the creator, he’s also the protector and champion for the anawim, and he calls us to be a people of justice who step up for the anawim in our own community. The church over the past decade has been challenged to be more serious about justice issues, because God is a God of justice and calls us to be active in working for justice. Jesus even says that when we do justice, we’re serving him. Matthew 25 records Jesus saying, “I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” Who are the anawim in our community; do we hear them, see them, or recognize them? Do we want to, because once we do, we have responsibilities as followers of Jesus to them. Paraphrasing Mother Theresa, she mentioned that not all of us can do great things, but we can all do small things of goodness for others.
God reminds Israel that they’d been abused as slaves in Egypt and so they must not do the same to others. Psalm 146 orders God to be praised because his very character is rooted in being our creator who cares deeply about justice. This is who God is. Serving together as families or ministry groups in places like the Mustard Seed, the soup kitchen, Circle of Friends, among other opportunities, impacts our children and youth’s faith. Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes, “Your ‘yes’ to God requires your ‘no’ to all injustice, to all evil, to all lies, to all oppression and violation of the weak and pure.” Faith grows as we live it, and is part of our praise to the Lord!
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