Knowing who to call upon when one has a problem is important. When your car won’t start, you don’t call your baker. And if you see a fire, you don’t call your dentist. You call the fire department! Your baker might know how to make your favorite chocolate cake, but he might not know a thing about your car’s engine. When there is a serious problem, such as a fire, a crime, or a health crisis, you need to make sure the one you call upon is one you can trust to handle the situation. Trust in the correct person is always important. This is one point that our psalmist for this week wants us to learn. Let’s look into Psalm 146.
Many countries hold elections every few years for presidents, prime ministers, and other political representatives. We always hope that they will improve things in our country, that they will be the answer to the problems we have. When the candidate of our choice wins we are elated, thinking that now, finally, things will start to improve. We hope and believe that this person will be the answer, our hope for better things. However, how many times have we all been disappointed? Things remained the same, or even got worse. Many people have trusted in their local politician to help them personally with problems they had. He or she made all sorts of promises to us, but we were quickly forgotten and left with no further recourse. Our trust and hope were sorely disappointed.
Our psalmist warns us to not put our trust in any political leader, whether they are princes, royalty, or elected officials (vs. 3). He also tells us that leaders aren’t the only ones, but that we shouldn’t put our trust in any person for real, true, or sure help. The psalmist reminds us that they are only human (vs. 4). They are fallible, and will eventually pass away. So who can we turn to? We all find ourselves in situations that we, ourselves, cannot handle. Where can we find help?
We find our answer in verse 5. There our psalmist tells us that those who have put their hope and trust in Yahweh, the God of Jacob, will find help. Those are the people who are happy and blessed. If we remember back in the Book of Genesis, Jacob faced a lot of problems throughout his life. He had to flee from his twin brother Esau and leave his comfortable home. Later he faced problems with his brother-in-law Laban. He also had problems between his multiple wives and undisciplined sons. Jacob’s life was not an easy one, yet as long as he trusted in Yahweh, He brought him safely through each and every problem. We are told to also put our trust in Yahweh, the same God of hope that Jacob did, and we, too, can be blessed.
The psalmist proceeds to give us several reasons why God is the only true hope and help we can rely on. For one, He made heaven and earth, everything we see around us (vs. 6). Since God is wise and powerful enough to create all we can see, whether in the sky, on land, or in the oceans, and to run all of creation smoothly, then certainly He can take care of me! God is also a God of justice and truth (vs. 7). He provides and cares for the poor and the oppressed.
Yahweh is also a God who heals (vs. 8). Several Old Testament prophets performed miracles, such as Elijah and Elisha, but none of them healed blindness. Jesus healed the blind, both physically blind and spiritually blind. If we turn to Him, He will raise us up when life is crushing us. In verse 9 we read that God cares for refugees, which is so important today. He also provides for the fatherless and widows. All throughout Scripture we read that He cares for those two groups, those who have no one else to care about them. God’s values are the opposite of the world’s, so His plans and ways frustrate the ways of the wicked.
Our psalm closes the same way that it began, with praise to the Lord. Praise takes our minds off of our problems and focuses them on God. Praise causes us to consider and appreciate God’s character. It lifts our perspective from the earthly to the heavenly. Let’s turn to Jesus today in both praise and trust.
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