Psalm 146 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 146 on biblegateway.com
Verse 1Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul!
Verse 2I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God all my life long.
Verse 3Do not put your trust in princes, in mortals, in whom there is no help.
Verse 4When their breath departs, they return to the earth; on that very day their plans perish.
Verse 5Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God,
Verse 6who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith forever;
Verse 7who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free;
Verse 8the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous.
Verse 9The Lord watches over the strangers; he upholds the orphan and the widow, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
Verse 10The Lord will reign forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the Lord!
Devotion
The Psalmist sings with conviction, “Praise the Lord ... Do not put your trust in mortals ... in whom there is no help. Happy are those whose help and hope is in the Lord. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down.”
John Christian Frederick Heyer, whom we commemorate today, became a satisfied child of God. His humble childhood in Germany under Napoleon’s occupation was transformed as the first American missional pastor began “executing justice for the oppressed” in India and “giving food to the hungry” from Pennsylvania to Missouri and Minnesota. He partnered with God to lift up those who were bowed down.
As we pause to examine our plans for today, how satisfied are we in the Lord’s choir? Do we trust God, welcome the stranger and uphold the lonely? When we do, they join in the chorus singing, “Praise the Lord!”
Prayer
Ever-living Lord, listen to your children praying. We believe you have set us free from the oppression of sin. May we also hear your voice that sends us to serve others, to those who are bowed down, so they too may place their trust in you. Amen.