# Psalm 146 📖: Trust Not in Princes [[📚 Explore the Bible Books]] [[-Psalm Overview]] | [[Psalm 145]] | [[Psalm 147]] > [!info] Table of Contents > [[#📜 Scripture Text (NET)]] > [[#📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary]] > [[#🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]] > [[#🧠 Chapter Summary]] > [[#✝️ Christ in This Chapter]] > [[#🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application]] > [[#💬 Discussion Questions]] > [[#✍️ Key Verses to Remember]] > [[#🔗 Related Passages/Cross Reference]] > [[#🙏 Devotional Reflection]] > [[#📂 Internal Notes]] ## 📜 Scripture Text (NET) (The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005) [[#Verse 01.]] Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, O my soul. [[#Verse 02.]] I will praise the Lord as long as I live. I will sing praises to my God as long as I exist. [[#Verse 03.]] Do not trust in princes, or in human beings, who cannot deliver. [[#Verse 04.]] Their life’s breath departs, they return to the ground. On that day their plans die. [[#Verse 05.]] How blessed is the one whose helper is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, [[#Verse 06.]] the one who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who remains forever faithful, [[#Verse 07.]] vindicates the oppressed, and gives food to the hungry. The Lord releases the imprisoned. [[#Verse 08.]] The Lord gives sight to the blind. The Lord lifts up all who are bent over. The Lord loves the godly. [[#Verse 09.]] The Lord protects the resident foreigner. He lifts up the fatherless and the widow, but he opposes the wicked. [[#Verse 10.]] The Lord rules forever, your God, O Zion, throughout the generations to come. Praise the Lord! ## 📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary ###### Overall. ###### Verse 01. ###### Verse 02. ###### Verse 03. ###### Verse 04. ###### Verse 05. ###### Verse 06. ###### Verse 07. ###### Verse 08. ###### Verse 09. ###### Verse 10. ## 🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights 1. Psalm 146 begins the final "Hallelujah" collection (Psalms 146 to 150), each of which begins and ends with "Praise the Lord." 2. The word for "breath" or "spirit" leaving a person (146:4) recalls Genesis 3:19, where people return to the dust. 3. "Their plans die" (146:4) shows that even the greatest human leaders cannot finish what they start. 4. The Lord is described as Maker of heaven, earth, and sea (146:6), language used in the early church's prayer in Acts 4:24. 5. Verses 7-9 list nine things the Lord does for those in need. 6. The sojourner, widow, and fatherless (146:9) were the most vulnerable people in Israel, and the Law repeatedly commands care for them (Deuteronomy 10:18). 7. Jesus' description of His ministry in Luke 4:18 echoes many of these same themes. 8. Opening the eyes of the blind (146:8) became a sign of the Messiah's work (Isaiah 35:5; Matthew 11:5). 9. "The God of Jacob" (146:5) reminds readers that God was faithful even to the flawed patriarch Jacob. 10. The psalm ends by declaring that the Lord, Zion's God, reigns forever (146:10). ## 🧠 Chapter Summary > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## ✝️ Christ in This Chapter Christ is the One who does what this psalm says the Lord does: He opens blind eyes, lifts the bowed down, and brings good news to the poor (146:7-9). Jesus pointed to these works to show who He is (Matthew 11:4-5). ## 🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## 💬 Discussion Questions 1. The psalm warns not to trust in human leaders, whose plans die with them (146:3-4). Where are you tempted to put too much hope in people? 2. The Lord cares for the oppressed, hungry, prisoners, blind, foreigners, widows, and orphans (146:7-9). How does God's heart for these people shape your priorities? 3. Blessed is the one whose help is the God of Jacob (146:5). What would it look like to rely on God's help in a specific area this week? ## ✍️ Key Verses to Remember - 📖 verse 3: Do not trust in princes or mortals who cannot deliver. - 📖 verse 5: How blessed is the one whose helper is the God of Jacob and whose hope is in the Lord. - 📖 verses 7-8: The Lord frees prisoners, gives sight to the blind, and lifts up all who are bent over. ## 🔗 Related Passages/Cross Reference - 🔗 [[Matthew 11#Verse 02.|Matthew 11:2-6]] - The blind see and the poor hear good news. - 🔗 [[Luke 04#Verse 16.|Luke 4:16-21]] - Jesus reads from Isaiah in Nazareth. - 🔗 [[Jeremiah 17#Verse 05.|Jeremiah 17:5-8]] - Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord. - 🔗 [[James 01#Verse 27.|James 1:27]] - Care for orphans and widows. - 🔗 [[Acts 04#Verse 24.|Acts 4:24]] - Master of heaven, earth, and sea. ## 🙏 Devotional Reflection > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## 📂 Internal Notes