Seeing Divine Providence Stimulates Strong Faith (Psalm 146)

A striking feature of the psalm is the composer’s confidence about the current circumstances of which he was aware. We can see this confidence in the tenses of the verbs that he uses in verses 4-9. And we can also see that what God is doing in the present gives confidence to the Psalmist about the future (v. 10). So we could say that message of the psalm is that seeing divine providence will stimulate strong faith. 

The psalm divides into five sections: (1) Determination to praise God (vv. 1-2); (2) Dismissal of earthly rulers (vv. 3-4); (3) The person who is blessed (vv. 6-7a); (4) The covenant grace of God (vv. 7b-9); and (5) The eternal reign of God (v. 10). It is not possible to say when this psalm was written, although the contrast in it between earthly princes and the divine Ruler suggests it was composed during a time when the human rulers were of little help to the people of God. If that is the case, then the psalm gives us help into how we should think during such a period.

1. Determination to praise the Lord

The psalmist engages in self-exhortation – he addresses his own soul and calls upon himself to praise God. What was his soul? It is very difficult for us to divide one’s inner heart into sections. We can speak about intellect, affections and will, but we are not speaking about separate compartments. Our intellects should influence our affections and will, our affections should influence our intellect and will, and our will should influence our intellect and affections. The author of Hebrews says that the Word of God can dissect between our soul and spirit, but I don’t think that means they are separated from one another, although the Spirit does use the Bible to address issues in our thinking, in our affections and in our choices. So I would say that by the word ‘soul’ the writer means his entire inner man.

Why should a godly man have to call upon himself to praise God? The answer is that even the best of us can become lazy in a spiritual sense. We are prone to take the Lord’s goodness for granted, and we can see from what the psalmist goes on to say that he was aware of what the Lord was doing. Sometimes we imagine that praise will be automatic, but usually it is not. We have to stir ourselves up and address God, whether in praise or in prayer.

The psalmist expresses his spiritual ambition – ‘I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being’ (v. 2). It is good to have healthy ambitions in life because they keep us from being satisfied with whatever we have done. And it is wise to have spiritual ambitions that reveal dedication to God. We are not told how old the psalmist was – he may have been young or he may have been older. Whatever his age, he wanted to use the rest of his life in verbalising praise to God. This was a very appropriate ambition because, after all, the Lord had been very good to him. But it is also very appropriate because praise of God is the reason of our creation by him. We are never more like what we should be than when we are engaged in praise. As one author wrote, ‘The Psalmist calls upon the noblest element of his being to exercise its noblest function’ (Hermann Venema).

2. Dismissal of earthly rulers (vv. 3-4)

It is amazing how often people trust in human leaders to provide the remedy for whatever is happening. Of course, we should pray for our rulers that God would help them. But we should never imagine that they somehow will deliver us. The psalmist states that the princes or prince he had known had not provided deliverance for the nation. Instead of being there long enough to solve an issue, he died and with his death his plans came to an end as well.

This reality is repetitive. One of the most pointless activities each year is the party political conference. No doubt, it is a pleasant time for the participants and a cheery time as they listen to the visions and the promises of the speakers. But do the attendees really believe that the speakers will have the power and the time to bring about what they are suggesting? I suspect a leader had appeared in Israel who promised deliverance, who did not seem to have the power and in the end he ran out of time. The obvious lesson is not to place our hopes in other humans.

3. The person who is blessed (vv. 6-7a)

In contrast to the person who is disappointed because the human leader has expired, there is the believer in God. Of course, the blessing is not merely in the fact that God will never die because for many millions his endless existence is the greatest threat of all. In addition, a person is blessed because of what his God will do for him.

The psalmist uses an interesting title for the Lord when he describes him as the God of Jacob. It is a reference to him as the God of the covenant made with one their forefathers that he would bless his descendants, and that would have been an encouragement to the psalmist. Yet there is also a hint that this God can turn round situations of great difficulty and defeat as he did several times in the life of Jacob. As we read the chapters in Genesis that refer to Jacob, one emphasis that will keep coming to mind is that God was helping Jacob even when the patriarch was not aware of it. The psalmist says to himself, ‘The God who helped Jacob will help all who trust in him whatever their circumstances.’

Then the psalmist turns to consider his God as the creator of all things who keeps his promises to his people. Clearly, one way of receiving spiritual encouragement is to think of the power of God expressed in his creating the world and everything in it. When that God is on a person’s side, what does it matter if powerful people happen to be against him? Jacob discovered that was the case, whether it was a local chief like Laban or a powerful emperor like Pharaoh. We too can say the same.

I don’t know if the psalmist here is indicating that he is enjoying a Sabbath rest in his heart. He uses the description that Moses gave regarding the fourth commandment in Exodus 20 when he says that God ‘made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them.’ If it was not possible for him to enjoy a physical Sabbath because of the pressure of his surroundings he still managed to rejoice in what the Lord could give to his people in their hearts. If that was the case, there is a lesson here for us. We need to discover how to have a Sabbath rest in our souls, and one way to bring it about is to resolve to praise God.

Perhaps the psalmist is speaking about the current situation in verse 7. Maybe he has come through a period in which injustice and deprivation had been practised by the earthly rulers whose reigns had come to nothing. Now they had received justice and those they had oppressed were now receiving again the basic things of life. They were evidences to him that the God of Jacob had once again come to the aid of his people. And we too have evidences that the Lord is helping us, and when we see them we should conclude that he is blessing us, even although we do not deserve it.

4. The covenant grace of God (vv. 7b-9)

The blessings he had experienced (v.7) cause him to think about what else the Lord can do for his people. He proceeds to list seven ways in which God does so – six on their behalf and one against the wicked. No doubt, some of the ways were fulfilled literally, such as delivering prisoners and taking care of the widows and fatherless. Yet some of the ways point more to spiritual help being provided for those described here as righteous.

We have here a very strong affirmation. The obvious point that the psalmist is making is that the Lord is active continually on behalf of his righteous people, whatever situation they find themselves in. This means that he is always aware of what their needs are, be they prisoners, infirm (blind), crushed, migrants and without a protector (widows and fatherless). Moreover the psalmist reminds himself that the Lord always has strong affection for his people. In contrast, the psalmist says that God is working to bring down the plans of the wicked, whoever they are.

We have here a possible anticipation of the Messiah because some of the details in these lines were fulfilled literally in the earthly ministry of the Saviour. And they also describe the spiritual deliverance that he provides for his people in his kingdom as he liberates, enlightens, restores, loves, guards and defends them from the onslaughts of the wicked.

5. The eternal reign of God (v. 10).

The psalmist closes with a resounding call to others to join him in his song. He addresses the real Zionists and reminds them that their King always rules. This is true in the present, even when things may seem to indicate otherwise (after all, our generation is one of the generations that the psalmist had in mind). We are to look at a throne continually, but at the thrones of men, but at the throne of God. And as we look, we are to praise him for who he is and what his plans are.