Psalm 146
Each of the remaining psalms begins with Hallelujah, and each one ends with the same word, translated in the King James' version, "Praise ye the Lord." His praise should be in our hearts and on our lips every day of our lives (verse 2); it will be the theme of the redeemed,
"While endless ages roll,
And time shall ne'er grow old."
In verse 3 "the son of man" should be "a son of man,"-the meaning being mankind in general. The psalm contrasts man whose life is soon over, with the God of Jacob, maker of the heavens and the earth. Blessed is he who has Him for his help, whose hope is in Jehovah his God.
And this God, known already to faith, at whose word the whole creation sprang into being, He it is who keepeth truth forever; Who executeth judgment for the oppressed; Who giveth bread to the hungry. The mighty God! Truth is the foundation of His majestic throne, and His gracious hand is stretched out on behalf of the oppressed and the hungry.
"He knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we are dust." Psalm 103:14.
A second chain of three precious links follows: He looseth the prisoners; He opens the eyes of the blind; He raiseth up them that are bowed down.
In the four gospels we are given vivid illustrations of these acts of power; for example, in Luke 8:27-35 is an account of a prisoner set free from Satan's rule; in Luke 18:35-43 is seen a blind man given his sight, and in Luke 13:11-13 a woman bowed down and helpless to aid herself, is loosed from her infirmity.
But we are sure that the power of God has in our own case set free one who was held fast by Satan in his cruel hands; one who was blind, unable to see his own need of a Saviour, and unable to see any attraction in Him, now sees, and if it be through a glass, dimly, it will soon be "face to face" (1 Cor. 13:12); and one who was bowed down under the heavy load of sins is now loosed forever from it by His grace.
The third chain of three links is, He loves the righteous; He preserves the strangers; He lifts up the fatherless and the widow. How gracious! His heart goes out to His dear people, He keeps them safe, and those who are the very picture of defenselessness He lifts up.
Well may we sing, with triumph sing, The great Redeemer's praise!
Messages of God’s Love 3/6/1932