Read
Shout Praises to the Lord
1Shout praises to the Lord!
With all that I am,
I will shout his praises.
2I will sing and praise
the Lord God
as long as I live.
3You can't depend on anyone,
not even a great leader.
4Once they die and are buried,
that will be the end
of all their plans.
5The Lord God of Jacob blesses
everyone who trusts him
and depends on him.
6 God made heaven and earth;
he created the sea
and everything else.
God always keeps his word.
7He gives justice to the poor
and food to the hungry.
The Lord sets prisoners free
8and heals blind eyes.
He gives a helping hand
to everyone who falls.
The Lord loves good people
9and looks after strangers.
He defends the rights
of orphans and widows,
but destroys the wicked.
10The Lord God of Zion
will rule forever!
Shout praises to the Lord!
Reflect
Human beings instinctively look for a champion. We search for representative heroes who display the qualities we admire most and place them in a “superhuman” category in our minds. Convinced they are perfect and powerful, we believe they will save us from our distress and fears. We can maintain the illusion of their perfection only if they remain distant from us – characters in print or on screen, but never close at hand.
As true in Israel’s history as today, the psalmist warns against trusting these larger than life figures. Even the most wealthy and beautiful are mortal and their influence cannot save a single soul from death. In contrast, the psalmist sketches an outline of the character of the true God who works powerfully on behalf of the oppressed and isolated.
Centuries later a carpenter began to teach his small group of followers about the kingdom of God. As he did so, he fed hungry crowds. He touched blind eyes and restored their sight. He raised a widow’s son to life again. He lived as if this psalm was written about him.
With these parallels to the forever faithful God, could Jesus be the prince who truly has the power to save? His life, work, death and resurrection testify to this fact. This is the one we can centre our security on. This is our representative, the one whose beauty becomes ever clearer the closer we get to him. And this is the one who willingly completed the great reversal – exchanging our sin for his perfection.
Respond
Great King above all kings, you reign with mercy. You sent your powerful Son to rescue the weak. As we have been saved, may we have the humility to free the oppressed, feed the hungry and give sight to the blind. We ask this only for your glory. Amen.
Miriam Wickett
Miriam Wickett works as an occupational therapist in the Greater Vancouver area but has thoroughly enjoyed being the author of daily online prayer compilations on her Blue Stone City site, and collaborating with Scripture Union Canada as a result. She shares a vision for the city with her community at Tenth Church, serving as the refugee support ministry co-ordinator, and spends summers as a volunteer camp director on beautiful Thetis Island, B.C.