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Psalm 146
Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, my soul. I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save. When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing. Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God. He is the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them—he remains faithful forever. He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets prisoners free, the Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous. The Lord watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked. The Lord reigns forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the Lord.

Continue scrolling to read reflection.

By: The Rev. Dr. W. Ross Blackburn

On the eve of our elections, Psalm 146 has (at least) two words for us to consider. First, we put not our trust in princes. We look to no political savior. This is not to say that all leaders are equivalent—both Scripture and our own experience testify that there are good leaders and bad leaders, righteous leaders and evil leaders. But it is to say that we do not put our ultimate trust in those leaders. We look to the Lord, the King over all earthly kings, remembering that “the Most High rules over the kingdom of men, and gives it who whom He will” (Daniel 4:25, 32). This will help us from getting too elated, or too despairing, when we elect our president. Our hope, and therefore our trust, is in the Lord our God.

The second consideration may sound like it runs in the opposite direction. Leaders matter. Psalm 146 goes on to speak of the character of the Lord’s reign. The Lord, the Creator, executes justice for the oppressed, gives food to the hungry, sets the prisoners free, opens the eyes of the blind, lifts up those who are bowed down. The Lord loves the righteous, he watches over the sojourners, he upholds the widow and the fatherless, and brings the way of the wicked to ruin. Throughout the Scriptures, being a champion to the least, the weak, and the vulnerable is the mark of a righteous king, who reigns as the Lord reigns. Those who oppress the vulnerable are the wicked.

The Lord upholds the fatherless and the widow. In our culture, the fatherless includes the 1.2 million unborn children aborted annually, and the widows include their mothers. Abortion on demand is the biggest injustice of our time. If America faced a situation where 1.2 million first graders were legally killed annually, we would have very little confusion concerning how to vote, for it would not be difficult to tell the righteous from the wicked. Psalm 146 leaves us with two lessons concerning life. First, our hope is in the Lord, for He upholds the fatherless and the widow. Secondly, insofar as we are able, we seek leaders who uphold life, particularly the life of the most vulnerable, and refuse to support those who would seek to promote, or even consent to, abortion on demand.