We are to praise God, the psalmist tells us, because God is trustworthy and eternal.
Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
Then the psalmist reminds us that God gives care to the oppressed, the hungry, prisoners, the blind, the burdened, immigrants, those without financial resources.
And when you hear somebody say something derogatory about the Old Testament God, remember that this is the Old Testament God.
And this is what followers of God are called to do. God acts on earth through the people who are gathered to worship and to demonstrate God's power and love.
Psalm 146 provides a checklist for each church congregation: What have we done to ensure that prisoners can be released? What have we done to prevent blindness--have we opened a eye-clinic in a poor community, have we helped to distribute glasses to people who can't afford them? What are we doing about immigrants? What attention are we paying to people whose families are able to care for them, or to people without family?
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