[size=30pt]Looking Up[/size]

By David McCasland
Psalm 146:1-10
Praise ye the LORD. Praise the LORD, O my soul. 2. While I live will I praise the LORD: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being. 3. Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.

4. His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish. 5. Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God:

6. Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever: 7. Which executeth judgment for the oppressed: which giveth food to the hungry. The LORD looseth the prisoners:

8. The LORD openeth the eyes of the blind: the LORD raiseth them that are bowed down: the LORD loveth the righteous: 9. The LORD preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down.

10. The LORD shall reign for ever, even thy God, O Zion, unto all generations. Praise ye the LORD.

*****The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down.
Psalm 146:8


[size=30pt]A[/size][size=17pt]n article in the Surgical Technology International journal says that looking down at a smart phone with your head bent forward is the equivalent of having a 60-pound weight on your neck. When we consider that millions of people around the world spend an average of 2-4 hours daily reading and texting, the resulting damage to neck and spine becomes a growing health concern.

It is also easy to become spiritually bowed down by the burdens of life. How often we find ourselves discouraged by the problems we face and the needs of those we love. The psalmist understood this weight of concern yet saw hope as he wrote about “the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them—[who] 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” (Ps. 146:6-.

When we consider God’s care, His great power, and His loving heart, we can begin to look up and praise Him. We can walk through each day knowing that “the Lord reigns forever . . . for all generations” (v. 10).

He lifts us up when we are bowed down. Praise the Lord!
O Lord, lift our eyes to see Your power and love today so we can raise our heads and our hearts in grateful praise to You.
Faith in God’s goodness puts a song in your heart.


*******In today’s psalm, the psalmist responds in grateful worship as he reflects on the greatness and grace of God. He invites us to trust the Lord, to look to Him for help, and to place our hope in Him. He is the omnipotent, eternal God, the Creator who is forever faithful (vv. 5–6), just, benevolent, gracious, compassionate, and loving (vv. 7–9). The psalmist’s message is a simple one: Trust in God, not in man, for only those who trust God can be truly blessed.[/size]