Saturday Psalm #146

Oh, how I praise you, LORD.
I praise you with my whole heart!

I praise you with my life;
your praise will live in me as long as life lives in me!

I have learned the folly of putting my trust in people,
of expecting constancy and faithfulness from mere humans.

We are all so faithless and so fleeting,
and even the best among us fall so far short.

That's why it makes sense to look only to you for help, God of Jacob.
That's why my hope is in you alone,
maker of heaven and earth,
the sea, and everything in them—
Yahweh, Adonai, El Shaddai, the Faithful One forever.

You uphold the cause of the oppressed
and defend the defenseless.
You give food to the hungry
and set prisoners free.
You give sight to the blind,
lift up those who are bowed down.

You give yourself to those who give themselves to you,
you watch over the alien
and sustain the fatherless and the widow,
while frustrating the ways of the wicked.

Why do I forget all this, Lord?
Why do I so easily forget your faithfulness?
Why do I stress,
get worked up,
as if you weren't on the job?

Yet I have seen you
vindicate the righteous
and humble the proud.
I have seen you
prove yourself faithful to those whose hope is in you.
I have seen little, vindictive, unforgiving people
wither and waste
like untended vines.

You reign forever,
God of Zion,
God of me,
for all generations.

Oh, how I praise you!