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Psalm 146:5-10 1
5 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, 6 the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them—the LORD, who remains faithful forever. 7 He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free, 8 the LORD gives sight to the blind, the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down, the LORD loves the righteous. 9 The LORD watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked. 10 The LORD reigns forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the LORD.


Bible students call the last 5 psalms The Hallelujah Psalms. This is because they all start and end with the Hebrew word “Halelujah”. The Jews spoke the Hebrew language and wrote their psalms in Hebrew. “Halel” means “praise”, or “tell someone that they are very great”. The “u” means “you” … all of you! “Jah” is one of God’s names. Most Bibles translate it LORD with 4 capital letters. It has a meaning and a use. The meaning may be that he will always be alive. The use is as a covenant name. A covenant is when two people (or groups of people) agree. Here, God agrees to love and give help to his people. And his people agree to love and obey him. Bible translators do not often translate the word “halelujah” into another language. Usually we spell it “hallelujah”, but the Hebrew word is “halelujah”.

We do not know who wrote Psalms 146-150. And we do not know when they wrote them. Most Bible students think that the psalmist wrote them for the new temple in Jerusalem. The psalmist was the person that wrote the psalms. For half of the psalms David was the psalmist. But there were many other psalmists, most of them after David died. Some Bible students think that maybe Ezra or Nehemiah was the psalmist for Psalms 146-150. The temple was God’s house in Jerusalem. Enemies destroyed it 600 years before Jesus came to the earth. But 70 years after the army of Babylon destroyed it, the Jews built it again. They made the Book of Psalms at this time to use in the new temple.

Biblical Truths

Verses 5-6 The God of Jacob may mean the God of the people of Israel; but it may mean just the God of the man Jacob. But that God is the LORD. He gives help to people that ask him for it.

Verses 7-9. Oppressed people are people that stronger people are not kind to. The stronger people make the weaker people work for them. They do not pay them much money for the work. Also, the oppressed people are not free to do what they want to do. So, they are often hungry. And they feel that life is like being in a prison. A blind person cannot see. But God will help people like this, if they ask him.

In verse 8, the word “righteous” here means God’s people. The word “righteous” itself means “very, very good”. Only God is really righteous. But he says his own people are righteous too. He makes them righteous because he is with them.

In verse 9, “protects strangers” means “does not let anyone hurt strangers”. These strangers were people from foreign countries. They lived in the country round Jerusalem. Today we would call them aliens or perhaps refugees. God also protects children that have no fathers. And he protects widows (women whose husbands have died). God does not protect, or send help, to wicked people.

Verse 10. The LORD will always be king! Again, for Christians this means something else than it does for the psalmist. Jesus is the Lord who will always be king. Zion could be a name for his new people, the Church. Jesus will come back to the earth as king, one day. Then everybody will see that this psalm is true.

Items for Discussion

  • Does this Psalm really say that to gain God’s help one must be oppressed or have other issues such as hunger or become a widow or orphan?
  • What can we conclude about our God when we hear that He frustrates the wicked?
  • What is our part in this relationship according to this psalm?
  • What symbolism can you find in the statement that God watches over the alien?
  • Is God’s protection physical, spiritual, or something else?
  • What is the greatest frustration of wicked people?


John 8:30-38

Background 2

The Gospel of John (literally, According to John) is the fourth gospel in the New Testament, traditionally ascribed to John the Evangelist. Like the three synoptic gospels, it contains an account of some of the actions and sayings of Jesus, but differs from them in ethos and theological emphases. The Gospel appears to have been written with an evangelistic purpose, primarily for Greek-speaking Jews who were not believers: “these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name”(John 20:30-31). A second purpose was to counter criticisms or unorthodox beliefs of Jews, John the Baptist’s followers, and those who believed Jesus was only spirit and not flesh.

Of the four gospels, John presents the highest Christology, describing him as the Logos who is the Arche (a Greek term for “existed from the beginning” or “the ultimate source of all things”), teaching at length about his identity as savior, and possibly declaring him to be God.

Compared to the Synoptic Gospels, John focuses on Jesus’ mission to bring the Logos (“Word”, “Wisdom”, “Reason” or “Rationality”) to his disciples. Only in John does Jesus talk at length about himself, including a substantial amount of material Jesus shared with the disciples only. Certain elements of the synoptics (such as parables, exorcisms, and possibly the Second Coming) are not found in John

Biblical Truths 3










35. Now the slave remaineth not in the house always. He adds a comparison, taken from the laws and from political law, to the effect that a slave, though he may have power for a time, yet is not the heir of the house; from which he infers that there is no perfect and durable freedom, but what is obtained through the Son In this manner he accuses the Jews of vanity, because they hold but a mask instead of the reality; for, as to their being Abraham’s offspring, they were nothing but a mask. They held a place in the Church of God, but such a place as Ishmael, a slave, rising up against his freeborn brother, usurped for a short time, (Galatians 4:29.) The conclusion is that all who boast of being Abraham’s children have nothing but an empty and deceitful pretense.





Items for Discussion

  • How is it that truth can set you free? If you did something wrong and told the truth, wouldn’t you be punished?
  • How is a person held captive by sin?
  • How is it that we are to know the truth?
  • How do you know that what you learn is from Christ?
  • What is Christ’s argument in verse 38?

Discussion Challenge

  • How is life like a journey?


  1. NIV New International Version Translations
  3. From the Commentary on John by John Calvin