Praise When Life Seems Impossible

Psalm 145:14-21

14The LORD helps the fallen

and lifts up those bent beneath their loads.

15All eyes look to you for help;

you give them their food as they need it.

16When you open your hand,

you satisfy the hunger and thirst of every living thing.

17The LORD is righteous in everything he does;

he is filled with kindness.

18The LORD is close to all who call on him,

yes, to all who call on him sincerely.

19He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;

he hears their cries for help and rescues them.

20The LORD protects all those who love him,

but he destroys the wicked.

21I will praise the LORD,

and everyone on earth will bless his holy name

forever and forever.

This section of Psalm 145 speaks of the Lord’s care for those in difficult circumstances and calls for God’s people to praise him. It is easy to praise the Lord when our needs are miraculously met, but do we praise God when we don’t see immediate answers to our prayers?

Consider Martin Rinckart in Eilenberg, Germany. He had arrived there just as the Thirty Years’ War began in 1618, perhaps the most devastating war in history. Germany’s population was decimated, falling from 16 million to 6 million.

Because Eilenberg was walled, refugees from the entire country came there seeking safety. Many brought disease into the crowded city. When the plague of 1637 ravaged the town, Rinckart was the only minister left in town. During that year alone, he conducted funerals for five thousand residents, including his wife.

During this dreadful thirty-year scourge, Rinckart wrote a hymn of thanksgiving: “Now Thank We All Our God.” In the hymn he praises God for the “wondrous things” he has done and talks of joyful hearts and blessed peace.

Most of us find it hard to be thankful in the midst of short-term woes, but Martin Rinckart praised the Lord throughout a thirty-year ordeal. Let us all follow Rinckart’s example of praise.

Now thank we all our God with heart and hands and voices,

Who wondrous things hath done, in whom his world rejoices;

Who, from our mother’s arms, hath blessed us on our way

With countless gifts of love, and still is ours today.

MARTIN RINCKART

Fascinating Fact

Verses 14-19 each contain a royal virtue, something the ancient world expected of its kings. Of course, the Lord is the supreme ruler, and in him these virtues shine supremely.

Notable Quotable

“It is a kingly thing to help the fallen.”

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