Psalm 146 begins “Praise the Lord, O my soul, in my life I will praise the Lord,” and warns, “Put not your trust in princes: In the children of men, in whom there is no salvation.” It then lists what God does: he gives food to the hungry, frees prisoners, opens the eyes of the blind, raises up the bowed down, and protects strangers, orphans and widows. In the Douay-Rheims it is numbered Psalm 145. Below is the full Catholic text, what the psalm means, how the Church uses it, and a prayer.
Psalm 146 in the Douay-Rheims Bible
Alleluia, of Aggeus and Zacharias.
Praise the Lord, O my soul, in my life I will praise the Lord: I will sing to my God as long as I shall be. Put not your trust in princes:
In the children of men, in whom there is no salvation.
His spirit shall go forth, and he shall return into his earth: in that day all their thoughts shall perish.
Blessed is he who hath the God of Jacob for his helper, whose hope is in the Lord his God:
Who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all things that are in them.
Who keepeth truth for ever: who executeth judgment for them that suffer wrong: who giveth food to the hungry. The Lord looseth them that are fettered:
The Lord enlighteneth the blind. The Lord lifteth up them that are cast down: the Lord loveth the just.
The Lord keepeth the strangers, he will support the fatherless and the widow: and the ways of sinners he will destroy.
The Lord shall reign for ever: thy God, O Sion, unto generation and generation.
Psalm 146 or Psalm 145?
The Douay-Rheims Bible follows the numbering of the Latin Vulgate and the Greek Septuagint, while most modern Bibles follow the Hebrew. So the Douay’s Psalm 145 is Psalm 146 in the New American Bible and other modern translations. In Latin the psalm begins Lauda, anima mea, Dominum. See how many psalms are there?
What the psalm means
- Lifelong praise: “I will sing to my God as long as I shall be.”
- Human power fails: princes die and their plans perish with them.
- Happy the one who trusts God, the Creator who “keepeth truth for ever.”
- God’s works of mercy: justice for the oppressed, food for the hungry, freedom for prisoners, sight for the blind. Jesus did these very things (Luke 7:22). See the works of mercy.
- God reigns for ever: “The Lord shall reign for ever: thy God, O Sion, unto generation and generation.”
How the Church uses Psalm 146
- On the Third Sunday of Advent (Year A): “Lord, come and save us.” See Advent.
- On many other Sundays, including the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A), the Twenty-Third and Thirty-Second Sundays (Year B), and the Twenty-Sixth Sunday (Year C): “Praise the Lord, my soul!”
- At Morning Prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours.
A prayer with Psalm 146
Written for this page:
Praise the Lord, my soul! I will praise you, Lord, all my life.
I will not put my trust in princes, but in you, who made heaven and earth.
You feed the hungry, free the captive and lift up those bowed down.
Make me a sign of your mercy to the poor, the stranger, the orphan and the widow. Amen.
Frequently asked questions
Where is “Put not your trust in princes”?
Psalm 146:3 (145:2–3 in the Douay-Rheims).
What is Psalm 146 about?
Praise of God, who alone is worthy of trust, and who cares for the hungry, prisoners, the blind, strangers, orphans and widows.
More psalms and prayers
Texts and sources
- Scripture: Psalm 145 (146); Luke 7:22, Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner), public domain.
- The prayer was written for this page.