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Psalm 146:5

Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD, his God,

3Don’t put your trust in princes, in a son of man in whom there is no help.
4His spirit departs, and he returns to the earth. In that very day, his thoughts perish.
5Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD, his God,
6who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps truth forever;
7who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The LORD frees the prisoners.
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← Psalm 146:4Psalm 146:6 →
Notice

“Happy” describes someone who needs help, and the contrast with mortal rulers makes the source of that help matter: the God of Jacob.

Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.

How does the word “Happy” fit, or clash with, your experience of depending on God?

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What changes when you name the God of Jacob as your help in one present need?

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Connect

Where else Scripture says this

11 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.

This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Psalm 31:24Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who hope in the LORD.Both name the LORD as the one in whom people hope, with happiness in Psalm 146 and courage in Psalm 31.
Jeremiah 17:7“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose confidence is in the LORD.Both describe the blessedness of a person whose trust and hope rest in the LORD.
Psalm 1:1Blessed is the man who doesn’t walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand on the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers;Both describe a blessed person, though one names hope in God and the other rejects wicked counsel.
Matthew 5:3“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.Both pronounce people blessed, though Matthew names the poor in spirit and the psalm names those whose help is God.
Psalm 118:6The LORD is on my side. I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?Both speak of the LORD as a person's support, with hope in Psalm 146 and freedom from fear in Psalm 118.
Psalm 144:15Happy are the people who are in such a situation. Happy are the people whose God is the LORD.Both locate happiness in having the LORD as God, with Psalm 146 naming him as help and hope.
1 Peter 4:14If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. On their part he is blasphemed, but on your …Both connect blessedness with God's presence or help, though Peter addresses insults suffered for Christ's name.
Romans 8:24For we were saved in hope, but hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for that which he sees?Both speak of hope; the psalm names the LORD as its object, while Romans describes hope reaching toward what remains unseen.
1 Corinthians 13:13But now faith, hope, and love remain—these three. The greatest of these is love.Hope appears in both passages: the psalm names its object, while Paul places it alongside faith and love.
Numbers 22:12God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.”Both speak of people as blessed; Numbers concerns God's refusal to let Balaam curse them.
2 Chronicles 13:18Thus the children of Israel were brought under at that time, and the children of Judah prevailed, because they relied on the LORD, the God of their fathers.Both link reliance on the LORD with good received: happiness in the psalm and Judah's victory in Chronicles.
Where this verse fits

Fear for the future. waiting. praise and worship.

What the Bible says about fear →What the Bible says about patience →What the Bible says about worship →
One step

Something small to carry out of this verse

Name one need and ask the God of Jacob for help

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Encouragement

Needing help does not place you outside the happiness described here. The person called happy has God for help and rests hope in him.

Now put it in your words.

Start an entry on Psalm 146:5. Write what it stirs. Psalmlog sets your words beside Scripture and gives you one next step. Your first entry is free, no account needed.

Keep goingPsalm 146 · the whole chapter with its connection mapPsalms · every chapterBuild a reading plan through Psalms

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).