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146 Praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD, O my soul!
I will praise the LORD as long as I live;
I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.
Put not your trust in princes,
in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.
When his breath departs, he returns to the earth;
on that very day his plans perish.
Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the LORD his God,
who made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them,
who keeps faith forever;
who executes justice for the oppressed,
who gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets the prisoners free;
the LORD opens the eyes of the blind.
The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down;
the LORD loves the righteous.
The LORD watches over the sojourners;
he upholds the widow and the fatherless,
but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
The LORD will reign forever,
your God, O Zion, to all generations.
Praise the LORD!
(ESV)
Psalms 146:3 NASB Do not trust in princes, In mortal man, in whom there is no salvation.
Dr. A.C. Gaebelein describes his conversation with an Orthodox Jew who interpreted this passage incorrectly.
“He stated that he had read the New Testament and found the title of Jesus of Nazareth so often mentioned as ‘the son of man.’ He then declared that there is a warning in the Old Testament not to trust the son of man. As we asked him for the passage he quoted from this Psalm, ‘Trust not … in the son of man in whom is no salvation.’ We explained to him that if our Lord had been only the son of man and nothing else, if He had not been Immanuel, the virgin–born Son of God, if it were not true as Isaiah stated it, that He is the child born and the Son given, there would be no salvation in Him.
But He came God’s Son and appeared in the form of man for our redemption. His argument showed the blindness of the Jew. The statement is given in this psalm, that man is sinful, that there is no hope in man, he is a finite creature and turns to dust. There is but One in whom salvation and all man’s needs is found, the God of Jacob, the loving Jehovah.”
-Dr. A.C. Gaebelein, The Book of Psalms
If Jesus had not been declared God in the flesh by his followers (and Himself), then Christianity would have remained a branch off of Judaism. If it was tied to Judaism, it most likely would not have attracted the Gentiles and would not have spread as rapidly as it did. The explosion the Christian church all throughout the NT hinges on the fact that Jesus was both the Son of God and the Son of man.
Critics of Jesus’ ministry will often make the case that the book of John is the only place that Jesus is called God. Their point is that if only one writer were to call Him God, then how can we trust it? This is simply not true. The book of Mark and Revelation (among many others) demonstrates that Jesus was, indeed, the Son of God.
But He kept silent and did not answer. Again the high priest was questioning Him, and saying to Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?” 62 And Jesus said, “I am; and you shall see THE SON OF MAN SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF POWER, and COMING WITH THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN.”
Mark 14:61-62 NASB
When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, 18 and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.
Revelation 1:17-18 NASB
More importantly, Jesus demonstrated convincingly that He possessed the attributes of God. This is verified by His followers.
Not only this, but we who live by His grace today are walking, breathing testimonies which illuminate the power of Jesus through the fruit of our lives. If He was not God, there would be no power to turn from sin and follow His ways.
We must not only believe that Jesus was God, but live like it! Let the power of Jesus fuel your heart today.