Psalm 147
With only nature around us and this psalm before us, still we could know a great deal about God. We could know that the natural things around us were created and are sustained by God. We could also know that He is a merciful and a redeeming God.
Here the people sing about God's works, the things He has done and the things He is doing all around them. If it were asked, "Why are the heavenly bodies where they are, and why does it cloud up and rain, and why does the grass grow, or the sun shine, or . . .?" –the answers are here! God does all these things and many more, reaching even into the mundane affairs of men and nations. Particularly in view in this song are His redemption of His covenant people from their Babylonian captivity.
Its evident in this psalm that the writer deeply believes that God should be praised for His works every day. That's actually the point of the song, and that's why it begins, "Praise the Lord (Hellelu-Jah)! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful!"
It's likely that this song began to be sung in worship after the Jews began returning to their land following the captivity in Babylon. This time frame is indicated when, immediately after the opening statement concerning the beauty of praise, the first item on the list of God's praiseworthy acts is the restoration of Jerusalem. They sing, "The Lord builds up Jerusalem; He gathers together the outcasts of Israel. He heals the brokenhearted, and binds up their wounds."
The song next turns from that wonderful redemptive act of deliverance to explain how God was able to do it. We're told that He could do it because of the greatness of His power and wisdom: "He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name. Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite; the Lord lifts up the humble; He casts the wicked down to the ground." In other words, He alone understands and controls all of nature, and He alone therefore has the power to save His people from the wicked and to "lift up the humble"- to restore His people even when restoration seems impossible!
With that infinite power in mind, the song then exhorts the people to sing to the Lord and to praise Him. They should give Him thanks – especially because they are the recipients of it all. When they look at what He has done, and when they realize the greatness of the God Who did it, they should "Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; sing praises on the harp to our God!" As the hymn writer puts it, such works by our God "call for songs of loudest praise!" After all, He's the One Who "covers the heavens with clouds, Who prepares rain for the earth, Who makes grass to grow in the mountains . . . gives to the beast its food, and to the young ravens that cry." Yet He is also the One Who takes special notice of His people's plight – it is He Who REDEEMS ISRAEL!
His gracious dealing though, is conditional. The psalm explains when it says, "He does not delight in the strength of the horse; He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man. The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him, in those who hope in His mercy." This is just to say that He will be gracious to those who truly seek to understand these words as they sing them– to those, in other words, who don't trust in military might, but who trust in the goodness and power of Jehovah alone.
In summary, then, this song exhorts the newly redeemed people of Jerusalem to praise only Jehovah, for He alone is worthy. It calls on them to "Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion! For He has strengthened the bars of your gates. He has blessed the children within you. He makes peace in your borders, and fills you with the finest wheat!" As another psalm puts it, "the redeemed should say so, whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy!" (Psalm 107:2)
The conclusion once again speaks of the wonderful power Jehovah has over all nature and of His special dealing with Israel. The psalmist says, "He sends out His command to the earth . . . gives snow like wool . . . scatters the frost like ashes . . . casts out His hail like morsels" - and "declares His Word to Jacob, His statutes and His judgements to Israel."
It's important for us in our day to remember that God hasn't changed. Just as he redeemed Israel from Babylon, so He redeems us from sin. He is able because He's the mighty God Who has created and maintained all nature! He has in fact given paricular attention to your individual redemption! Thanksgiving for all these things is due to Him! So – hallelu-Jah!
Al, I was reading this Psalm earlier this morning. What a glorious message in it for us!
Quote
In this song the people sing about His works, the things He has done and the things He is doing all around them. If they were to ask, "Why are the heavenly bodies where they are, why does it cloud up and rain, why does the grass grow, or the sun shine, or . . .?" –the answers are here! God does all these things and many more.
How true!
Thanks Al, for being so faithful in making sure that these Psalm studies are put in here week-by-week.
Thanks, Pat. It's truly a great pleasure to do these studies. I'm enjoying them as much now, if not more, than the first time through six or seven years ago. Please pray, as I'm considering whether to seek publication.
Well, I think publication would be a wonderful idea.
God bless you, Al, as you consider this next step.
Some typos?
"He has in fact given paricular attention to your individual redemption!"
"declares His Word to Jacob, His statutes and His judgements to Israel." "
And the word "Hallelujah" in this? and the last paragraph? ""Praise the Lord (Hellelu-Jah)! "