Psalms · psalm 147 of 150
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Psalm 147 is a hymn of praise to the Lord who builds up Jerusalem, gathers the outcasts of Israel and heals the brokenhearted. He counts the stars and gives them names, covers the heavens with clouds, provides rain and food for the animals, and sends his word over the earth with snow, frost and thaw. He delights in those who fear him, and he has declared his word to Israel.
Psalm 147 is the second of the hallelujah psalms that close the Psalter. It was probably written after the exile, when Jerusalem was being rebuilt and the exiles were returning. It joins two settings: the history of the restored people and nature governed by God. Its message is that the same Lord who heals wounded hearts is the one who sustains the stars and the rain.
The psalm opens with a hallelujah and a statement: how good it is to sing praises to our God, for it is pleasant and fitting to praise him. Verses 2 and 3 say that the Lord builds up Jerusalem and gathers the outcasts of Israel; he heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. Verses 4 and 5 increase the wonder: he determines the number of the stars and gives to all of them their names. Great is our Lord and abundant in power, and his understanding is beyond measure.
Verse 6 gives a contrast: the Lord lifts up the humble, but casts the wicked to the ground. Verses 7 to 9 invite us to sing with thanksgiving to the one who covers the heavens with clouds, prepares rain for the earth and makes grass grow on the hills. He gives to the beasts their food and to the young ravens that cry. Verses 10 and 11 say that he does not delight in the strength of the horse or the legs of a man, but in those who fear him and hope in his steadfast love.
Verses 12 to 14 call Jerusalem to praise, for the Lord strengthens the bars of her gates, blesses her children, makes peace in her borders and fills her with the finest of the wheat. Verses 15 to 18 show the power of his word: he sends out his command to the earth and it runs swiftly; he gives snow like wool, scatters frost like ashes, throws down his ice like crumbs, and sends out his word and melts them. The psalm ends with the greatest gift: he declares his word to Jacob, his statutes and rules to Israel; he has not dealt thus with any other nation. Hallelujah.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
The Lord heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. The God who governs the universe stoops to heal the pain of a wounded heart.
The Lord counts the number of the stars and gives all of them their names, and his understanding is beyond measure. The same power that sustains the cosmos attends to the brokenhearted.
The Lord does not delight in the strength of the horse or the legs of a man, but in those who fear him and hope in his steadfast love. God values trust, not human power.
The Lord declared his word to Jacob, his statutes and rules to Israel, and did not do the same for any other nation. Receiving the word of God is a privilege and a responsibility.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: He builds up Jerusalem and gathers the outcasts of Israel. — Psalm 147:2
Answer: The brokenhearted, and he binds up their wounds. — Psalm 147:3
Answer: He counts their number and gives all of them their names. — Psalm 147:4
Answer: Their food. — Psalm 147:9
Answer: The strength of the horse or the legs of a man. — Psalm 147:10
Answer: His word, his statutes and his rules. — Psalm 147:19
Psalm 147 joins God's greatness and tenderness. In a small group you can pray for those whose hearts are broken, knowing the Lord knows and heals them. You can also go out to look at the sky or the rain, and thank the one who governs them.
The psalm corrects trust in human strength: God delights in those who hope in his steadfast love. A church that follows his word has a privilege and a task: to share that gift with other peoples. Christians see the Word made flesh in Christ, who bound up the wounded and healed the brokenhearted. Whoever praises this Lord learns to rest and to care for others.
Psalm 147 ends with gratitude for the word the Lord gave to Israel. Psalm 148 widens the choir of praise: it calls the heavens and the earth, the angels, the stars, the animals and the peoples to praise the Lord.
The psalm has no title, but the mention that the Lord builds up Jerusalem and gathers the outcasts suggests a time after the Babylonian exile, perhaps during the rebuilding of the walls with Nehemiah. It is a reasonable inference, though not certain.
It is a poetic way of saying that God knows and governs all creation, even what human beings cannot count. Isaiah 40:26 uses a similar image. The idea is that the one who knows each star also knows each brokenhearted person.
They are poetic comparisons for winter. White, soft snow resembles wool, scattered frost resembles ashes and ice resembles crumbs. The psalmist shows that God's word governs even the weather, sending it and undoing it.