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Psalms 147

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Call to Praise the Compassionate God 1–6

1
Praise ye Jehovah; For it is good to sing praises unto our God; For it is pleasant, andpraise is comely. ​
2
Jehovah doth build up Jerusalem; He gathereth together the outcasts of Israel. ​
3
He healeth the broken in heart, And bindeth up their wounds. ​
4
He counteth the number of the stars; He calleth them all by their names. ​
5
Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite.
6
Jehovah upholdeth the meek: He bringeth the wicked down to the ground.

Praise for God's Provision in Nature 7–11

7
Sing unto Jehovah with thanksgiving; Sing praises upon the harp unto our God,
8
Who covereth the heavens with clouds, Who prepareth rain for the earth, Who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains. ​
9
He giveth to the beast his food, Andto the young ravens which cry. ​
10
He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: He taketh no pleasure in the legs of a man. ​
11
Jehovah taketh pleasure in them that fear him, In those that hope in his lovingkindness. ​

Zion Praises God for Security and Law 12–20

12
Praise Jehovah, O Jerusalem; Praise thy God, O Zion. ​
13
For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates; He hath blessed thy children within thee.
14
He maketh peace in thy borders; He filleth thee with the finest of the wheat. ​
15
He sendeth out his commandment upon earth; His word runneth very swiftly. ​
16
He giveth snow like wool; He scattereth the hoar-frost like ashes.
17
He casteth forth his ice like morsels: Who can stand before his cold?
18
He sendeth out his word, and melteth them: He causeth his wind to blow, and the waters flow. ​
19
He showeth his word unto Jacob, His statutes and his ordinances unto Israel. ​
20
He hath not dealt so with any nation; And as for his ordinances, they have not known them. Praise ye Jehovah. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Psalms 147

Verse 1

it is good to sing praises — Zamar, to make music, with 'good' (tov), 'pleasant' (na'im) and 'comely' (na'veh, fitting). Ps 135:3 has the same two reasons, 'for the LORD is good… for it is pleasant', and Ps 33:1 says 'praise is comely for the upright'.

Verse 2

doth build up Jerusalem — Banah, to build, said of a city whose people were scattered. 'Outcasts' is from dachah, to push away. The gathering is promised in Deut 30:3, 'will return and gather thee from all the nations', and Isa 56:8 calls the LORD him 'which gathereth the outcasts of Israel'.

Verse 3

healeth the broken in heart — Rapha, to mend, and chabash, to wrap firmly, as a wound is bound. 'Broken' is shabar; Ps 34:18 has the same, 'a broken heart'. Christ takes the work from Isaiah: 'he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted' (Luke 4:18).

Verse 4

telleth the number of the stars — Manah, to count out. The patriarch was told, 'tell the stars, if thou be able to number them' (Gen 15:5); the LORD alone counts them and 'calleth them all by names' (Isa 40:26), where 'not one faileth'. Ps 148:3 calls on the stars to praise him.

Verse 8

who covereth the heaven with clouds — The verbs are kasah, to cover, and kun, to make ready: the rain is prepared for the earth. Ps 104:14 carries the same chain to its end, 'He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle', with food brought 'out of the earth'.

Verse 9

the young ravens which cry — The LORD asks Job, 'Who provideth for the raven his food? when his young ones cry unto God' (Job 38:41). Christ points to them: 'Consider the ravens… God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?' (Luke 12:24). 'Cry' is qara, to call out.

Verse 10

the strength of the horse — Gevurah, might, the word of 'mighty acts' in Ps 145:4. The 'legs' (shoq) are a runner's. The verse agrees with Ps 33:17, 'An horse is a vain thing for safety', and Prov 21:31, 'The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD'.

Verse 11

taketh pleasure in them that fear him — Ratsah is the verb refused to the horse in v.10, 'taketh not pleasure'. Here it rests on those who 'hope' (yachal, wait) 'in his mercy' (chesed), as in Ps 33:18, 'upon them that hope in his mercy'. Ps 149:4 has 'the LORD taketh pleasure in his people'.

Verse 12

Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem — The call turns from the whole creation to the city that v.2 said he builds. 'Praise' here is shabach, to speak aloud, not the usual halal. The same address to Zion is in Ps 146:10 and Isa 12:6, 'Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion'.

Verse 14

the finest of the wheat — Literally the 'fat' (cheleb) of wheat. Ps 81:16 gives it as the food God would have given Israel: 'He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat'. 'Peace' is shalom, and the 'borders' (gevul) are the line of the land, as in Isa 60:18, 'wasting nor destruction within thy borders'.

Verse 15

his word runneth very swiftly — Davar runs (ruts) as a messenger, 'very swiftly' (meherah). 'He sent his word, and healed them' (Ps 107:20). The centurion saw the same power in Christ: 'speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed' (Matt 8:8).

Verse 18

sendeth out his word, and melteth them — Masah, to melt, the ice and snow of vv.16–17. The same word that sent the cold now thaws it. Ps 148:8 names the same working: 'snow, and vapour; stormy wind fulfilling his word', and Job 37:10 says 'By the breath of God frost is given'.

Verse 19

his statutes and his judgments — Choq and mishpat, the law's own words. 'Sheweth' is nagad, the verb of Ps 145:4. Moses had asked, 'what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law' (Deut 4:8). The gift was to 'Jacob' and 'Israel', as in Ps 78:5.

Verse 20

He hath not dealt so with any nation — The verse looks back to Deut 4:32–34, where Moses asks whether any nation had been dealt with so. Paul gives the same answer for the Jews: 'unto them were committed the oracles of God' (Rom 3:2). The psalm closes with 'Praise ye the LORD', as it opened (v.1).