Psalm 147

Psalm 147 belongs to the final five psalms of the Psalms (Psalms 146–150), each of which begins and ends with "Hallelujah." Following Psalm 146, which calls the reader to trust in God, this psalm repeats the call to praise three times and celebrates what God has done.

Structure

• Verses 1–6 declare that praising God is good and fitting. The LORD builds up Jerusalem and gathers the outcasts; he heals the brokenhearted, counts the number of the stars, and calls them all by name. He lifts up the meek and casts the wicked down to the ground.
• Verses 7–11 call for praise with thanksgiving and the harp. God makes the grass grow with clouds and rain and feeds the beasts and the young ravens. He delights not in the strength of the horse or the legs of a man but in those who fear him.
• Verses 12–14 summon Jerusalem and Zion to praise. God strengthens the bars of the city's gates, makes peace within its borders, and fills it with the finest of the wheat.
• Verses 15–18 describe how, when God sends forth his word, snow, frost, and hail come down; then, by his word and his wind, they melt and the waters flow.
• Verses 19–20 proclaim that God has made known his statutes and judgments to Jacob and Israel alone, and the psalm closes with "Hallelujah."

Key Verses

• Psalm 147:3 "He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds." — This verse sets God's rule over the universe alongside his care for the wounded.
• Psalm 147:11 "The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy." — This is the central confession of the psalm: God delights in reverence and trust rather than in strength.
• Psalm 147:19 "He sheweth his word unto Jacob" — The word that moves the natural world is linked to the law given to Israel.

People and Places

• Jerusalem and Zion: The city that God rebuilds and calls to praise.
• Jacob and Israel: Names designating the people who received God's statutes and judgments.

Points for Reflection

• Because verse 2 speaks of gathering the outcasts and building up Jerusalem, many scholars date the psalm to the period after the return from exile. In the Septuagint the psalm reportedly bears the names of Haggai and Zechariah, but the text itself does not identify its author.
• The Septuagint and the Vulgate divide this psalm into two separate psalms, verses 1–11 and verses 12–20, and number them accordingly.
• Verse 9, which speaks of God feeding the ravens, is read alongside the teaching of Jesus (the saying about the ravens in Luke 12), and verse 3, which speaks of healing the brokenhearted, is read alongside Isaiah 61:1–3. Verses 19–20, which describe God entrusting his word to Israel, connect with Romans 3:2.