The big picture
Praise links the rebuilding of Jerusalem, the city of worship, with the healing of wounded people. Israel, God's people, has outcasts to gather. The Lord who names the stars also binds broken hearts. Rain, animal food, strong gates, winter cold, and thaw all come within his rule. Jacob, the ancestor whose name also stands for the people, receives God's teaching. The song joins care for the whole created world with a particular gift of commands to this people.
In this chapter
- Boundless Knowledge Reaches the Brokenhearted Psalms 147:1-6
Singing praise is called good, pleasant, and fitting.
- Rain and Trust Matter More Than Displayed Strength Psalms 147:7-11
The call to sing with thanks leads to clouds, rain, and grass growing on hills.
- Strong Gates Protect a Fed Community Psalms 147:12-14
The city is addressed directly and called to praise its God.
- The Word Rules Weather and Teaches the People Psalms 147:15-20
God sends a command across earth with speed.
Central truth
The Lord's boundless understanding reaches both stars and wounded people, supplying creation, guarding the city, and giving his people his word.
Scripture beside the summary
Psalms · King James Version · 20Psalms 147:1-6
Boundless Knowledge Reaches the Brokenhearted
Singing praise is called good, pleasant, and fitting. The Lord rebuilds the city and gathers scattered people. He heals broken hearts and binds their wounds. In the same breath, the song says he counts the stars and calls each by name. His strength is great and his understanding has no limit. These wide claims do not crowd out the wounded person. He lifts the humble and brings the wicked down. The maker who knows the sky also attends to people needing repair, belonging, and a defence against evil.
In everyday life
A disaster-recovery nurse moves from the district map to sit beside a resident whose home is gone. She knows the overall count of displaced households, but still asks this woman what hurts and what she needs tonight. The large plan has room for one wounded life. The psalm joins such care with God's unlimited knowledge of the stars.
Notice
Psalms 147:3 Healing and bandaging give care for broken hearts a physical image. The great ruler is pictured attending closely to wounds, not only rebuilding walls.
Psalms 147:1-6
King James Version1Praise ye the LORD: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely.
2The LORD doth build up Jerusalem: he gathereth together the outcasts of Israel.
3He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.
4He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names.
5Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.
6The LORD lifteth up the meek: he casteth the wicked down to the ground.
Psalms 147:7-11
Rain and Trust Matter More Than Displayed Strength
The call to sing with thanks leads to clouds, rain, and grass growing on hills. God provides food for animals and hears young ravens crying for it. The poem then turns from creatures' needs to what pleases him. A strong horse and strong human legs are not his delight. He favours those who revere him and hope in his mercy. The contrast does not deny that bodies have strength. It denies that visible force is what secures God's pleasure, setting dependent trust beside the food he gives to needy creatures.
In everyday life
A riding instructor puts aside the prize chart and watches a nervous learner care patiently for a tired pony. The strongest animal and fastest rider are not the point of this quiet task. She notices the learner's attention and willingness to receive help. The scene values something beyond performance. The psalm names reverence and hope in God's mercy as his delight.
Notice
Psalms 147:11 Hope in mercy is named as pleasing to God. The desired response is trust in his care, rather than a display of physical force.
Psalms 147:7-11
King James Version7Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God:
8Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains.
9He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry.
10He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man.
11The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.
Psalms 147:12-14
Strong Gates Protect a Fed Community
The city is addressed directly and called to praise its God. Its gate bars have been made strong, and its children are blessed within. Peace lies along its borders, and fine grain fills its needs. Defence and food belong together in this picture of wellbeing. Strong gates would mean little to hungry families, while food needs a place where it can be enjoyed safely. The song credits the Lord with both. The invitation to praise grows from ordinary signs of a community able to live without constant threat.
In everyday life
A town stores keeper checks the repaired outer door, then opens the grain bins for the morning distribution. Parents queue with children while the scales are set. The food and the secure building work together to make the supply useful. She checks both before leaving her station. The psalm gives God credit for peace and provision across the city.
Notice
Psalms 147:14 Peace at the borders appears beside the finest grain. The city's blessing includes enough to eat within the safety being praised.
Psalms 147:12-14
King James Version12Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem; praise thy God, O Zion.
13For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates; he hath blessed thy children within thee.
14He maketh peace in thy borders, and filleth thee with the finest of the wheat.
Psalms 147:15-20
The Word Rules Weather and Teaches the People
God sends a command across earth with speed. Snow lies like wool, frost scatters like ash, and ice comes in pieces. Human strength fails before such cold. Then he speaks again, wind blows, and water flows as the frozen ground thaws. The song turns from this command over nature to the word shown to his people. They have received statutes and judgements other nations have not known in this way. The same Lord who orders the weather has made his will known to them as a gift.
In everyday life
A reservoir technician watches the frozen inlet begin flowing after warmer wind reaches the valley. She notes the change, then reads the operating instructions sent to her station for the thaw. Nature's change and her duty to respond meet in the day's work. She follows the written guidance. The psalm attributes both creation's order and Israel's teaching to God's word.
Notice
Psalms 147:20 The teaching given to Israel is described as a distinct gift. The ending turns from care over all nature to a responsibility the people know through revealed commands.
Psalms 147:15-20
King James Version15He sendeth forth his commandment upon earth: his word runneth very swiftly.
16He giveth snow like wool: he scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes.
17He casteth forth his ice like morsels: who can stand before his cold?
18He sendeth out his word, and melteth them: he causeth his wind to blow, and the waters flow.
19He sheweth his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto Israel.
20He hath not dealt so with any nation: and as for his judgments, they have not known them. Praise ye the LORD.
Details worth noticing
The opening image
Psalms 147:1 begins with “Praise ye the LORD: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely.”
Where the chapter turns
Psalms 147:17 forms a natural hinge: “He casteth forth his ice like morsels: who can stand before his cold?”
The final note
Psalms 147:20 leaves the reader with “He hath not dealt so with any nation: and as for his judgments, they have not known them. Praise ye the LORD.”
A word trail through the chapter
The words LORD, praise, sing, word, casteth, earth help reveal the chapter’s repeated concerns.
KJV words made clear
- comely
- Fitting or appropriate, with a sense of pleasing order.
- hoarfrost
- A white coating of frozen moisture on cold surfaces.
Music and video connected to the passage
Related media appears when its Scripture reference overlaps this study. Music and video can illuminate a theme while the biblical text remains the foundation.
