Psa 147:1-3 | Clarke | STEP | The psalmist praises God for his goodness to Jerusalem, ; shows his great mercy to them that trust in him, ; he extols him for his mercies, and providential kindness, ; for his defense of Jerusalem, ; For his wonders in the seasons, ; and his word unto Jacob, , . This Psalm, which is without title in the Hebrew, Chaldee, and Vulgate, is attributed by the other Versions to Haggai and Zechariah. It was probably penned after the captivity, when the Jews were busily employed in rebuilding Jerusalem, as may be gathered from the second and thirteenth verses. It may be necessary to remark that all the Versions, except the Chaldee, divide this Psalm at the end of the eleventh verse, and begin a new Psalm at the twelfth. By this division the numbers of the Psalms agree in the Versions with the Hebrew; the former having been, till now, one behind. Verse 1 Praise is comely - It is decent, befitting, and proper that every intelligent creature should acknowledge the Supreme Being: and as he does nothing but good to the children of men, so they should speak good of his name.

Psalms 147:1-3

Introduction

The psalmist praises God for his goodness to Jerusalem, Psa 147:1-3; shows his great mercy to them that trust in him, Psa 147:4-6; he extols him for his mercies, and providential kindness, Psa 147:7-11; for his defense of Jerusalem, Psa 147:12-15; For his wonders in the seasons, Psa 147:16-18; and his word unto Jacob, Psa 147:19, Psa 147:20.

This Psalm, which is without title in the Hebrew, Chaldee, and Vulgate, is attributed by the other Versions to Haggai and Zechariah. It was probably penned after the captivity, when the Jews were busily employed in rebuilding Jerusalem, as may be gathered from the second and thirteenth verses. It may be necessary to remark that all the Versions, except the Chaldee, divide this Psalm at the end of the eleventh verse, and begin a new Psalm at the twelfth. By this division the numbers of the Psalms agree in the Versions with the Hebrew; the former having been, till now, one behind.

Verse 1

Praise is comely - It is decent, befitting, and proper that every intelligent creature should acknowledge the Supreme Being: and as he does nothing but good to the children of men, so they should speak good of his name. Verse 2

The Lord doth build up - The psalmist appears to see the walls rising under his eye, because the outcasts of Israel, those who had been in captivity, are now gathered together to do the work. Verse 3

He healeth the broken in heart - שבורי, the shivered in heart. From the root שבר shabar, to break in pieces, we have our word shiver, to break into splinters, into shivers. The heart broken in pieces by a sense of God's displeasure.