Psa 147:3 | KingComments | STEP | In this psalm we see God’s people, made up entirely of righteous, in Jerusalem and Zion in the time of the realm of peace ( ). God, the Creator, Who cares for His entire creation, stands in a special relationship with His people. His people know Him as righteous, full of compassion and good. Thus they have come to know Him in His ways with them. After the previous psalm sings of the LORD as God Who is King, the song of praise now continues with a song of praise for the works of the LORD. It is He Who rebuilds Jerusalem; it is He Who brings back the outcast of Israel, the lost ten tribes ( ); it is He Who with balm from Gilead cares for the brokenhearted of His people ( ; ). Division of the psalm The occasion of the song of praise is that the LORD 1. restores ( ), 2. sustains ( ), and 3. gives peace ( ). Each section begins with an exhortation to praise the LORD: “Hallelujah!” (= Praise the LORD). “Sing to the LORD …, sing praises to our God … “ “Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion!” Before the psalmist lists the reasons to praise the LORD, he first makes it clear that it is good, pleasant and becoming to praise the LORD ( ). The psalm begins with the exclamation “hallelujah” or “praise the LORD”. Immediately following this, the psalmist motivates his call: “For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant.” Singing psalms to God is good for God’s people and pleasant for God. God is “our God”. This is how He has made Himself known to His people. He has delivered them from all misery and brought them into the blessing of the realm of peace. Therefore “praise is becoming”. A pre-fulfillment of what is written in happened after a remnant returned to Israel from the Babylonian exile. Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the city. We find the description of this in the book of Nehemiah. Here we read that “the LORD builds up Jerusalem”. It is His work. He worked it all into Nehemiah’s heart and gave him the strength and wisdom to do that work. The remnant learned that the builders labor in vain at the house if the LORD does not build it. At the same time, it is clear that it is not the complete fulfillment of what is being sung here. It is a prophetic psalm, the fulfillment of which takes place when the Messiah reigns ( ; ; ; ). “The outcasts of Israel” are not yet gathered by Him. The ten tribes are still largely in the scattering up to this point, but He will gather them ( ; ; ; ; ). When He will have gathered them and brought them back – we have seen this in Psalms 120-121 – the happy situation described here will begin. For this, the LORD not only brings the outcast – not only of the ten tribes, but also those of the two tribes – back to Jerusalem, but He heals them ( ). They are “the brokenhearted”, for they have acknowledged that their removal from the land was justified because of their sins. Those sins are their idolatry and rejection of Christ – the latter applies only to the two tribes. By their confession of it, they are in a mind that is after the heart of God. With them He wants to dwell, in their heart and in His city ( ; ; ). They have suffered much, but now God relieves their suffering with His love. He binds up the wounds that He Himself had to cause ( ). That God is able to bring back every member of His people is evident from the fact that “He counts the number of the stars” and “gives names to all of them” ( ; cf. ). He told Abraham that He would make his descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven in multitude ( ). He, the mighty Ruler of the universe, knows exactly where this offspring, scattered as it is, is. He knows their number and knows the name of each one. The LORD is omniscient; He does not overlook any star. Therefore, He will never overlook the suffering of His own ( ) either. That God knows the number of stars and the name of each star shows that He is “great … and abundant in strength” ( ). He is called here “the Lord”, that is Adonai, the sovereign Ruler of the universe. Everything outside of Him is created by Him and limited, even though their number or size is so great that we cannot count or calculate it. However, He Himself is unlimited: “His understanding is infinite.” The number of stars is bounded, the stars are countable, although we do not see their boundary and cannot count them. He, however, is immeasurable or ‘uncountable’. If a human being feels small in anything, it is in comparison to the immeasurable universe with its countless stars. That overwhelming universe was created by God. He is not a part of it, but is exalted above it and sustains it by the word of His power. In His unlimitedness, He bows down to the little man who bows before His majesty. As He supports the universe, He supports the afflicted or meek ( ). The meek have learned of Him, for He is meek and humble in heart ( ). As a result, they are like Him. Therefore, they have not taken the law into their own hands, but have endured suffering and waited, like Christ, for God’s time for blessing. They have been supported by God, and now they may share with Christ in the blessing of the realm of peace. With “the wicked” He deals very differently. The afflicted have humbled themselves under the powerful hand of God. The wicked have exalted themselves and sought to enrich themselves at the expense of the afflicted. Now the time of retribution has come. The afflicted are exalted, while God “humbles the wicked to the ground” ( ). The LORD uses His omnipotence ( ) to support the remnant, represented in the afflicted, in the midst of the heaviest tribulation, while He humbles the wicked, that is, the antichrist and the enemies of the people, to the ground.

‏ Psalms 147:3

Introduction

In this psalm we see God’s people, made up entirely of righteous, in Jerusalem and Zion in the time of the realm of peace (Psa 147:12). God, the Creator, Who cares for His entire creation, stands in a special relationship with His people. His people know Him as righteous, full of compassion and good. Thus they have come to know Him in His ways with them.

After the previous psalm sings of the LORD as God Who is King, the song of praise now continues with a song of praise for the works of the LORD. It is He Who rebuilds Jerusalem; it is He Who brings back the outcast of Israel, the lost ten tribes (Psa 147:2); it is He Who with balm from Gilead cares for the brokenhearted of His people (Psa 147:3; Jer 8:22).

Division of the psalm

The occasion of the song of praise is that the LORD

1. restores (Psa 147:1-6),

2. sustains (Psa 147:7-11), and

3. gives peace (Psa 147:12-20).

Each section begins with an exhortation to praise the LORD:

Psa 147:1 “Hallelujah!” (= Praise the LORD).

Psa 147:7 “Sing to the LORD …, sing praises to our God … “

Psa 147:12 “Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion!”

God Restores and Cares For His People

Before the psalmist lists the reasons to praise the LORD, he first makes it clear that it is good, pleasant and becoming to praise the LORD (Psa 147:1). The psalm begins with the exclamation “hallelujah” or “praise the LORD”. Immediately following this, the psalmist motivates his call: “For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant.” Singing psalms to God is good for God’s people and pleasant for God. God is “our God”. This is how He has made Himself known to His people. He has delivered them from all misery and brought them into the blessing of the realm of peace. Therefore “praise is becoming”.

A pre-fulfillment of what is written in Psa 147:2 happened after a remnant returned to Israel from the Babylonian exile. Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the city. We find the description of this in the book of Nehemiah. Here we read that “the LORD builds up Jerusalem”. It is His work. He worked it all into Nehemiah’s heart and gave him the strength and wisdom to do that work. The remnant learned that the builders labor in vain at the house if the LORD does not build it.

At the same time, it is clear that it is not the complete fulfillment of what is being sung here. It is a prophetic psalm, the fulfillment of which takes place when the Messiah reigns (Psa 102:16; Isa 61:4; Jer 30:18; Amos 9:14). “The outcasts of Israel” are not yet gathered by Him. The ten tribes are still largely in the scattering up to this point, but He will gather them (Deu 30:3; Isa 11:12 ; Isa 56:8; Hos 1:11; Eze 37:22; Mt 24:31). When He will have gathered them and brought them back – we have seen this in Psalms 120-121 – the happy situation described here will begin.

For this, the LORD not only brings the outcast – not only of the ten tribes, but also those of the two tribes – back to Jerusalem, but He heals them (Psa 147:3). They are “the brokenhearted”, for they have acknowledged that their removal from the land was justified because of their sins. Those sins are their idolatry and rejection of Christ – the latter applies only to the two tribes.

By their confession of it, they are in a mind that is after the heart of God. With them He wants to dwell, in their heart and in His city (Isa 57:15; Hos 6:1; Lk 4:18). They have suffered much, but now God relieves their suffering with His love. He binds up the wounds that He Himself had to cause (Job 5:18).

That God is able to bring back every member of His people is evident from the fact that “He counts the number of the stars” and “gives names to all of them” (Psa 147:4; cf. Isa 40:26). He told Abraham that He would make his descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven in multitude (Gen 15:5).

He, the mighty Ruler of the universe, knows exactly where this offspring, scattered as it is, is. He knows their number and knows the name of each one. The LORD is omniscient; He does not overlook any star. Therefore, He will never overlook the suffering of His own (Psa 147:3) either.

That God knows the number of stars and the name of each star shows that He is “great … and abundant in strength” (Psa 147:5). He is called here “the Lord”, that is Adonai, the sovereign Ruler of the universe. Everything outside of Him is created by Him and limited, even though their number or size is so great that we cannot count or calculate it. However, He Himself is unlimited: “His understanding is infinite.” The number of stars is bounded, the stars are countable, although we do not see their boundary and cannot count them. He, however, is immeasurable or ‘uncountable’.

If a human being feels small in anything, it is in comparison to the immeasurable universe with its countless stars. That overwhelming universe was created by God. He is not a part of it, but is exalted above it and sustains it by the word of His power.

In His unlimitedness, He bows down to the little man who bows before His majesty. As He supports the universe, He supports the afflicted or meek (Psa 147:6). The meek have learned of Him, for He is meek and humble in heart (Mt 11:29). As a result, they are like Him. Therefore, they have not taken the law into their own hands, but have endured suffering and waited, like Christ, for God’s time for blessing. They have been supported by God, and now they may share with Christ in the blessing of the realm of peace.

With “the wicked” He deals very differently. The afflicted have humbled themselves under the powerful hand of God. The wicked have exalted themselves and sought to enrich themselves at the expense of the afflicted. Now the time of retribution has come. The afflicted are exalted, while God “humbles the wicked to the ground” (Lk 14:11 ; Lk 18:14).

The LORD uses His omnipotence (Psa 147:5) to support the remnant, represented in the afflicted, in the midst of the heaviest tribulation, while He humbles the wicked, that is, the antichrist and the enemies of the people, to the ground.