Psalm 147:1-11

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Psalm 147:1-11, 20c
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OBSERVE:

This is a Psalm of praise to the Lord. The scope of the Psalm extends from the historical situation of the Jewish exiles, to the bounty of God’s creation, to the stars themselves. The worshippers are called to see God at work in history and in nature.

The Psalm begins with a simple declaration:

Praise Yah,
for it is good to sing praises to our God;
for it is pleasant and fitting to praise him.

From this declaration flows an outpouring of praise. We may deduce that this is a post-exilic Psalm because the Psalmist speaks of God building up Jerusalem and gathering the exiles. According to some sources, the temple was rebuilt by the returning exiles by 515 B.C., and Nehemiah oversaw the rebuilding of the wall surrounding Jerusalem around 445 B.C.

But the scope of the Psalmist’s focus is more cosmic than that. Like Isaiah 40:26, he describes the intimate knowledge that God has of even the innumerable stars in the heavens:

He counts the number of the stars.
He calls them all by their names.

God is majestic, his understanding is limitless; and he is also concerned about righteousness. There are consequences for wickedness. God is not a remote, indifferent deity — he is concerned about justice.

And when this Psalmist describes the provision of rain, grass, the cattle and the ravens, there seems to be an acute awareness of the interdependence of the natural world, what we would describe in our time as “ecosystems” that balance one another.

Finally, the Psalmist offers a strong poetic image of what pleases God. What pleases him are not those things that impress human beings — the strength of the horse or the legs that swiftly carry the warrior into battle — no, what pleases God is grounded in the relationship that he cultivates with us:

Yahweh takes pleasure in those who fear him,
in those who hope in his loving kindness.

APPLY:

The breadth and scope of this Psalm is impressive — from the praise of God for returning the exiles to their ruined city and rebuilding it; to the vault of the heavens with its countless stars; to the providence of God in the delicate balance of nature, as the rains cause the grass to grow which provides food for cattle and ravens; to the joy that God finds in relationship with us!

To read this Psalm devotionally is to experience the peace that we have in a God who rights wrongs, who has created all things, and who provides for his creatures through the natural processes he has set in motion.

And most astounding of all, he takes more pleasure in having a relationship with us than in all the powerful things he has created.

RESPOND:

All of the remarkable works of God evoke a response of praise from me. But to think that God is most pleased when I approach him with reverential fear and awe, and when I put my hope in his unfailing love — that is humbling and exalting at the same time.

The all-powerful God delights in having a relationship with me! THAT is incredible! How can I not praise him for that!?

Lord, when I consider all the works that you have done, in history and in nature, I am awestruck. But to think that you delight most of all when we worship you and place our hope in your love — that is beyond description. If we can’t praise you when that reality begins to dawn on us, then have mercy on our apathy and ignorance! Amen.

PHOTOS:
“Psalm 147” by Cathy Fongjoyo is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license.