Psalms 147:1 - Meaning and Application

The duty of praise is strongly urged here. We are called to it again and again for good reason: “Praise the Lord” (Psalm 147:1), and again, “Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving, sing praises to our God” (Psalm 147:7). All our praise should be directed to him and center on him. It is good to praise him, because it is our duty, so it is good in itself, and it is also good for us.

It is good because it is pleasant. Holy joy is part of true praise, and that is pleasant to us as human beings. Giving glory to God is its purpose and work, and that is pleasant to us as people set apart for his honor. Praising God is work that pays its own reward. It is heaven on earth, and it is what we should naturally be doing.

It is also good because it is fitting. Praise is what suits us as reasonable creatures, and even more as people in covenant with God, that is, bound to him by his promise and our faith. When we give honor to God, we truly honor ourselves as well.

God is the proper object of our highest and fullest praise for several reasons. First, he cares for his chosen people (Psalm 147:2). If Jerusalem is being raised from small beginnings, or restored from ruins, it is the Lord who builds it up. The gospel church, the Jerusalem that is above, is built this way. He planned it in his own counsel, founded it through the preaching of his gospel, and keeps adding daily those who will be saved. He will build it up to perfection, until it is as high as heaven.

If any of his people are outcasts, whether by their own folly or by war, famine, or persecution, he gathers them back. He gives repentance and brings them again into the fellowship of the saints. He opens a way for their return. Many who were missing and thought lost are brought back, and those scattered in a dark and cloudy day are gathered together again.

Second, he has laid up comfort for true penitents, people who are truly sorry for their sin (Psalm 147:3). They are broken in heart, wounded, humbled, and troubled because of sin. Their hearts are deeply pained when they remember it, like a person with a severe wound. They feel not only a sharp sense of sin, but real grief over the dishonor they have done to God and the harm they have done to themselves.

To those whom God heals with the comfort of his Spirit, he speaks peace. He assures them that their sins are forgiven and that he is reconciled to them. In that way he quiets them, pours the balm of Gilead into their bleeding wounds, then binds them up and makes them rejoice. Those who have known this do not need much urging to praise the Lord, for when he brought them out of the terrible pit and set their feet on a rock, he put a new song in their mouths (Psalm 40:2-3). Others should praise him for this as well.

Third, consider his rule over the lights of heaven (Psalm 147:4-5). The stars are countless, and many cannot even be seen clearly with the naked eye. Yet he counts them and knows their exact number, because they are all the work of his hands and serve his providence, his wise care over the world. Their size and power are great, yet he calls them all by name. That shows his authority over them and his full command of them, so he can use them as he pleases.

They are his servants, his soldiers. He orders them, marshals them, and sends them where he will. He mentions this as one example among many, to show that our Lord is great and powerful, able to do whatever he wants, and that his understanding cannot be measured. Human knowledge runs dry quickly. We reach its limits soon enough. But God’s knowledge is a depth that can never be fully searched out.

Fourth, he delights in bringing down the proud and lifting up the humble (Psalm 147:6). The Lord lifts up the meek, those who humble themselves before him and are trampled on by others. But the wicked, who act proudly toward God and contemptuously toward all people, who lift themselves up in pride and folly, he casts down to the ground. Sometimes he does this through very humbling events in this life, and at the farthest in the day when they will be filled with everlasting shame. God shows himself to be God by looking on the proud and bringing them low (Job 40:12).

Fifth, he provides for even the lower creatures. Though he is so great that he commands the stars, he is also so good that he does not forget even the birds (Psalm 147:8-9). Notice the way he feeds both people and animals. He covers the sky with clouds, which darken the air and block the sun, yet in those clouds he prepares the rain the earth needs to be fruitful. Clouds look gloomy, yet without them there would be no rain and no harvest. In the same way, afflictions often look dark and unpleasant for the moment, and we are sad under them. But they are necessary, because from these clouds of trouble come the showers that produce the peaceable fruit of righteousness (Hebrews 12:11). That should help us bear them better.

This also reminds us how the earth depends on the heavens, and how we on earth must depend on God in heaven. All the rain that waters the earth is prepared by him. By that rain he makes grass grow on the mountains, even on high mountains that no one tends or reaps. The mountains, which do not have rivers and springs like the valleys do, are still watered so they are not barren. He gives that grass to the beasts for food, including wild animals on the mountains that no one provides for. Even the young ravens, when their parents leave them and they cry out, are heard by him. He finds ways to feed them so they do not perish in the nest.

Sixth, he takes pleasure in his people (Psalm 147:10-11). In times when great things are happening and people have high hopes for success, it matters to know, since the outcome comes from the Lord, whom he will choose to honor and crown with victory. God is not pleased by strength in armies, but by the strength of grace. That is what he owns and blesses.

He does not delight in cavalry, in the strength of the horse, even though the war horse is known for courage (Job 39:19). Nor does he take pleasure in the legs of a man, meaning mere military speed or steadiness. The point is not quick retreat, but firm standing in battle.

If a king goes to God for help in war, it will not help him to say, “Lord, I have a strong army, with horsemen and foot soldiers in good order. It would be a shame if they were defeated.” That kind of plea means nothing with God (Psalm 20:7). Jehoshaphat’s prayer was much better: “Lord, we have no might” (2 Chronicles 20:12).

But God is pleased to honor the strength that comes from grace. A serious and fitting reverence for God is, in God’s eyes, very precious in such a case. The Lord accepts and takes pleasure in those who fear him and hope in his mercy.

Notice that holy fear of God and hope in God not only can exist together, they must go together. In the same heart, at the same time, there must be both respect for God’s greatness and confidence in his goodness, both a true fear of his anger and a true expectation of his favor. This does not mean we should stay unsure between hope and fear, but that we should live under the gentle influence of both. Our fear should keep our hope from becoming pride, and our hope should keep our fear from becoming despair. In this way, we do our duty as we should.

We must also hope in God’s mercy, his general mercy, even when we cannot find a special promise to rest on. A humble trust in the goodness of God’s nature is very pleasing to him, because it gives honor to the quality in which he takes special delight. Every person of honor likes to be trusted.