Psalms 147:12 - Meaning and Application

Jerusalem and Zion, the holy city and the holy hill, are called to praise God here (Psalm 147:12). Where should praise rise to God if not where his altar stands? Where should he receive glory if not in the beauty of holiness? Let the people of Jerusalem praise the Lord in their homes, and let the priests and Levites, who serve in Zion, the city of the sacred feasts, praise him in a special way.

They have more reason than others to do this, and they are under a greater duty to do it, because it is their work and their calling. “Praise your God, O Zion,” the psalm says. He belongs to you, so you are bound to praise him. And if he is yours, then you already have everything needed to find joy and praise.

Jerusalem and Zion must praise God, first, for the prosperity and strength of their civil life (Psalm 147:13, 14). They should thank him for their safety. They had gates and bars, and they locked them in times of danger. But those walls would not have kept them safe unless God had strengthened their bars and made their defenses strong. The best plans we make for our own protection will fail unless God blesses them. So while we use careful means, we must still depend on him, and we should give him the credit for the peace of our land more than for any walls around it (Zechariah 2:5).

They should also thank him for the growth of their people. This helped their gates as much as anything else. “He has blessed your children within you” with the first great blessing, “Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the land.” It comforts parents to see their children blessed by the Lord (Isaiah 61:9). It also comforts an older generation to see the younger one growing strong and hopeful. For that blessing, God should be blessed.

They should thank him, too, for public peace, because he had delivered them from the fears and ruins of war. “He makes peace in your borders.” He ended wars that had broken out and kept back wars that were threatened or feared. He makes peace inside the land by settling disputes between neighbors, so there are no bitter fights and divisions within. He also makes peace along the borders, so they are not attacked from outside. Trouble often begins on the edges of a country, where frontier towns are most exposed. So if there is peace in the borders, there is peace throughout the land. That is a mercy we can never thank God for enough.

They should also praise him for great plenty, which usually comes from peace. “He fills you with the finest wheat.” Wheat is the most valuable grain, and God gives it in rich abundance. What more could they want? Canaan was known for its good wheat (Deuteronomy 32:14), and it exported it to other nations (Ezekiel 27:17). Israel was not made rich by precious stones or spices, but by the finest wheat, by bread that strengthens the human heart. That made it the glory of all lands, and for that God was praised in Zion.

They must praise him also for his amazing power in the weather, especially in winter. The same God who protects Zion and Jerusalem is the Lord of power, from whom all the powers of nature come and on whom they depend. He brings about all the changes of the seasons, changes that would amaze us if they were not so familiar.

In general, every change in this lower world, which is always changing, comes by the will, power, and care of God (Psalm 147:15). He sends out his command on the earth like a king giving orders, with many servants ready to carry them out. Just as he first made the world, so he still keeps it going by a word of almighty power. God speaks, and it is done, because all things serve him. His word does not only take effect surely, but quickly. It runs very swiftly, because nothing can stop it or delay it. Like lightning flashing through the sky, so is the word of God’s providence, and so is the word of his grace when he sends it out with authority (Luke 17:24). The angels who carry out his word fly swiftly as well (Daniel 9:21).

More specifically, both frost and thaw are wonderful changes, and in both we must recognize the word of his power. Frost comes from God. With him are the storehouses of snow and hail (Job 38:22, 23), and he draws from them as he chooses. He gives snow like wool. It is like wool because it is white (Isaiah 1:18), and because it is soft. It falls quietly, almost like a lock of wool dropping down. It covers the earth and keeps it warm like a wool blanket, and in that way it helps the land become fruitful. We see how God works through opposites, bringing good from what seems harmful, and warming the earth with cold snow.

He scatters the frost, which is dew frozen into ice, just as snow and hail are rain frozen into ice. It looks like ashes scattered on the grass, and it can damage the earth’s crops, as if hot ashes had fallen on them (Psalm 78:47). He throws out his ice like morsels, which may mean large hailstones, like ice in the air, or ice covering the water, broken into pieces that are like chunks of bread or food. When we see frost, snow, and ice, we feel their force in the air: “Who can stand before his cold?” The animals cannot, and they hide in dens (Job 37:8). Men cannot stand against it either, but must protect themselves with fires, warm clothing, and blankets, and even that is barely enough in severe cold.

We do not see the causes when we feel the effects, so we must call it his cold. He sends it, and we should bear it patiently. We should also thank him for warm houses, clothes, and beds that ease the hardship of winter. In this, we must give him the glory for his wisdom, rule, power, and faithfulness, which will not fail any more than summer will fail (Genesis 8:22). We should also learn this lesson: if we cannot stand before the cold of his frost, how will we stand before the heat of his anger?

Thaws also come from God. When he chooses, he sends out his word and melts them. The frost, snow, and ice all break up quickly, and he makes the south wind blow so that the frozen waters flow again as before (Psalm 147:18). We feel the change soon, though we do not see the cause. So we must trace it back to the will of the first cause, God himself. In this, we should notice not only God’s power, because he can suddenly and quietly make such a great change in the air and on the earth, but also his goodness.

Cold weather does not last forever, and it would be sad if it did. God does not keep on in anger forever, but he renews the face of the earth. Just as he remembered Noah and brought him out safely (Genesis 8:1), so he remembers the earth and his covenant with it (Song of Solomon 2:11, Song of Solomon 2:12).

This thawing word may picture the gospel of Christ, and this thawing wind may picture the Spirit of Christ, since the Spirit is compared to the wind (John 3:8). Both are sent to melt frozen hearts. Converting grace, like a thaw, softens a hard heart, moistens it, and melts it into tears of repentance. It warms holy desires and lets them flow again when they had been chilled and blocked.

The change a thaw makes is wide and gradual. You can see its effects clearly, but you cannot fully explain how it happens. That is much like the change God works in a soul’s conversion, when his word and Spirit are sent to melt the heart and restore it.

The psalm then speaks of God’s special favor to Israel in giving them his word and his laws, a far greater blessing than peace and plenty (Psalm 147:14). The soul is more valuable than the body, and so this gift is greater than outward prosperity. Jacob and Israel had God’s statutes and judgments among them. They lived under his special rule, and the laws of their nation came from him, so their whole system was a theocracy, a nation ruled directly by God.

They also had the blessing of divine revelation. The great truths of God’s law were made known to them. They had a priesthood set up by God for all matters concerning him, and prophets for special times of need. No other people had such sure guidance in religion. This was, first, a mercy that went before them. They did not discover God’s statutes and judgments on their own, but God showed his word to Jacob and made his laws known to them. It is a great mercy for any people to have God’s word among them, because faith comes by hearing and reading that word, and without faith it is impossible to please God.

It was also a special mercy, and therefore even more binding. He has not dealt so with every nation, not with any nation; and as for his judgments, they have not known them, until the Messiah should come and break down the barrier between Jew and Gentile so the gospel could be preached to every creature. Other nations may have had many outward advantages. Some were rich, some had powerful rulers, and some had learning and culture. But none were blessed with God’s statutes and judgments as Israel was. So let Israel praise the Lord for keeping these laws and for giving them this gift. Lord, why do you show yourself to us and not to the world? Even so, Father, because it seemed good in your sight.