Psalm 147:1 Praise the LORD. How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him!
Psalm 147 again begins and ends with a hallelujah. It seems to have been written in Jerusalem after the return from exile. The psalmist begins by saying how good it is to sing praises to God. It is pleasant and fitting to praise him! At two later points in the psalm he calls on others to praise the LORD. Verse 7 - Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; make music to our God on the harp; verses 10-12 point out that God's pleasure is not in the power of armies (the strength of the horse ... the legs of a man). No, he delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love. Therefore Extol the LORD, O Jerusalem; praise your God, O Zion. The rest of the psalm gives reasons why it is good and pleasant to praise. First, the fact God has built up Jerusalem and gathered the exiles. He heals the broken-hearted and binds up their wounds. But then he is the God also who determines the number of the stars and names each one. Mighty in power he has an understanding that has no limit. He is also just. He sustains the humble but casts the wicked to the ground. In the rest of the psalm it is God's power in creation and love to Israel that alternately he focusses on. In creation, he sends clouds that lead to rain, which makes grass grow providing food for the animals. Later, he talks of how God sends his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly and we see snow like wool ... frost like ashes ... hail like pebbles. Who can withstand his icy blast? He also produces the thaw that follows. In the midst of this meditation, however, the psalmist is also reflecting on how God strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses your people within Jerusalem, grants peace to their borders, satisfies you with the finest of wheat. He concludes (19, 20) He has revealed his word to Jacob, his laws and decrees to Israel something he has done for no other nation. Many are aware of the wonders of creation and all believers must be aware of his salvation. How pleasant and fitting to meditate on these things and to praise him for them.
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