Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. (Psalm 119:105)
Psalm 147 (NIV)
1 Praise the LORD.
How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him!
2 The LORD builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the exiles of Israel. 3 He heals the broken-hearted and binds up their wounds.
4 He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name. 5 Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit. 6 The LORD sustains the humble but casts the wicked to the ground.
7 Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; make music to our God on the harp. 8 He covers the sky with clouds; he supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills. 9 He provides food for the cattle and for the young ravens when they call.
10 His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of a man; 11 the LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.
12 Extol the LORD, O Jerusalem; praise your God, O Zion, 13 for he strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses your people within you. 14 He grants peace to your borders and satisfies you with the finest of wheat.
15 He sends his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly. 16 He spreads the snow like wool and scatters the frost like ashes. 17 He hurls down his hail like pebbles. Who can withstand his icy blast? 18 He sends his word and melts them; he stirs up his breezes, and the waters flow.
19 He has revealed his word to Jacob, his laws and decrees to Israel. 20 He has done this for no other nation; they do not know his laws.
Praise the LORD.
Notes
1. ‘Praise Yahweh,’ the imperative command that introduces and ends this Psalm is a feature of 7 Psalms: 113, 135 and 146-150. In addition 2 Psalms, 111 and 112, start with this phrase and 6 Psalms, 104-106 and 115-117, end with it. It is used on 61 other occasions in other situations.
2. ‘Praise Yahweh’ in Hebrew is hallel yah that transliterates into Greek, spelt as hallelujah or alleluia and that has been adopted into English. Yahweh is God’s name that was revealed to Moses and means the ‘always I am,’ the one who was, is and always will be (Exodus 3:13-15).
3. Seemingly from 3rd century BC there was a growing concern that saying Yahweh’s name put the speaker at risk of breaking the third commandment (Exodus 20:7) so it was replaced with the title Adonnay (Lord). The early Christian church continued this custom so when John Wycliffe translated the Bible into English in the 14th century ‘Yahweh’ was written as ‘Lord’ or ‘the Lord.’ Within a couple of centuries it became customary to distinguish Yahweh from Lord by using capitals, ‘LORD’ or ‘the LORD.’ Note LORD/Lord in verses 2 and 5.
4. I am not happy about adopting this Jewish tradition as Yahweh himself gave his name to Moses so he could know who he was addressing. Surely, therefore, it is false humility to refuse to use it. And addressing Yahweh by his chosen name emphasises that we have a personal relationship with the Eternal Almighty God. How stunning is that?
5. This psalm then, is all about praising Yahweh – there are no complaints and no demands or even requests – just praise.
6. If the Hebrew line structure is ignored It can be set out in an English poetic style in blank verse with no rhyming and only a measure of rhythm. This shows three calls to praise each followed by a varied number of lines that give reasons for the call:
Psalm 147 (English poetic layout)
| 1 Praise Yahweh. |
| How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him! 2 Yahweh builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the exiles of Israel. 3 He heals the broken-hearted and binds up their wounds. 4 He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name. 5 Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit. 6 Yahweh sustains the humble but casts the wicked to the ground. |
| 7 Sing to Yahweh with thanksgiving; make music to our God on the harp. 8 He covers the sky with clouds; he supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills. 9 He provides food for the cattle and for the young ravens when they call. 10 His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of a man; 11 Yahweh delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love. |
| 12 Extol Yahweh, O Jerusalem; praise your God, O Zion, 13 for he strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses your people within you. 14 He grants peace to your borders and satisfies you with the finest of wheat. 15 He sends his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly. 16 He spreads the snow like wool and scatters the frost like ashes. 17 He hurls down his hail like pebbles. Who can withstand his icy blast? 18 He sends his word and melts them; he stirs up his breezes, and the waters flow. 19 He has revealed his word to Jacob, his laws and decrees to Israel. 20 He has done this for no other nation; they do not know his laws. |
| Praise Yahweh. |
7. It seems probable from, ‘Yahweh builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the exiles of Israel’ (2) that this psalm was written after the return from exile in Babylon that occurred during 537-433 BC.
8. It may seem odd to have Israel mentioned instead of Judah for after the division of the nation in 931 BC, when the northern tribes rejected the Davidic dynasty, they had retained the name of Israel and the remaining tribes (Judah and Benjamin) became Judah. However, Israel, the northern kingdom, was invaded and taken over by Assyria, the superpower of the day, in 721 BC and everyone was deported. Israel ceased to exist and the deportees were absorbed into other ethnic groups. Some kings of Judah, such as Hezekiah[1] and Josiah[2] tried to recover the lost territory without success but the name Israel was readopted and seems to have been used interchangeably with Judah as recorded in the books of Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Ezra and Nehemiah that are set in 520-433 BC, the period preceding and including the era in which Psalm 147 appears to be set.
9. Telling Jerusalem that Yahweh, ‘strengthens the bars of your gates’ (13) therefore, seems to refer to the restoration of the city that was led by Nehemiah (Nehemiah 3:1-32, 4:6-23, 6:15-7:3) and ‘blesses your people within you’ (13) could refer to the spiritual revival that happened subsequently (Nehemiah 11:1-2, 12:27-47).
10. There may be some connections with Psalms 107 and 126 as they too appear to be set in the period after the return from exile.
11. This psalm was written primarily for the people who lived in the generation in which it was set. Not surprisingly therefore, it expresses features of life as it was lived then, when Israel was resettling the land in 433-350 BC during and after the rebuilding of Jerusalem. We live in a different time and a different culture and have a different way of life so we do not automatically understand the psalm’s context. However, human nature is unchanged; we too are called to live by faith, trusting in Almighty God so God’s word still speaks into our lives. Though the psalm was written to them it is undoubtedly also written for us. Our understanding will be enhanced however, if we explore the history and culture of the era in which the psalm is set.
12. Nehemiah focusses on the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem and then re-establishing worship in the Temple that had been rebuilt in 520-516 BC (Ezra 1:1-6:15). It is interesting that he mentions a few times that the people settled in their towns. Few lived in Jerusalem (Nehemiah 7:4) but eventually all family groups participated in a lottery and one out of ten were chosen to move to Jerusalem (Nehemiah 11:1-2).
13. The biblical narrative does not explain why so few were interested in living in Jerusalem but Psalm 147 provides relevant information. It suggests that living in their ancestral towns was related to the basic need to grow enough food to sustain life. The population had been decimated so the new arrivals had to look after themselves. Fortunately, there were swathes of the countryside around their ancestral homes that had formerly been cultivated so were available for redevelopment. A good harvest meant survival but that required hard work, tilling the land year after year while they built up reserves.
14. It seems Yahweh favoured them with good weather for, ‘He covers the sky with clouds; he supplies the earth with rain’ (8) suggests it was more temperate than the usual hot, dry and cloudless summers yet still had plenty of rain in the cooler winters.
15. Verse 8 continues, ‘and makes grass grow on the hills.’ The valleys and riverside meadows would be the most fertile areas so if the hill country was green with grass there must have been plenty of rain and exceptional growing conditions.[3] This is further evidence of Yahweh’s favour.
16. ‘He provides food for the cattle and for the young ravens when they call’ (9) adds to the impression of abundant provision. I am no farmer but I think cattle need better quality grass than animals such as sheep and goats. Ravens are large birds that live off carrion, insects, berries and small animals so this comment suggests there was plenty of food for wild creatures as well as farm animals. And it is ‘young’ ravens, suggesting the birds were breeding readily – another indication of the abundance of food for all creatures.
17. Further evidence of a series of exceptional harvests is in the phrase, ‘satisfies you with the finest of wheat’ (14).
18. Yahweh’s power that extends from the emotional healing of his people (3) to the control of the stars that would be hugely impressive in the clear night sky of the Middle East (4) appears again with reference to his control over the occasional winter snow storm (16-18). Such events in the climate of the Middle East would be unusual but not unknown (2 Samuel 23:20). Here is a beautiful poetic description about something we know well in temperate climates but would be unexpected in the Middle East so likely no preparations would be made, for example, with extra heating and ‘winter’ clothing. Nevertheless, the psalmist is not disturbed, angry or frightened. Instead, he has a clear spiritual perspective in seeing and accepting with equanimity that Yahweh is in control, even when the weather is adverse!
19. Verse 4 is not just a reflection on the majestic grandeur of the night sky. It is about its purpose and function. Having lived in Babylon for 70 years the nation would have learned something of Babylonian culture and beliefs. The stars and planets were linked with the gods they worshipped so were seen as controlling life on earth (and such beliefs still exist in the pseudoscience/religion of astrology), so the psalmist chooses his words carefully. Yahweh ‘determines’ and ‘calls’ them in his creative and controlling power. It is Yahweh who is in control (Isaiah 40:26) not Marduk, the Babylonian chief god.[4]
20. The people testify that Yahweh ‘heals the broken-hearted and binds up their wounds’ (3) so they have moved on from the traumas associated with their captivity (Psalm 137) and dealt with the communal memories they will have had of the devastation when Jerusalem was destroyed and their forbears had been killed (Psalm 79).
21. They mention too that Yahweh ‘sustains the humble but casts the wicked to the ground’ (6) and ‘grants peace to your borders’ (14) which surely implies that they have overcome some opposition and now have peace and security. That could well refer to Sanballat’s opposition to Nehemiah’s wall building (Nehemiah 4:1-23, 6:1-14).
22. All of these experiences relate to the traumas the community had sustained in the previous 100 years or so. They had survived, though damaged and having lost many precious members of their families and community. In the ‘Journey of Grief’ model that describes progress in life following significant loss they were now at the ‘New Beginnings’ stage.[5] Their losses and grief had been integrated into their lives. Now, without forgetting the past, they were looking forward. They were in a time of peace and plenty and could see how Yahweh had brought them through and re-established them in the land. Psalm 147 is a communal reflection but has similarities to Psalm 91 that is written from a personal perspective.
23. It is uncertain whether the psalmist was aware of the deeper implications of what he was writing but his description is a fulfilment of prophecy. Ezekiel was in exile in Babylon in 587 BC when he was told that Jerusalem had fallen to the Babylonians. He reports that in the prior evening Yahweh gave him a message about the restoration that was to take place (Ezekiel 33-36). Extracts of his message that relate to Psalm 147 include Ezekiel 34:25-31 and 36:8-12, 28-38. They describe the fruitfulness of the land, the prosperity of the people and the restoration of their ancestral homes.
24. These notes help our understanding of the psalm and they fit into the English style layout as above. However, Hebrew poetic structure features repetition and parallelism of ideas in matching strophes but this is not easy to distinguish in Psalm 147 as ideas contrast or develop rather than simply repeat. However, it is possible to discover what seems to be the psalmist’s poetic structure. This provides more insights into the message the psalmist has to impart.
Psalm 147 (Hebrew poetic structure)
The recovery from generational, communal trauma
| A | 1 Praise Yahweh. | Shout of praise. |
| B | How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him! 2 Yahweh builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the exiles of Israel. | Yahweh’s people have much to be thankful for as they communicate to Yahweh through their praise. |
| C | 3 He heals the broken-hearted and binds up their wounds. 4 He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name. 5 Great is our Lord [Adonnay] and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit. | Yahweh’s power is seen in salvation as well as in creation. |
| D | 6 Yahweh sustains the humble but casts the wicked to the ground. 7 Sing to Yahweh with thanksgiving; make music to our God on the harp. | Yahweh feeds and guards his people. |
| E | 8 He covers the sky with clouds; he supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills. 9 He provides food for the cattle and for the young ravens when they call. | Yahweh controls the climate so the land produces a secure food supply. |
| X | 10 His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of a man; 11 Yahweh delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love. | Yahweh delights in his people’s worship and commitment, not in their achievements. |
| E1 | 12 Extol Yahweh, O Jerusalem; praise your God, O Zion, 13 for he strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses your people within you. | Yahweh provides security for his people from potential enemies. |
| D1 | 14 He grants peace to your borders and satisfies you with the finest of wheat. 15 He sends his command to the earth his word runs swiftly. | Yahweh guards and feeds his people. |
| C1 | 16 He spreads the snow like wool and scatters the frost like ashes. 17 He hurls down his hail like pebbles. Who can withstand his icy blast? 18 He sends his word and melts them; he stirs up his breezes, and the waters flow. | Yahweh’s power in nature is demonstrated in a winter snowstorm. |
| B1 | 19 He has revealed his word to Jacob, his laws and decrees to Israel. 20 He has done this for no other nation; they do not know his laws. | Yahweh communicates to his people through his word. |
| A1 | Praise Yahweh. | Shout of praise. |
25. Strophes A-A1 set the scene. This psalm is all about praising Yahweh.
26. Strophe B expresses the benefit of praising Yahweh – it feels good! In praise we communicate with Yahweh our God and the matching strophe B1 describes how Yahweh communicates with us; through his ‘word to Jacob, his laws and decrees’. Of course there is more to the intercommunication between Yahweh and his people but psalms are not theological treatises. They are songs from the heart as much as from the intellect.
27. ‘Builds up’ in B parallels ‘has done this’ in B1 and ‘Jerusalem’ and ‘Israel’ are paired with ‘no other nation.’
28. Strophes C-C1 and D-D1 provide reasons for praising Yahweh – firstly about his power and then about his care.
29. We might naturally think that Yahweh’s ability and willingness to heal the broken-hearted and bind up their wounds is more a feature of his compassionate care than his power but in this strophe it is linked with his ability to ‘determine’ (create) and name the stars and his power is specifically mentioned in the third line of strophe C. Yahweh’s power is evident in his personal care and intimate knowledge of his people as much as in the creation and ordering of the universe. Both statements challenge anyone who might have been distracted by the Babylonian panoply of deities. No god can compare with Yahweh – he is ‘mighty in power’ and ‘his understanding has no limits.’
30. Strophe C1 illustrates this with a compact but expressive description of a winter storm. The Babylonians might relate such an event to the activity of their storm god expressing his anger or displeasure. There is no such interpretation here (see note 18).
31. In strophe D Yahweh ‘sustains’ (= feeds) his people and protects them from ‘the wicked’ while in strophe D1 such care is described in reverse order in providing protection in the ‘peace to your borders’ and ‘the finest of wheat’ to sustain them. Attitude is important to Yahweh so his people are described as ‘the humble.’ That word can have negative connotations of being socially insignificant or submissive but the context suggests it is being used in a more positive sense of being unpretentious and not boastful but appreciative and respectful.
32. Yahweh commands and it is done – but that is expressed graphically and amusingly in strophe D1 as, ‘his word runs swiftly!’
33. Strophes E-E1 are about security. Yahweh controls the climate so security in strophe E is about the land producing abundant crops to sustain the population while the parallel idea in strophe E1 is about the security of Jerusalem from potential enemy attack behind its barred gates (Nehemiah 7:1-3).
34. The central strophe X of a chiastically arranged psalm contains the main point of the psalm but here it comes as a surprise as it does not seem to relate to the rest of the psalm. However, it makes the point that Yahweh is not interested in our abilities and achievements so much as our attitude.
35. This is a common theme in Scripture:
And now, O Israel, what does Yahweh your God ask of you but to fear Yahweh your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe Yahweh’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good? (Deuteronomy 10:12-13).
The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom (Psalm 111:10).
The fear of Yahweh teaches a man wisdom, and humility comes before honour (Proverbs 15:33).
36. With all the blessings and riches Yahweh has showered on his people, what does he expect in return but fear, respect, consideration and a commitment to live in the light and strength of Yahweh’s ‘unfailing love’ that he has shown in his gracious provision of all that was needed to make life pleasant, comfortable and peaceful. This is what gives Yahweh also, ‘pleasure’ and ‘delight.’
37. Have you worked out why the second line in strophe D and the first line in strophe E1 are in bold? This is the final point about the poetic structure.
38. These two lines break the chiastic pattern, though I do not believe this means the proposed chiastic structure is erroneous. Such breaks in pattern are a not uncommon feature of Hebrew poetry. As here, they are often one line outbursts of praise. I think that by breaking the pattern they take the singer or reader’s attention away from the poetic structure that reflects the skill and poetic talents of the psalmist to focus on Yahweh. It is all part of the message of Psalm 147 – a hymn of praise acknowledging Yahweh’s love and care and his commitment to his people.
39. This is a particularly poignant psalm of praise as it follows a horrendous period of suffering, loss and danger related to the Babylonian captivity. The narrative is found in 2 Kings 24-25, 2 Chronicles 36, Ezra, Nehemiah, Jeremiah 27-30, 34-44, 52 and Ezekiel but a sense of what it meant to those who lived through those experiences is found in Psalms such as 79, 107, 137 as well as 147. These help to put all that they had been through into the perspective of Yahweh’s continuing love, care and commitment. It is a satisfying account of the psalmist’s experience in the ‘Village of New Beginnings’ at the conclusion of their Journey of Grief.
40. Life goes on of course so we know and they would have known that more trauma lay ahead. That is life! Hopefully, though, the lessons learned and the experiences sustained will be integrated both individually and as a community so they can face whatever happens with the comfort and knowledge of Yahweh’s continuing protection and care – even in the midst of the troubles and traumas of life – but that is the topic of other psalms. See Psalms 11, 12 and 58, for examples.
41. The theme of the psalm is evidently praise for Yahweh’s love, care and commitment as illustrated in the nation’s recovery from generational and communal trauma. This becomes clearer when the psalm is examined in the light of the psalmist’s poetic structure, the historical circumstances, the community’s life style and the use of metaphors. Further insight is obtained from the modern-day appreciation of the way people respond to trauma and suffering and journey on to a place of integration and new beginnings.
42. And that is a key lesson for us too, as we travel on our own Journey of Grief.
Endnotes
[1] Hershel Shanks, (Ed.), Ancient Israel: From Abraham to the Roman Destruction of the Temple, (Washington DC: Biblical Archaeology Society, 1999) p. 178-180.
[2] ibid., p. 190-191.
[3] R. E. O. White, A Christian Handbook to the Psalms, (Exeter: The Paternoster Press, 1884) p. 215.
[4] Joshua J. Mark, (trans.), Enuma Elish – The Babylonian Epic of Creation, https://www.worldhistory.org/article/225/enuma-elish—the-babylonian-epic-of-creation—fu/> (IV, 17–28), [26 April 2022]
[5] Ergenbright, Dana and others, Healing the Wounds of Trauma: How the Church Can Help – Stories from Africa, (Participant Book for Healing Groups) revised edn., (Philadelphia, PA: SIL International and American Bible Society, 2021), pp. 37-41.
Written: 19 July 2021
Published: 23 December 2022
Updated: 30 June 2023