Psalms 147

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Psalm 147 is a Hallelujah psalm that praises God for three things at once: rebuilding Jerusalem, running the weather, and speaking his word to Israel. It opens by calling praise good and pleasant, then says that the LORD builds up Jerusalem and gathers the exiles, heals the brokenhearted, and counts and names the stars. He feeds the animals and the young ravens, takes no pleasure in the strength of horses or the legs of men, but delights in those who fear him. He strengthens the bars of Jerusalem's gates, sends snow like wool and hail like pebbles, then sends his word and melts them. The same word he declares to Jacob as statutes and judgments, which he has done for no other nation.

Apri commento del capitolo

Psalm 147 was almost certainly sung in a Jerusalem that had recently been a ruin. The exiles have been gathered, the city is being built up, the bars of its gates have been strengthened, and the psalm knows exactly who did it. But what makes the psalm memorable is the company it keeps. In the same breath as rebuilding Jerusalem, God heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds; in the next verse he counts the stars and calls each one by name. Ancient Babylon, where the singers had lived, made a science of the stars; this psalm says they are on a first-name basis with God, and so are the wounded. The middle section moves outdoors. Clouds, rain, grass on the hills, food for the animals, even the young ravens who cry out and are fed. Then a line that every army and every athlete should read: God takes no delight in the strength of a horse or the legs of a man, but in those who fear him and wait for his love. The last section returns to the city, blessed with children, peace, and wheat, and then to the winter: snow spread like wool, frost scattered like ashes, hail thrown like pebbles, and who can stand the cold? God sends his word and it all melts and the streams run. The same word, the psalm ends, he has spoken to Jacob as law, and to no one else in that way. Weather, wounds, stars, and Scripture: one voice, and it is good to sing to it.

Passi chiave

Nehemiah 6:15-16 Isaiah 40:26-29 Job 38:41

Historical and literary context

The psalm belongs to the group of five Hallelujah psalms that close the Psalter, 146 to 150, and its references to gathering exiles, rebuilding Jerusalem, and strengthening the bars of its gates point to the period after the return from Babylon, most naturally the rebuilding of the walls under Nehemiah in 445 BC. The Greek Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate divide it into two psalms, 146 and 147, splitting at verse 12, which is why Catholic Bibles number the psalms differently from here on. Snow and hail were rare enough in Judah to be remembered, and the ravens' call echoes Job 38, where God feeds the raven's young. The stars counted and named answer the Babylonian astrologers among whom the exiles had lived.

How the chapter unfolds

The psalm is three hymns, each opening with a call to praise. Verses 1 to 6: praise is good; God rebuilds Jerusalem, gathers exiles, heals the brokenhearted, names the stars, sustains the humble. Verses 7 to 11: sing with thanksgiving; God sends clouds and rain, grows grass, feeds animals and ravens, and delights not in horse or human strength but in those who fear him. Verses 12 to 20: praise, Jerusalem; God strengthens the gates, blesses the children, gives peace and wheat, sends snow, frost, and hail, then melts them with his word, and gives that word to Israel alone.

Why this chapter matters

Verse 3, "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds," is one of the most quoted lines in the Psalter, and its neighbor, verse 4, "He determines the number of the stars; He calls them each by name," is one of the most striking pairings in Scripture: the God of galaxies is the God of broken hearts. Verses 10 and 11 undercut every trust in military and physical power. The psalm's picture of weather as God's word running swiftly, and of Torah as the same word given to Israel, links creation and revelation in a single voice. The psalm has been sung at the rebuilding of many cities and is read in the Jewish morning service.

Interpretive tension to watch

Verse 20, "He has done this for no other nation," sits beside verses that show God feeding every animal and covering the whole sky; the psalm is at once universal in its view of creation and particular in its view of revelation, and readers must hold both. The description of snow, frost, and hail as God's direct actions raises the old question of how God's word relates to natural processes, which the psalm does not treat as a problem. The division into two psalms in the Greek tradition also shows that the seams between the three hymns are visible enough that ancient readers cut along one of them.

Domande per questo capitolo

Verses 3 and 4 put the healing of broken hearts next to the naming of the stars. Why does the psalm think those two belong together?
God takes no pleasure in the strength of horses or the legs of men. What strengths do people trust today that this verse would question?
The word that melts the snow is the same word given to Israel. What does it mean that creation and Scripture come from one voice?

Study with context

Use this as a chapter guide, then press deeper into the text itself. The goal is to slow down observation, notice structure, and ask better questions before jumping to conclusions.

Aggiungi alle note

1 परमेश्वराची स्तुती करा, कारण आमच्या देवाची स्तुती गाणे चांगले आहे; ते आनंददायक आहे व स्तुती करणे उचित आहे. 2 परमेश्वर यरूशलेम पुन्हा बांधतो; तो इस्राएलाच्या विखुरलेल्या लोकांस एकत्र करतो. 3 तो भग्नहृदयी जनांना बरे करतो, आणि त्यांच्या जखमांस पट्टी बांधतो. 4 तो ताऱ्यांची मोजणी करतो; तो त्यांच्यातील प्रत्येकाला त्यांच्या नावाने हाक मारतो. 5 आमचा प्रभू महान आणि सामर्थ्यात भयचकीत कार्ये करणारा आहे; त्याची बुद्धी मोजू शकत नाही. 6 परमेश्वर जाचलेल्यास उंचावतो; तो वाईटांना खाली धुळीस मिळवतो. 7 गाणे गाऊन परमेश्वराची उपकारस्तुती करा. वीणेवर आमच्या देवाचे स्तुतीगान करा. 8 तो ढगांनी आकाश झाकून टाकतो, आणि पृथ्वीसाठी पाऊस तयार करतो, तो डोंगरावर गवत उगवतो. 9 तो प्राण्यांना आणि जेव्हा कावळ्यांची पिल्ले कावकाव करतात त्यांना अन्न देतो. 10 घोड्याच्या बलाने त्यास आनंद मिळत नाही; मनुष्याच्या शक्तीमान पायांत तो आनंद मानत नाही. 11 जे परमेश्वराचा आदर करतात, जे त्याच्या दयेची आशा धरतात त्यांच्याबरोबर तो आनंदित होतो. 12 हे यरूशलेमे, परमेश्वराची स्तुती कर; हे सियोने तू आपल्या देवाची स्तुती कर. 13 कारण त्याने तुझ्या वेशींचे अडसर बळकट केले आहेत; त्याने तुझ्यामध्ये तुझी लेकरे आशीर्वादित केली आहेत. 14 तो तुझ्या सीमांच्या आत भरभराट आणतो; तो तुला उत्कृष्ट गव्हाने तृप्त करतो. 15 तो आपली आज्ञा पृथ्वीवर पाठवतो; त्याचा शब्द फार वेगाने धावतो. 16 तो लोकरीसारखे बर्फ पसरतो; तो राखेसारखे दवाचे कण विखरतो. 17 तो आपल्या गारांचा बर्फाच्या चुऱ्याप्रमाणे वर्षाव करतो; त्याने पाठवलेल्या गारठ्यापुढे कोण टिकेल? 18 तो आपली आज्ञा पाठवून त्यांना वितळवितो; तो आपला वारा वाहवितो व पाणी वाहू लागते. 19 त्याने याकोबाला आपले वचन, इस्राएलाला आपले नियम व निर्णय सांगितले. 20 त्याने हे दुसऱ्या कोणत्याही राष्ट्रासाठी केले नाही; आणि त्यांनी त्याचे निर्णय जाणले नाहीत. परमेश्वराची स्तुती करा.

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