Psalm 147

“Praise the Lord!  For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful.  The Lord builds up Jerusalem; He gathers together the outcasts of Israel.  He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”  Psalm 147:1-3 (NKJV)

Psalm 147 was written, no doubt, after the return of the exiles from Babylonian and Assyrian captivity.  We remember that Jeremiah prophesied the duration of Judah’s (the Southern Kingdom) exile would be 70 years.

“For thus says the Lord: After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place.  For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.  Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.  And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.  I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive.” Jeremiah 29:10-14 (NKJV)

The God who seemed elusive for 70 years had never left the exiles.  There was never cause for panic.  God’s plan was public.  It was not military strength (horses) or cunning escape attempts (legs of a man) that freed the exiles.  The Israelites returned to the Promised Land because God was merciful and true to His Word.

“He does not delight in the strength of the horse; He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man.  The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him, in those who hope in His mercy.” Psalm 147:10-11 (NKJV)

For those exiles who recognized God’s work, there was genuine cause for worship!

“Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!  Praise your God, O Zion!  For He has strengthened the bars of your gates; He has blessed your children within you.  He makes peace in your borders, and fills you with the finest wheat.” Psalm 147:12-14 (NKJV)

Forgiveness from the Lord is a wonderful thing to experience; to realize that, by His grace, He does not hold your sin against you.  But how can we be confident He will ever use us to minister again?  God did not simply restore Israel to the land; He assured their security and blessed the generations to come.  Shalom (peace) was restored.  By the reference of God strengthening “the bars of your gates,” we know this psalm was written shortly after Nehemiah was sent by the Lord to fortify the city and begin re-establishing the community of faith.                                                  

“And it happened, when all our enemies heard of it, and all the nations around us saw these things, that they were very disheartened in their own eyes; for they perceived that this work was done by our God.” Nehemiah 6:16 (NKJV)