Psalms 147:1-20

Psalms 107:150

Gordon Churchyard

God’s Love and *Power

Psalms 147

The 2^nd *Hallelujah Psalm

Jesus said, "If God makes the grass green (so that it looks right), how much more will he put (clothes) on you (so that you feel comfortable too)!" (Matthew 7:30)

Psalms 147

v1 *Hallelujah!
It is good to sing *praises to our God.
And it is *pleasant and right to *praise him.

v2 The *LORD is building Jerusalem again.
He is bringing home the *exiles to Israel.

v3 He makes people well again that have *broken hearts.
And he puts *bandages on their *injuries.

v4 He decided how many stars (to make)
and he even gave them all a name.

v5 Our *Lord is great and very powerful.
He understands everything!

v6 The *LORD gives help to poor people
(but) he throws *wicked people to the ground.

v7 Sing to the *LORD and thank him (for what he has done).
Make music to our God with a *harp.

v8 He puts clouds into the sky.
He sends rain to the earth.
He makes the grass grow on the hills.

v9 He gives food for the animals.
He feeds the young *ravens when they cry.

v10 He has no pleasure because a horse is so strong,
nor in the legs of a man (who is riding the horse).

v11 (Instead) the *LORD becomes pleased by people who are *in awe of him.
They *trust in his kind love.

v12 Jerusalem... *praise the *LORD!
Zion... *praise your God!

v13 Praise him because he makes your gates strong.
And he is kind to the people inside your (city).

v14 He makes your *borders safe (from an enemy attacking you).
He fills you with the best food.

v15 He tells the earth what to do.
What he says soon reaches it.

v16 He covers (the earth) with snow like a (white) blanket.
He puts *frost everywhere like ashes (that the wind blows).

v17 He sends *hail like small stones.
Nobody can stand up in his *icy wind.

v18 (Then) he sends his word and the ice changes into water.
He makes the wind blow and the water moves.

v19 He showed his word to Jacob.
(He showed) his rules and *laws to Israel.

v20 He has done this for no other country.
They do not know his *laws.
*Hallelujah!

The Story of Psalms 147

This psalm tells us something about God’s love and his power. Here, power does not only mean that he rules everything. It also means that he is very, very strong. It is the second of the 5 *Hallelujah Psalms, 146-150. "*Hallelujah" means "*praise the *LORD". This means "tell the *LORD that he is very great". In verse 1, "*praises" are words that say how great somebody is. "*LORD" is the *covenant name for God. A *covenant is when two people (or groups of people) agree. Here, God agrees to love and give help to his people. His people agree to love and obey God. In verse 5 is another word, "*Lord". This is not the same Hebrew word as "*LORD". Hebrew is the language that the *Jews spoke. They wrote the psalms in Hebrew. "*Lord" translates a Hebrew word that means "master" or "someone with authority".

There are three parts in this psalm:

• verses 1 - 6: God’s power in Israel and Babylon and in the skies above;

• verses 7 - 11: God’s power on the earth with plants and animals;

• verses 12 - 20: God’s power in giving his people what they need.

In the Greek Bible, (verses 1-11) make Psalms 146 and verses 12-20 Psalms 147. This Greek Bible makes Psalms 9 and 10 into one psalm. All the numbers from 10 to 146 are one less than in our Bibles. The *Jews translated their Hebrew Bible into Greek about 200 years before Jesus came to the earth.

We do not know who wrote Psalms 147. But many Bible students think that it was after the *exile. The note on verses 2 and 3 explains the *exile. The *Jews used Psalms 147 in the new *temple (house of God) in Jerusalem. Maybe Nehemiah or one of his friends wrote Psalms 147.

What Psalms 147 means

Verses 2 and 3 tell us that God is powerful among the countries of the world. God let the Babylonians beat his people that lived near Jerusalem. This happened about 600 years before Jesus came to the earth. The Babylonians destroyed the city and took the people away to Babylon. Babylon was a country east of Jerusalem. They made them live there for 70 years. They were exiles, (they lived away from their own country). This happened because God’s people did not love him nor obey him. So God *punished (or hurt) them. But after 70 years, God destroyed Babylon and brought his people home. He built Jerusalem again and made his people feel happy again. Some of them had broken hearts. This is a way to say that they felt very, very sad (or depressed). Other people had injuries. Perhaps someone had hit them, or cut them with a knife. A bandage is a piece of cloth. We put bandages on injuries to keep them clean. Really, God did not do these things himself. The psalm means that he made them happen through other people.

Verse 6 tells us about poor people and *wicked people. "*Wicked" means "very, very bad". Perhaps the *psalmist (the person that wrote the psalm) meant the people of Babylon. God threw them to the ground. This means that he destroyed them. He did this when he sent the Persian army to fight the Babylonian army. But God lifted up the poor people. Perhaps they were the *Jewish people. He gave them help to go home from Babylon.

Verse 7 starts the next part of the psalm. The harp usually makes quiet music, but it can be loud.

Verse 8: In the Greek Bible, there is a bit more in this verse. At the end, it says ‘He gives plants for men to use’. Many English translations put this extra bit in.

Verse 9: A raven is a big, black bird. In this verse, God makes sure that other people, animals or birds feed themselves or their young. God does not do it himself. The *psalmist says that God really did it! This is because it is part of God’s great plan. The *psalmist is the person that wrote the psalm.

Verse 11: "In awe" means that you love somebody that you are a bit afraid of! People that are "in awe" of God obey him. Also, they *trust him, (or believe that he will do what he has promised to do).

Verses 12 - 14 start the last part of the psalm. God gives his people a city to live in, Jerusalem. Jerusalem is also called Zion. He gives them a safe country to live in. That is what safe *borders means. He gives his people good food. All this happened after the *exile. Psalms 149 in this set of psalms explains what the *exile was. Bible students think that the *psalmist wrote Psalms 147 after the *exile. It was a psalm for the new *temple. The *temple in Jerusalem was the house of God. Again, God does not do all these things himself. He makes sure that somebody else does them. They are part of his plan.

Verses 15 - 18 tell us that God rules the earth as well as the people in it. "Frost" is very little bits of ice. It falls on plants and buildings in very cold weather. Hail is larger bits of ice. It falls like rain or snow. "Icy" means "very, very cold". In verse 18, the weather becomes warm again. Ice becomes water, and the water runs away. Again, God does not do all these things himself. He made the rules that the weather must obey. When it is cold, water changes to ice. When it gets warm, ice changes to water. God made this rule. So, when it happens, we say "God did it!"

Verses 19 - 20 end the psalm. They tell us that only the *Jewish people knew his rules and *laws. "*Laws" is another word for "rules". This is not true now, because everybody with a Bible knows God’s rules and *laws. These rules and *laws are not only about what is right and wrong. They are also about what happens in the world.

Something to do

1. Read the notes on God’s *laws in Psalms 119 in this set of psalms.

2. Find some rules that things in and on the earth must obey from Psalms 147.

3. Learn to say verse 1 by *heart. This means without looking at the words.

Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke; they wrote the Psalms in Hebrew.
hallelujah ~ say that the LORD is great. (Jah is Hebrew for LORD.)
Lord ~ a name for God; it means he has authority, or "master"; It is the word "Adonai" in Hebrew. Look also at LORD below.
LORD ~ a special name for God that his people use. It is the covenant name of God. In Hebrew it is Yahweh or Jehovah. Look after Psalm 25 in Book 1 of the Psalms of David for more about the names of God.
lord ~ someone with authority.
LORD ~ the covenant name for God (in a covenant you agree with someone).
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke; they wrote the Psalms in Hebrew.
covenant ~ two people have agreed what each should do (here, God and his people). Look in Psalm 120 about the covenant.
Yahweh ~ the covenant name for God. Most Bibles translate it LORD with 4 capital letters. It means something like "I am" or "always alive".
Jehovah ~ how some languages say Yahweh, one of the names of God in Hebrew.
praise ~ to say how great someone is; or, words that say how great someone is.
pleasant ~ nice; what we like to do.
Lord ~ a name for God; it means he has authority, or "master"; It is the word "Adonai" in Hebrew. Look also at LORD below.
LORD ~ a special name for God that his people use. It is the covenant name of God. In Hebrew it is Yahweh or Jehovah. Look after Psalm 25 in Book 1 of the Psalms of David for more about the names of God.
lord ~ someone with authority.
LORD ~ the covenant name for God (in a covenant you agree with someone).
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke; they wrote the Psalms in Hebrew.
covenant ~ two people have agreed what each should do (here, God and his people). Look in Psalm 120 about the covenant.
Yahweh ~ the covenant name for God. Most Bibles translate it LORD with 4 capital letters. It means something like "I am" or "always alive".
Jehovah ~ how some languages say Yahweh, one of the names of God in Hebrew.
exile ~ away from your own country.
bandage ~ a piece of cloth that you put on a wound.
wound ~ mark on the body. Someone hit it or cut it.
Lord ~ a name for God; it means he has authority, or "master"; It is the word "Adonai" in Hebrew. Look also at LORD below.
LORD ~ a special name for God that his people use. It is the covenant name of God. In Hebrew it is Yahweh or Jehovah. Look after Psalm 25 in Book 1 of the Psalms of David for more about the names of God.
lord ~ someone with authority.
LORD ~ the covenant name for God (in a covenant you agree with someone).
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke; they wrote the Psalms in Hebrew.
covenant ~ two people have agreed what each should do (here, God and his people). Look in Psalm 120 about the covenant.
Yahweh ~ the covenant name for God. Most Bibles translate it LORD with 4 capital letters. It means something like "I am" or "always alive".
Jehovah ~ how some languages say Yahweh, one of the names of God in Hebrew.
wicked ~ very, very bad.
harp ~ a musical instrument.

musical instrument ~ something that makes music when you hit it (cymbals, drum), blow in it (flute, trumpet, horn, shofar) or touch it in a quiet way (harp, lyre). Many of these are in Psalm 150 in Book 5 of The Psalms of David.
trust ~ believe that someone (usually God in the psalms) will be kind to you.
border ~ edge of a country.
frost ~ cold white powder like snow.
hail ~ ice in rain.
laws ~ the rules in a country. In Psalm 78 the rules in the first 5 books of the Bible.
covenant ~ two people have agreed what each should do (here, God and his people). Look in Psalm 120 about the covenant.
Jew ~ a person who is born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children; a person who has the faith of the Jews, called Judaism.
faith ~ belief in someone or something; in the Psalms, belief in God.
temple ~ a place where people meet to worship God.
punish ~ hurt someone because they have not obeyed the rules.
wicked ~ very, very bad.
psalmist ~ the person that wrote a psalm (or psalms).
Jewish ~ a word that describes a Jew or anything to do with a Jew.
Jew ~ a person who is born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children; a person who has the faith of the Jews, called Judaism.
faith ~ belief in someone or something; in the Psalms, belief in God.
laws ~ the rules in a country. In Psalm 78 the rules in the first 5 books of the Bible.
heart ~ (in Hebrew poems), "heart" means "mind", the part of us that thinks.
heart ~ part of the body. Jews believed that you thought in your heart.
poem ~ using words in a special (often very beautiful) way.
Jew ~ a person who is born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children; a person who has the faith of the Jews, called Judaism.
faith ~ belief in someone or something; in the Psalms, belief in God.