Psalms 147 - Introduction

The author of this psalm is unknown; nor can the occasion on which it was composed be ascertained with any degree of certainty. In the Septuagint, the Arabic, and the Syriac versions, it is ascribed, like the previous psalm, to the prophets Haggai and Zechariah. The Syriac has this title: “A Psalm of Haggai and Zechariah, when they urged the completion of the temple of Jerusalem.” It is quite manifest, from Psalms 147:2, Psalms 147:13, that the psalm was written after the return from the Babylonian captivity, and that probably on the completion of the temple after that return, with a view to be employed at its dedication. See Introduction to Psalms 146:1.

This psalm comprises two themes: praise to God for his goodness to his creatures generally; and special praise for his goodness to his people. These topics are intermingled in the psalm, but the former is more prominent in the first part of the psalm; the latter in the close. Both were proper themes at the rebuilding of the temple and the walls of the city, after the return from the exile. Both are proper now, and will be so always.