Psalm 147

Psalm 147 King James Version (KJV)
147 Praise ye the Lord: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely.
² The Lord doth build up Jerusalem: he gathereth together the outcasts of Israel.
³ He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.
⁴ He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names.
⁵ Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.
⁶ The Lord lifteth up the meek: he casteth the wicked down to the ground.
⁷ Sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God:
⁸ Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains.
⁹ He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry.
¹⁰ He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man.
¹¹ The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.
¹² Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem; praise thy God, O Zion.
¹³ For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates; he hath blessed thy children within thee.
¹⁴ He maketh peace in thy borders, and filleth thee with the finest of the wheat.
¹⁵ He sendeth forth his commandment upon earth: his word runneth very swiftly.
¹⁶ He giveth snow like wool: he scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes.
¹⁷ He casteth forth his ice like morsels: who can stand before his cold?
¹⁸ He sendeth out his word, and melteth them: he causeth his wind to blow, and the waters flow.
¹⁹ He sheweth his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto Israel.
²⁰ He hath not dealt so with any nation: and as for his judgments, they have not known them. Praise ye the Lord.

I can just imagine when King David penned this Psalm that he was overlooking the countryside in Israel and marveling at the absolute beauty he saw.  As a shepherd boy in his youth, he spent many hours overlooking his flock and watching over them.  He couldn’t help but notice the order of the world as he mused about the nature of God and looked for Him in the creation round about.  This couldn’t help but humble David as he considered the power and majesty of God and how the Creator of the universe must have formed it with a single spoken word.  

This psalm speaks also to us as we read his words, that we too should consider His creation, and by what we see it should bring us to the knees of our heart in adoration and with a contrite spirit before our Creator and offer him praise.

The God of our universe who can create all that is before us, including all the laws of nature we observe in action also brought each and every one of us into existence.  As we read the verses in this psalm, we see that God cares for each detail in our lives because He can heal our broken hearts and can bind up the wounds of our hearts as He understands everything there is to understand.

He is also a God of order as we see through these verses that God is in control of everything we see around us.  He brings the rain, he feeds the beasts of the field.  He knows each and every star and calls them by name.

I just cannot even conceive of the greatness of God our Creator.  But I often think about it when I sit out on my patio and watch the birds soaring in the sky, listen to the sound of the wind blowing the leaves of the trees, and watch the puffy clouds as they change shapes and move from one side of my view to the other.  I never tire of times like those and can watch for hours on end.  Those are the times that I praise God in my heart, mind and soul as I see the vastness and the unlimitless power He has as he keeps everything working in perfect order.

I would ask you to find a quiet place where you can read the verses in Psalm 147 and gaze upon the the wonders of our creation and muse about the greatness of our Creator.  Let his majesty and power humble your heart to give him honor and praise and sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving.