Psalm 147

Psalm 147 

“The Greek and Latin textual traditions associate Psalm 147 with Haggai and Zechariah” McCann, 1267. 

“The five psalms that close Book Five move from the praise of an individual in Psalm 146, through the praise of a community of faith in Psalm 147, to the praise of all creation in concert with the community of faith in Psalms 148-150” NICOT, 999. 

“At times this psalm takes up the rhetorical questions of Isaiah 40, and at times the challenges of the Lord to Job, turning them into praise, and linking the wonder of creation with the glories of providence and grace” Kidner, 485. 

“The Septuagint treats this as two psalms, of which the second begins at verse 12. So its numbering of the Psalter, which has diverged from that of the Hebrew Bible (familiar to Protestants) from Psalm 10 onwards, comes into step again for the last three psalms, 148-150” Kidner, 485. Allen, 307-308, does a good job showing the unity of Psalm 147. Israel is used in vs. 2, 19. The verbal stems for praise in vs. 1 are picked up in vs. 7, 12. “All the strophes end with antithetical statement, in vs. 6, 10-11, 19-20. Repetition of vocabulary in adjacent line marks each strophe, being climactically intensified in the third (vv. 4-5, 10-11, 18-19, 19-20). A group of three participles prefixed with the article appears in both the second and third strophes (vv. 8, 14-16), and so does the particular participle ‘giving’ (vv. 9, 16)” Allen, 308.

147:1-6 The LORD is builder of Jerusalem

147:7-11 He is Creator of all the universe

147:12-20 He is God of Zion 

Psalm 147 and Jesus 

This psalm “articulates the incarnation of God’s word (see John 1:1, 14). The cosmic God is personally, intimately, inextricably involved in the lives and futures of human beings…The only proper response to the good news of God’s incarnational involvement with the world is to stand in awe (v. 11a) and to sing the words that convey the grateful offering of our lives, ‘Praise the LORD!’” McCann, 1269. 

147:3 Jesus heals the broken hearted in Luke 4:18. The same word in the LXX is used in this verse. 

147:6 The word used in the LXX for gentle is used in Matt. 11:29.

147:8, 15-18 Jesus controls the weather in Matt. 8:23-27; Mark 4:35-41; Luke 8:22-25

147:11 Jesus is the object of hope in Matt. 12:21; Rom. 15:12; I Cor. 15:19; Phil. 2:19

147:14 Jesus is the Prince of peace in Eph. 2:14

147:14 Jesus came offering Jerusalem peace, but they closed their eyes to it- Luke 19:42.

147:14 Jesus satisfies with the finest of wheat- John 6:12

147:15, 18, 19 Jesus is the Word of God- John 1:1-3, 14.

147:19-20 The gospel is available to all nations- Matt. 28:18-20.