Heart of a Psalmist - Worshipping Christ Through The Psalms

PSALM 147: THE LORD IS REBUILDING JERUSALEM Restored to Life

This is the second of the last five “Hallelujah” psalms in the Book of Psalms and is the most spe- cific concerning the return of Judah from Babylon. Zerubbabel led the first group of exiles from Babylon to Judah in 538 B.C. and began restoring the ruined temple. ‘Ezra the priest entered Jerusalem, after a journey of 5 months, with about 2,000 exiles, mostly out of the family of the Levites in 458 B.C.’ and fo- cused on re-establishing the Laws of Moses in the land. Nehemiah, the cup-bearer to the Persian King Artaxerxes, returned thirteen years later (445 B.C.) and concentrated on the re-building of the city. He returned a second time in 434 B.C. and held a feast to dedicate the restored walls and gates of Jerusalem. This psalm was most likely composed then as there are specific mentions to the gates in verse 13; “For he has fortified the bars of your gates…”. The psalm breaks down naturally into three parts each beginning with a call to praise the Lord. The first call to praise in verse one is an invitation, the second in verse 7 is a command and the last in verse 12 is the only one that is a specific call for Jerusalem and Zion to praise. There are three similar mes- sages in each of the three sections: 1.) The call to praise, 2.) The Lord’s merciful acts of salvation to- wards his people, 3.) The Lord’s authority over creation. His Lordship over creation is to display Yahweh’s superiority to Ishtar, the Babylonian goddess of heaven; Baal, the Canaanite god of the weather, and Mot, the Canaanite god of death (snow, hail, winter) and resurrection. Like Psalm 145 and 146, it has one dark sentence that mentions the fate of the wicked person. This psalm is resplendent with the names of God; Yahweh being referred to 5x, (2, 6, 7, 11, 12), Elo- him 3x (1, 7, 12), Yah mentioned twice in the Hallelu-YAH in verses (1, 20). Adonai is referred to in verse (5). The Trinity of God lays hidden in the beauty of his names in the Old Testament. Jesus is fore- shadowed as the creator and Lord over nature and most specifically as the word of God that governs both nature and salvation. It is outlined by the three calls to praise:

I PRAISE THE LORD - 1-6

Lord of the Constellations

II SING PRAISES TO OUR GOD - 7-11

Lord of the Clouds Lord of the Climate

III PRAISE THE LORD, O JERUSALEM - 12-20

I

PRAISE THE LORD - 1-6

Lord of the Constellations

Praise- “Praise the Lord! How good it is to sing praises to our God! How delightful and how right!” (1)

The first of seven ‘praises’ in the psalm begins with “Hallelu-YAH!” Praising God is a natural func- tion of the person who loves God; it is not an optional exercise. We were created to praise him and in doing this, we align ourselves in a joyful relationship with our God that benefits our mental, emotional and spiritual health. The NIV version translates the last sentence as ‘ …how pleasant and fitting to praise him.’ ‘Fitting’ ‘comes from a root which means to be at home…’ Praise is the ‘natural habitat’ in which we were created to live, it is our delightful ‘home’.

Salvation- The Lord is rebuilding Jerusalem and bringing the exiles back to Israel. He heals the bro- kenhearted, binding up their wounds.” (2, 3)

This verse lets us know that this is a psalm of the returning exiles from Babylon. Nehemiah states when he arrived in the city, “…Then I told them about how the gracious hand of God had been on me…They replied at once, ‘Good! Let’s rebuild the wall!’ So they began the good work.” (Neh. 2:18) The brokenhearted Jews were filled with fresh courage and the wounds of their bondage were healed when they heard how the Persian King, Artaxerxes had sent Nehemiah to rebuild the walls of their beloved city. God is also a rebuilder of our personal lives.

Creation- “He counts the stars and calls them all by name.” (4)

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