Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Psalms 147:2

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Psalms 147:2. The Lord doth build up — The psalmist appears to see the walls rising under his eye, because the outcasts of Israel, those who had been in captivity, are now gathered together to do the work.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Psalms 147-150 Praise the Lord

God’s people should praise him constantly for his merciful and loving care: his care over them in particular (147:1-2), his care over those who sorrow (3), his care over all his creation (4), and his special care for the downtrodden (5-6). God delights to provide for the physical needs of his creatures (7-9). But of all his creatures, those he delights in most are those who humbly trust in his steadfast love (10-11). That is why he delights in Israel above other nations. He protects his people and gives them food to enjoy (12-14). By sending bitterly cold weather he toughens them to endure hardship; by sending pleasant weather he reminds them that he is still caring for them (15-18). Above all, he has given them his word. Through this word they can know him better and as a result bring him further joy (19-20).
All creation displays the wonders of God and so brings praise to him. From the angelic beings to the beasts of the earth, praise goes up to him. From the farthest regions of outer space to the depths of the sea, his name is praised (148:1-10). Human beings in particular should praise him. Without distinction of age or rank, the people of the world should exalt God. They should praise him not only because he is the sovereign Lord of the universe, but also because through Israel he has made himself known to them (11-14).
As the people of Israel gather to worship, they have special cause to praise God. Besides being the one who created them, he is the one who rules over them. He is their king (149:1-3). In addition, they are God’s representatives in promoting his rule throughout the world. Therefore, salvation from attackers and victory over enemies are a cause for praise to God and national celebration (4-5). But if God’s rule is to be established in the world, the rebels must first be punished (6-9).
The final psalm forms a climax to the whole book. Worshippers at the temple join with angels in the heavens to praise God for the greatness of his person and his deeds (150:1-2). In every way possible people everywhere should praise God (3-6).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

DIVISION I

Briggs’ summary: This is a summons to the congregation to praise Yahweh for his goodness and sweetness in rebuilding Jerusalem and restoring her people (Psalms 147:1-3). Though he numbers and names the stars as their sovereign Lord, He interposes on behalf of his afflicted people against their enemies (Psalms 147:4-6).International Critical Commentary, Vol. II, p. 532.

“Praise ye Jehovah; For it is good to sing praises unto our God; For it is pleasant, and praise is comely. For Jehovah doth build up Jerusalem; He gathereth together the outcasts of Israel. He healeth the broken in heart, And bindeth up their wounds. He counteth the number of the stars; And calleth them all by their names. Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite. Jehovah upholdeth the meek: He bringeth the wicked down to the ground.”

“Praise ye Jehovah” Note that a similar invitation to praise God initiates each of the three divisions.

“The Lord doth build up Jerusalem” Miller made a very important observation regarding the verb tenses in this psalm, pointing out that, with the exceptions of Psalms 147:13, and Psalms 147:20 a, “The verbs here should be translated by the English present tense.”C. M. Miller, co-author with Anthony L. Ash, 447. This means that, “The psalmist is vividly describing actions taking place at the very time he writes.”Ibid.

The chronology of the events described here is as follows:

“The rebuilding of Jerusalem after the captivity required more than ninety years, from B.C. 538 till B.C. 445. First, the temple was built (B.C. 538-515); then the city; and finally the walls and the gates (B.C. 445). The exiles returned gradually - some under Zerubbabel (B.C. 538); some with Ezra (B.C. 457); others, doubtless, with Nehemiah, in B.C. 445; and again in B.C. 434.”The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 8-C, p. 399.

“He gathereth together the outcasts of Israel” How do we know that this language refers to the return of the exiles from Babylon? As Barnes pointed out, “It is in such language that the prophets predicted their return.”Barnes’ Notes on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, a 1987 reprint of the 1878 edition), Vol. III, p. 328. As Isaiah stated it, “He (God) shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah” (Isaiah 11:12).

“He counteth the stars… calleth them by names” “According to ancient ideas, to name a thing was to call it into existence.”The Interpreter’s Bible, op. cit., p. 751. Therefore, this reveals God as the Creator of the stars, countering the heathen notion that the stars were gods exercising baleful influence upon men. The language here is suggestive of that in Isaiah 40:26.

“His understanding is infinite… Jehovah upholdeth the meek” The stars, of course, are to men innumerable; and the infinity, omnipotence, and omniscience of God are brought to mind in such a declaration as we have in Psalms 147:4, but the real point of this is that, although God’s greatness is so incomprehensibly above mankind, he nevertheless upholds and supports Israel against her enemies, as stated in Briggs’ summary, above.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

The Lord doth build up Jerusalem - He builds up the walls; he restores the city; he has caused the temple to be reconstructed. This language would be applicable to a return from the captivity. There may be an allusion here to the language in Psalms 102:16 : “When the Lord shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory.” See the notes at that passage. What is there spoken of as what would be in the future is here spoken of as accomplished, and as a ground of praise.

He gathereth together the outcasts of Israel - Those who have been exiled from their native land, and who have been scattered as outcasts in a foreign country. This is appropriate language to use on the supposition that the psalm was composed after the return from the exile, for it is in such language that that return was predicted by the prophets. Isaiah 11:12 : “and he shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah,” etc. Isaiah 56:8 : “the Lord God which gathereth the outcasts of Israel,” etc.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

2.Jehovah building up, etc. He begins with the special mercy of God towards his Church and people, in choosing to adopt one nation out of all others, and selecting a fixed place where his name might be called upon. When he is here called the builder of Jerusalem, the allusion is not so much to the outward form and structure, as to the spiritual worship of God. It is a common figure in treating of the Church to speak of it as a building or temple. The meaning is, that the Church was not of human erection, but formed by the supernatural power of God; for it was from no dignity of the place itself that Jerusalem became the only habitation of God in our world, nor did it come to this honor by counsel, industry, effort or power of man, but because God was pleased to consecrate it to himself. He employed the labor and instrumentality of men indeed in erecting his sanctuary there, but this ought never to take from his grace, which alone distinguished the holy city from all others. In calling God the former and architect of the Church, his object is to make us aware that by his power it remains in a firm condition, or is restored when in ruins. Hence he infers that it is in his power and arbitrament to gather those who have been dispersed. Here the Psalmist would comfort those miserable exiles who had been scattered in various quarters, with the hope of being recovered from their dispersion, as God had not adopted them without a definite purpose into one body. As he had ordered his temple and altar to be erected at Jerusalem, and had fixed his seat there, the Psalmist would encourage the Jews who were exiles from their native country, to entertain good hope of a return, intimating that it was no less properly God’s work to raise up his Church when ruined and fallen down, than to found it at first. It was not, therefore, the Psalmist’s object directly to celebrate the free mercy of God in the first institution of the Church, but to argue from its original, that God would not suffer his Church altogether to fall, having once founded it with the design of preserving it for ever; for he forsakes not the work of his own hands. This comfort ought to be improved by ourselves at the present period, when we see the Church on every side so miserably rent asunder, leading us to hope that all the elect who have been adjoined to Christ’s body, will be gathered unto the unity of the faith, although now scattered like members torn from one another, and that the mutilated body of the Church, which is daily distracted, will be restored to its entireness; for God will not suffer his work to fail.

In the following verse he insists upon the same truth, the figure suggesting that though the Church labor under, and be oppressed by many diseases, God will speedily and easily recover it from all its wounds. The same truth, therefore, is evidently conveyed, under a different form of expression — that the Church, though it may not always be in a flourishing condition, is ever safe and secure, and that God will miraculously heal it, as though it were a diseased body.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Psalms 147:1-20 :

Praise ye the LORD [or hallelujah]: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; it's pleasant; praise is comely [or desirable, beautiful]. The LORD doth build up Jerusalem: he gathers together the outcasts of Israel. He heals the broken in heart, he binds up their wounds. He tells the number of the stars; he calls them all by their names ( Psalms 147:1-4 ).

That to me is just fabulous. I love it! I've been sort of an amateur astronomer from my youth. Always been very interested in the heavens. From the time I was going through college I went out to the Griffith Observatory every month when they have a change of program and look at the programs that they offer there at the Griffith Observatory. Always fascinated with the vastness of this universe, because it just spoke to me of the greatness of the God that I serve.

And to learn of the number of stars. It is estimated that there are perhaps as many stars in the heavens as there are grains of sand upon the earth. Some have estimated there to be ten to the twenty-fifth power number of stars. Or ten with twenty-five zeroes tacked on behind. The Milky Way galaxy which our solar system is a part is just one of the many galaxies. Outside of us, the next one is the Adromeda galaxy and they're discovering new galaxies all the time. And the galaxies, each of them contain billions of stars. If you look at the Milky Way on a summer evening out on the desert or up in the mountains, that glow that is in the sky comes from the billions of stars that are in our Milky Way galaxy.

Now, "He tells the number of the stars." Now, we guessed at the number of the stars. It's interesting that when the science of astronomy was first developed in the early stages, some of the early scientists stayed up at night counting stars. And some of the earlier astronomers declare with scientific accuracy that there were 6,126 stars in the sky. And then later another astronomer who did much the same kind of a thing revised and said, "No, he was wrong. There's 6,232." And so the estimates of the number of the stars was always very low. In other words, something under 10,000 stars. Until, of course, the ability to magnify with a telescope, and we discovered that the stars are innumerable.

Well, actually, the Bible said that all along. God said to Abraham. He said, "Look up into the heavens." He said, "Can you number the stars? So shall thy seed be." You can't number them. You won't be able to number them. And God declared that the stars were innumerable. And yet, God has numbered the stars. As far as man is concerned, we don't know. We guessed at a number, ten to the twenty-fifth power. Who knows, it may be ten to the fiftieth power. But it's a guess. It's an estimate. But God knows the number of the stars. But more than that, He calls them all by their names.

Now the stars that He has called by name is not like stars like, Hey Joe and Jim and Jeff, you know. God said to Job," Can you find the sweet influence of the Pleiades? What about Arcturus? How would you like to guide us through the sky?" And He speaks about the bands of Orion and so forth. And so God is calling them by these fancy, technical names. All of the billions of them. The next verse says,

Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite ( Psalms 147:5 ).

It would have to be just to know all the names of all the stars.

The LORD lifts up the meek: and casts the wicked down to the ground ( Psalms 147:6 ).

Again, the idea of exalting the meek.

Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God: Who covers the heavens with clouds, who prepares the rain for the earth, who makes the grass to grow upon the mountains. He gives to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry. He delights not in the strength of the horse: he takes not pleasure in the legs of a man. The LORD takes pleasure in those that reverence him, in those that hope in his mercy. Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem; praise thy God, O Zion. For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates; he hath blessed thy children within thee. He makes peace in thy borders, he fills you with the finest of the wheat. He sends forth his commandment upon the earth: his word runs very swiftly. He gives snow like wool: he scatters the hoar frost like ashes. He casts forth his ice like morsels: who can stand before his cold? He sends out his word, and melts them: he causes his wind to blow, and the waters flow. He shows his word unto Jacob, his statutes, his judgments unto Israel. He hath not dealt so with any nation: and as for his judgments, they have not known them. Praise ye the LORD ( Psalms 147:7-20 ).

For God's special work for His people. "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

1. God’s objects of control 147:1-6

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Psalms 147

God’s greatness and His grace, as in Psalms 146, are also the theme of this psalm. However, in this one, an unnamed psalmist viewed God as Sustainer more than as Creator. He provides what His creatures need.

"When Nehemiah and his people finished rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, restoring the gates, and resettling the people, they called a great assembly for celebration and dedication, and it is likely that this psalm was written for that occasion (Psalms 147:2; Psalms 147:12-14; Nehemiah 12:27-43). . . . The psalm presents three reasons why the people should praise the Lord, and each section is marked off by the command to praise God (Psalms 147:1; Psalms 147:7; Psalms 147:12)." [Note: Wiersbe, The . . . Wisdom . . ., p. 379.]

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

The fact that God brought His people back to the Promised Land and enabled them to rebuild Jerusalem shows that He can and does heal the brokenhearted. He heals and restores those who repent and return to Him.

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

The Lord doth build up Jerusalem,.... Literally, after the Babylonish captivity, according to some; or rather when taken from the Jebusites by David; or spiritually the church, which is often called Jerusalem, even the Gospel church, of which Christ is the builder, his ministers are instruments, his people are the materials, and which, though now greatly fallen to decay, will be rebuilt by him in the latter day; when his work will be revived among his saints, his Gospel more powerfully preached, his ordinances more purely administered, and multitudes of souls converted; and which will be matter of praise and thanksgiving, as it is now matter of prayer; see Psalms 51:18;

he gathereth together the outcasts of Israel; the exiles from Babylon, as some; or rather such who in the times of the judges had been carried captive by their neighbours, or fled from their cities, in the times of Saul for fear of the Philistines, and who were gathered to their own country, cities, and houses, when David began to reign. Spiritually this regards the whole Israel of God, the elect of God, whether Jews or Gentiles, and the outcasts of them; so called, not because ever cast out or cast off by the Lord, being received into his favour, covenant, and church; but either because cast out of the company of profane men, as evil and unworthy; or cast out of Israel, the church of God, very justly, for offences given; but, being brought to repentance, are restored and gathered in again: or rather this may represent the Lord's people as in a state of nature, like the wretched infant cast out into the open field, scattered up and down in the world, in a state of distance from God, Christ, and his people; these are gathered by Christ in redemption, who came to seek and collect them together; and by his spirit in conversion, when he gathers them to himself, and into his fold; and this, as it is an occasion of joy to angels and saints, is matter of praise and thanksgiving to the outcasts themselves, thus gathered in. The Septuagint render it, to the dispersion or dispersed of Israel; see John 7:35.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      1 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.

      Here, I. The duty of praise is recommended to us. It is not without reason that we are thus called to it again and again: Praise you the Lord (Psalms 147:1; Psalms 147:1), and again (Psalms 147:7; Psalms 147:7), Sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving, sing praise upon the harp to our God (let all our praises be directed to him and centre in him), for it is good to do so; it is our duty, and therefore good in itself; it is our interest, and therefore good for us. It is acceptable to our Creator and it answers the end of our creation. The law for it is holy, just, and good; the practice of it will turn to a good account. It is good, for 1. It is pleasant. Holy joy or delight are required as the principle of it, and that is pleasant to us as men; giving glory to God is the design and business of it, and that is pleasant to us as saints that are devoted to his honour. Praising God is work that is its own wages; it is heaven upon earth; it is what we should be in as in our element. 2. It is comely; it is that which becomes us as reasonable creatures, much more as people in covenant with God. In giving honour to God we really do ourselves a great deal of honour.

      II. God is recommended to us as the proper object of our most exalted and enlarged praises, upon several accounts.

      1. The care he takes of his chosen people, Psalms 147:2; Psalms 147:2. Is Jerusalem to be raised out of small beginnings? Is it to be recovered out of its ruins? In both cases, The Lord builds up Jerusalem. The gospel-church, the Jerusalem that is from above, is of this building. He framed the model of it in his own counsels; he founded it by the preaching of his gospel; he adds to it daily such as shall be saved, and so increases it. He will build it up unto perfection, build it up as high as heaven. Are any of his people outcasts? Have they made themselves so by their own folly? He gathers them by giving them repentance and bringing them again into the communion of saints. Have they been forced out by war, famine, or persecution? He opens a door for their return; many that were missing, and thought to be lost, are brought back, and those that were scattered in the cloudy and dark day are gathered together again.

      2. The comforts he has laid up for true penitents, Psalms 147:3; Psalms 147:3. They are broken in heart, and wounded, humbled, and troubled, for sin, inwardly pained at the remembrance of it, as a man is that is sorely wounded. Their very hearts are not only pricked, but rent, under the sense of the dishonour they have done to God and the injury they have done to themselves by sin. To those whom God heals with the consolations of his Spirit he speaks peace, assures them that their sins are pardoned and that he is reconciled to them, and so makes them easy, pours the balm of Gilead into the bleeding wounds, and then binds them up, and makes them to rejoice. Those who have had experience of this need not be called upon to praise the Lord; for when he brought them out of the horrible pit, and set their feet upon a rock, he put a new song into their mouths,Psalms 40:2; Psalms 40:3. And for this let others praise him also.

      3. The sovereign dominion he has over the lights of heaven, Psalms 147:4; Psalms 147:5. The stars are innumerable, many of them being scarcely discernible with the naked eye, and yet he counts them, and knows the exact number of them, for they are all the work of his hands and the instruments of his providence. Their bulk and power are very great; but he calleth them all by their names, which shows his dominion over them and the command he has them at, to make what use of them he pleases. They are his servants, his soldiers; he musters them, he marshals them; they come and go at his bidding, and all their motions are under his direction. He mentions this as one instance of many, to show that great is our Lord and of great power (he can do what he pleases), and of his understanding there is no computation, so that he can contrive every thing for the best. Man's knowledge is soon drained, and you have his utmost length; hitherto his wisdom can reach and no further. But God's knowledge is a depth that can never be fathomed.

      4. The pleasure he takes in humbling the proud and exalting those of low degree (Psalms 147:6; Psalms 147:6): The Lord lifts up the meek, who abase themselves before him, and whom men trample on; but the wicked, who conduct themselves insolently towards God and scornfully towards all mankind, who lift up themselves in pride and folly, he casteth down to the ground, sometimes by very humbling providences in this world, at furthest in the day when their faces shall be filled with everlasting shame. God proves himself to be God by looking on the proud and abasing them,Job 40:12.

      5. The provision he makes for the inferior creatures. Though he is so great as to command the stars, he is so good as not to forget even the fowls, Psalms 147:8; Psalms 147:9. Observe in what method he feeds man and beast. (1.) He covereth the heaven with clouds, which darken the air and intercept the beams of the sun, and yet in them he prepareth that rain for the earth which is necessary to its fruitfulness. Clouds look melancholy, and yet without them we could have no rain and consequently no fruit. Thus afflictions, for the present, look black, and dark, and unpleasant, and we are in heaviness because of them, as sometimes when the sky is overcast it makes us dull; but they are necessary, for from these clouds of affliction come those showers that make the harvest to yield the peaceable fruits of righteousness (Hebrews 12:11), which should help to reconcile us to them. Observe the necessary dependence which the earth has upon the heavens, which directs us on earth to depend on God in heaven. All the rain with which the earth is watered is of God's preparing. (2.) By the rain which distils on the earth he makes grass to grow upon the mountains, even the high mountains, which man neither takes care of nor reaps the benefit of. The mountains, which are not watered with the springs and rivers, as the valleys are, are yet watered so that they are not barren. (3.) This grass he gives to the beast for his food, the beast of the mountains which runs wild, which man makes no provision for. And even the young ravens, which, being forsaken by their old ones, cry, are heard by him, and ways are found to feed them, so that they are kept from perishing in the nest.

      6. The complacency he takes in his people, Psalms 147:10; Psalms 147:11. In times when great things are doing, and there are great expectations of the success of them, it concerns us to know (since the issue proceeds from the Lord) whom, and what, God will delight to honour and crown with victory. It is not the strength of armies, but the strength of grace, that God is pleased to own. (1.) Not the strength of armies--not in the cavalry, for he delighteth not in the strength of the horse, the war-horse, noted for his courage (Job 39:19, c.)--nor in the infantry, for he taketh no pleasure in the legs of a man he does not mean the swiftness of them for flight, to quit the field, but the steadiness of them for charging, to stand the ground. If one king, making war with another king, goes to God to pray for success, it will not avail him to plead, "Lord, I have a gallant army, the horse and foot in good order; it is a pity that they should suffer any disgrace;" for that is no argument with God, Psalms 20:7. Jehoshaphat's was much better: Lord, we have no might,2 Chronicles 20:12. But, (2.) God is pleased to own the strength of grace. A serious and suitable regard to God is that which is, in the sight of God, of great price in such a case. The Lord accepts and takes pleasure in those that fear him and that hope in his mercy. Observe, [1.] A holy fear of God and hope in God not only may consist, but must concur. In the same heart, at the same time, there must be both a reverence of his majesty and a complacency in his goodness, both a believing dread of his wrath and a believing expectation of his favour; not that we must hang in suspense between hope and fear, but we must act under the gracious influences of hope and fear. Our fear must save our hope from swelling into presumption, and our hope must save our fear from sinking into despair; thus must we take our work before us. [2.] We must hope in God's mercy, his general mercy, even when we cannot find a particular promise to stay ourselves upon. A humble confidence in the goodness of God's nature is very pleasing to him, as that which turns to the glory of that attribute in which he most glories. Every man of honour loves to be trusted.