Psalms 146–150

This beautiful Hebrew word appears often in the book of Psalms. It is the opening and closing word of each of the last five psalms — psalms which together, as one whole, express Israel's praise in the millennium. Hallelujah means "Praise Jehovah," or "Jah," a shortened form of Jehovah.

The five closing Psalms form a group of their own. Each begins and ends with the word Hallelujah, which the older Authorized Version translates as "Praise ye the Lord." Each Psalm calls for praise, yet each gives different reasons why that praise should go to Him. The call seems to grow warmer until it reaches its high point in Psalm 150. The earth and Israel are mainly in view, as fits these God-given poems written a thousand years before Christ came. Yet along the way they bring in many things we can very happily apply to ourselves.

At the end of the Psalms there is a burst of praise, and all the Psalms lead up to it. The great purpose of all the exercises of the Psalms was to bring the people up to praising God... The blessed Lord gives the keynote (Psalm 146), "Praise the LORD," and everything bursts out in praise... He could not give the keynote until He had been through it Himself. "I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth." (Psalm 34:1.) He knew what it was to go through pressure.

Jehovah, a living God, the "I am": this is the One whom all Nature and His saints celebrate. What a joy to see, above all the variety of Nature and as the Author of all its laws, a living God upon the throne! And what it says about us — how the secret of our condition shows itself even in our holiest things — that we need to urge ourselves to praise this glorious One! Yet now the soul answers with the energy of its joy in Him: "I will praise Jehovah while I live." Yes, and only a life that praises Jehovah is really "life."

We must, after this manner, take our own part in the worship. As the psalmist, after calling on all creation to praise, says, "Praise the Lord, O my soul."

"Praise Jah." The psalm urges the praise of Jah, Jehovah, Jacob's God, in contrast with men. He is praised not only as maker of heaven, earth, the sea, and all in them, but as the sure moral Governor. That will only be fully proved and displayed in the day when Zion is the centre on earth.

Most of us find that it takes us a long time to pass the vote of no confidence in man... The difficulty is to lose all confidence in the man who is nearer to us than any other — oneself. The point here does not seem to be the wickedness of man but his helplessness.

The Living God is on the throne. He is worthy of the unceasing praise of all creation, including the praise of each individual believer, as the psalmist says, "O my soul" (v. 1). "While I live, I will praise the Lord" (v. 2). How long is this? Believers will live for all the thousand years of the millennium. And such praise will go beyond this, into eternity, and the heavenly company will join.

The five closing Psalms form a group of their own. Each one begins and ends with the word Hallelujah, which older English Bibles translate "Praise the LORD." Each Psalm calls for praise, yet each gives different reasons why we should give that praise to Him. The call seems to grow warmer until it reaches its high point in Psalm 150.

The five Psalms that now follow (146 — 150) close the book of Psalms, and they look ahead to the day when this comes true. David had said "all flesh," and all flesh on earth will one day praise God. In answer to the king's last words, one believer leads the way (146:1-2).

In the same way, we must take our own part in the worship. The psalmist calls on all creation to praise, and then says, "Praise the LORD, O my soul."

Jehovah, a living God, the "I am": this is the One whom all nature and His saints celebrate. What a joy to see, above all the variety of nature and as the Maker of all its laws, a living God on the throne! And think what it says about us — that we have to urge ourselves to praise this glorious One! The real state of our hearts shows itself even in our holiest things. Yet now the soul answers with the energy of its joy in Him: "I will praise the LORD as long as I live." Yes, and only that is "life" in which the LORD is praised.

The Living God is on the throne. He is worthy of the unceasing praise of all creation, and of each individual believer too, as the psalmist shows when he says, "O my soul" (v. 1). "I will praise the LORD as long as I live" (v. 2). How long is this? Believers will live for all the thousand years of the millennium. And such praise will go beyond this, into eternity, and the heavenly company will join.

(vv. 1-2) The godly in Israel delivered from all their enemies look on to a life of unbroken praise to the Lord in which they see no shadow of sorrow. Each one can say, "I will sing praises to my God while I have my being."

These passages speak of man as connected with the world he is passing through. So "I will praise the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being" (Ps. 146:2) is no stronger than the words used of the man God took away so that he would not see death. Of Enoch it says he "was not," yet not even those who teach that people cease to exist have said that he truly stopped existing.

There is no limit to praise. It will endure throughout eternity, and shall we limit it here? Let your whole life be one of praise. It is never by anything — energy or skill — in ourselves. We offer it through Him, whose name makes even the faintest whisper of His worth and beauty acceptable to God.

Do you ever feel that you ought to praise, and yet your heart is out of tune, and you cannot have any thought of what to say? Just go back over what God has done for you; and that will be the best praise you can give.

They find that every age and fashion of natural life carries the same stamp: it is empty, and it falls apart. Time forgets the thoughts of man, however high they reach. Rank and power were only a lie that deceives, as long as they belonged to man — and man's life was no more than the breath in his nostrils. He spent his changing days waiting for a death he could not escape.

In Psalm 146 the call to praise goes out to those who have learned two things. First, that you cannot rely on man, not even on princes. Second, that it is a blessed thing to have God as your help, and to find your hope in Him.

Most of us find that it takes us a long time to pass the vote of no confidence in man. It is not very hard to distrust other people... The difficulty is to lose all confidence in the man who is nearer to us than any other — oneself. The point here does not seem to be the wickedness of man but his helplessness. The best of men may be in view, entertaining the kindest of thoughts. Yet suddenly he dies, and in that very day his thoughts perish. It is folly to put the weight of our trust on a man like that.

He may mean well, and he may look powerful. But he is only breathing earth. His breath goes, and he returns to the earth. Every plan of his that you trusted goes into the grave with him.

"The son of man" does not refer to Christ. The reading is rather "a son of man, in whom there is no salvation."

However dignified or capable the princes (or rulers) in Israel may be, the warning to the nation stands: do not trust them, or any other person. Each one is only "a son of man," no better than his fathers were. He will come to an end on earth. His spirit departs, and all his plans perish (v. 4). How different is the one "Son of Man," who died and rose again — He who is Himself "the God of Jacob!"

However well meaning and honest they may be, they cannot untangle the world's problems. God is not the start of their plans, and His glory is not the goal of their measures. The world is not ready for the answer to the prayer, "Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." So the Christian who prays that prayer with a sincere heart must stand apart from the world and its politics. If he does not, the confusion and uncertainty of the world will pull him in. But if he trusts in the Lord, He will keep him in peace.

But what help and hope we have in God! The rest of the Psalm presents Him to us in His character and actions. To begin with, He is the Creator: to end with, He will reign for ever... Who would not set his hope in a God who bears such a character as that?

Most of us find that it takes us a long time to pass the vote of no confidence in man. It is not too hard to distrust other people... The difficulty is to lose all confidence in the man who is nearer to us than any other — oneself. The point here does not seem to be the wickedness of man but his helplessness. The best of men may be in view, holding the kindest of thoughts. Yet suddenly he dies, and in that very day his thoughts perish. It is folly to put the weight of our trust on such a one as that.

Now He is contrasted with men: how barren and vain is every hope in man, even man at his best. He may mean well, and he may look powerful. But he is only breathing earth. His breath goes, and he returns to it. All his purposes, the ones you trusted in, are buried with him.

Is it not plain here that, so far as the context leads, his "thoughts" that perish are the plans and purposes the man who was to benefit by them had been led to hope for? The death of his patron might cut them off in a moment.

The psalmist is contrasting the help of man on the earth and the help of Jehovah. Men are not to trust in princes, for their help is vain. Once dead, all their plans and projects are over: happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help... Now what have the thoughts of man on earth perishing to do with the state of his soul after death?

In verse 4, "the son of man" does not refer to Christ. It is rather, "Put not confidence in nobles, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation."

However dignified or capable the princes (or rulers) in Israel may be, the nation must not trust them. Nor must it trust any individual, who is only "a son of man," no better than his fathers were. As such, he will come to an end on earth, his spirit departing, so that all his plans will perish (v. 4). How different from the one "Son of Man," who died and rose again — He who is Himself "the God of Jacob"!

How little it matters to a truly devoted heart what men think of us! Human thoughts perish in an hour. One day we will stand before the judgement seat of Christ, in the full blaze of the glory. What will it matter to us then whether men considered us narrow or broad, bigoted or liberal? And what should it matter to us now?

This world is all passing away, and man's breath goes forth. "He returns to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish." But we have the truth in the middle of it all. The word of our God abides for ever. Holding peacefully fast to that, we have, by grace, what we know is everlasting. Christ is "the way, the truth, and the life."

Most of us find that it takes a long time to pass a vote of no confidence in man. It is not particularly hard to distrust other people. The difficulty is losing all confidence in the man nearer to us than any other — oneself. The point here does not seem to be man's wickedness but his helplessness. The best of men may be in view, with the kindest of intentions. Yet suddenly he dies, and on that very day his thoughts perish. It is folly to put the weight of our trust on someone like that.

The princes (or rulers) in Israel may be dignified and capable. Even so, the warning to the nation stands: do not trust them, or any individual, who will only be "a son of man," no better than his fathers were. He will come to an end on earth. His spirit leaves him, and all his plans perish (v. 4). How different from the one "Son of Man," who died and rose again — He who is Himself "the God of Jacob"!

Notice how much space the Spirit of God gives to Jacob's story in Genesis. Our spirits rejoice that it is so. Jacob is so much like us. Our hearts keep echoing, "This might be myself!" The failures, the wilfulness, the scheming, the lack of faith, the turning to the world — sad to say, some of us know these paths only too well. For that reason we rejoice that our God so constantly speaks of Himself as "The God of Jacob," and so very rarely as "The God of Abraham." In the Psalms we find "The God of Jacob" thirteen times, and "The God of Abraham" once. And remember that "Jacob" means "Cheater," "Deceiver," while "Abraham" means "The Father of Many Nations."

How happy to be sure that we have Jehovah, the LORD of hosts, with us — nothing less than almighty power on our side! And the God of Jacob is with us. If God could be patient with a crooked stick like Jacob, will He not be patient with us, who fall so far short of what we might be?

What did Jacob do to deserve all this? Why should God meet him like this? Did he think of the Lord and call on Him for mercy before he slept on the stone? Nothing whatever. And the LORD kept His promise and did everything He had promised. "I will not leave you" is a repeated promise. See Deuteronomy 31:6; Joshua 1:5; 1 Chronicles 28:20; Hebrews 13:5-6. "Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God" (Ps. 146:5). And He is our God and our Lord, and in His grace He keeps and leads us and does all He has promised.

But what help and hope we have in God! The rest of the psalm presents Him to us in His character and actions. He is the Creator to begin with; He will reign for ever at the end. In between we learn that He keeps truth for ever. He executes righteous judgment. He shows mercy in many ways to the needy, while turning the way of the wicked upside down. Who would not set his hope in a God with a character like that?

By past experience they have learned, first, the folly of trusting in men, whether great or small. In such there is neither help, nor permanence, nor the carrying out of their purposes. Second, Israel has learned the blessedness of having the God of Jacob for their help and hope.

Jacob's God is here praised with special reference to His covenant faithfulness: "He keeps truth for ever" (verse 6). The face of Jacob is no longer pale, as in the day of trouble. It shines with the pure joy and gladness that rests for ever on the heads of all the LORD's ransomed people, when He brings them back with full acceptance to the city of solemn feasts (Isa. 35:10).

The point here does not seem to be the wickedness of man but his helplessness. The person in view may be the best of men, with the kindest of thoughts. Yet suddenly he dies, and on that very day his thoughts perish. It is folly to rest the weight of our trust on someone like that.

How barren and vain is every hope in man, even man at his best. He may mean well, and he may look strong. But he is only breathing earth. His breath goes, and he returns to the ground. Every purpose you trusted in is buried with him. In such a man we recognise a "Jacob" with whom God must contend. How blessed, then, to know Jacob's Mighty One! He is Jehovah, and He is in covenant with man — his Helper, and not merely his Lord, though He is his Maker and the Maker of all creation.

He is a faithful God, who keeps truth for ever. "He is true and His Word is truth, and that Word He keeps, not for a time, but for ever."

Psalm 146 speaks of the wisdom of trusting the all-enduring, ever-living Lord. "Put not your trust in man": his breath goes forth; all his thoughts are gone. Not so with God. Not only does He have power, but He is faithful — keeps truth for ever.

Power is the first requisite for all government, and of course for all praise. But power alone would not be enough. So here we see power used to serve all the need of man — sustaining power for His feeble creatures, and on behalf of truth and right.

The rest of the Psalm presents Him to us in His character and actions. To begin with, He is the Creator: to end with, He will reign for ever. Between these two things we learn that He keeps truth for ever. He executes righteous judgment. He extends mercy in many ways to the needy, while turning the way of the wicked upside down. Who would not set his hope in a God who bears such a character as that?

What can be our need, when our help is the God of Jacob, a covenant God who keeps truth for ever? What can be our need, when our hope is in Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them?

Most of us find it takes a long time to pass the vote of no confidence in man. It is not particularly hard to distrust our fellows... The difficulty is to lose all confidence in the man who is nearer to us than any other — oneself. The point here does not seem to be the wickedness of man but his helplessness. The best of men may be in view, holding the kindest of thoughts. Yet suddenly he dies, and on that very day his thoughts perish. It is folly to put the weight of our trust on such a one as that.

Not only does He have power, but He is faithful — He keeps truth forever. And again He brings out His tender mercy to comfort those in sorrow. The oppressed, the hungry, the prisoners come before Him, and are the objects of His care and power... All this is comfort of heart to those who are in sorrow and trial, who are oppressed.

He is a gracious God, who frees the prisoner, opens the eyes of the blind, and raises up those who are bowed down.

Verses 7-9 present, in richly varied light, the name and glory of Jehovah as the covenant God of Israel. They had had to do with Him under each and all of the characters listed here. He had saved them and He had judged them. He had punished them for their sins, and He had broken the oppressor's yoke again for their sakes... In righteousness He had both raised up the prostrate people of His covenant and destroyed the despisers of His truth in a common ruin.

Yes! Jesus is the One who frees the captive. He is the Lord who "sets the prisoners free."

Some captives do not know they are captive. Some prisoners will not believe they are bound. Yet the chains that hold them are stronger than any forged on a blacksmith's anvil. Their prison is far worse than the foulest dungeon.

This will be fully displayed in the millennium. Then it will be clear that He has executed justice for the oppressed, provided food for the hungry, and given liberty to the prisoners.

That coming time will show the ways of our God in full. The Lord Jesus displayed miraculous power when He was on earth. People will see that power again, and will acknowledge it as samples of the powers of the age to come.

The result is praise. What a blessed thought! When His light opens someone's eyes, knowing what God truly is becomes a reason for never-ending praise.

First comes a hallelujah that celebrates Himself, the One who is the God of Jacob. What a precious sight of Him! He delights to call Himself "the God of Jacob" — the God who loves the sinner and has redeemed His people. Who is He? The Creator of all, by whom and for whom all things were made (verse 6). He is the Lord of judgment and redemption. He is the Lord who frees the prisoners, opens the eyes of the blind, and raises those who are bowed down. And He will reign for ever. Hallelujah.

The prophets had testified beforehand that it was a characteristic work of the Messiah to open the eyes of the blind (Ps. 146:8; Isa. 29:18; Isa. 35:5; Isa. 42:7). And this the Lord did, both in the temple (Matt. 21:14) and by the wayside (Luke 18:35). And what He did for the natural sight was only a first instalment of what He would do for the spiritual eyes. Those who did not see would see, and their sin would be put away. But the nation was proud in heart. Speaking through their responsible religious leaders, they said, "We see" — and so their sin remained (John 9:41).

No act was more characteristic of the Messiah than giving the blind their sight. In the same way, His raising of dead men bore testimony to His Sonship (Rom. 1:4) — most of all when He raised Himself from the grave, after the Jews crucified and killed Him by the hand of lawless men. Moses and Joshua, Elijah and Elisha, and others worked many a wonder in days of old. But we never read of eyes given to a single blind man before He came. So the Jews were right to regard it as a special sign of the Anointed of Jehovah.

For centuries Israel has been blind to the truth about their Messiah. Yet He Himself will open their eyes. Those bowed down in deep depression He will raise up, for He loves the righteous (v. 8).

He brings out His tender mercy to comfort those who are in sorrow. The oppressed, the hungry and the prisoners come before Him. They are the objects of His care and power. To the blind He gives eyes, and He raises up those who are bowed down. All this is comfort of heart to those who are in sorrow and trial, who are oppressed. But further, He loves the righteous, so that men, whatever comes upon them, can trust in Him. The heart of the righteous has its sure confidence. Those bowed down, and those robbed of earthly support, have the sure hand of a God who cares for them, because that is what they are. It is what God always is.

The princes (or rulers) in Israel may be dignified and capable. Even so, the nation is warned not to put its trust in them, or in any individual. Such a man is only "a son of man," no better than his fathers were. As such, he will come to an end on earth, his spirit departing, so that all his plans will perish (v. 4). How different from the one "Son of Man," who died and rose again — He who is Himself "the God of Jacob"!

He is a compassionate God that has pity on the defenceless — the stranger, the fatherless and the widow.

The stranger whose heart may feel sick where he is, the fatherless or the widow whose supports are gone — He preserves and relieves them. The righteous, the bowed down and those who have lost every earthly support have a sure confidence: the sure hand of a God who cares for them, because that is what they are. It is what God always is.

Psalm 146 opens the final praises. The heart pours out praise to Him as the God of Jacob, celebrating what He is and the comfort of trusting Him. He is the Creator, the Helper of the oppressed, the Comforter of the lowly, the Lover of the righteous, and He turns the way of the wicked upside down. He shall reign forever, even Zion's God to all generations.

For centuries Israel has been blinded to the truth about their Messiah, but He Himself will open their eyes. Those bowed down in deep depression He will raise up, for He loves the righteous (v. 8). More than this, He watches over the strangers — clearly the Gentile nations — and relieves the fatherless and widows, while turning the way of the wicked upside down (v. 9).

Verses 7 to 9 show the name and glory of the LORD as the covenant God of Israel in richly varied light. They had dealt with Him under each and all of the characters listed here. Jerusalem had tasted both the widow's desolation and the renewing of her bridal joy, one after the other. The God of Jacob had found him when a wanderer, and led him to a peaceful home.

It was surely a tired but happy gleaner who came back that evening to her new home in Bethlehem. On that first day Ruth had proved for herself how good it was for a poor stranger to trust in the God of Israel.

The stranger comes first, and the memory of what they had been in the land of Egypt was to govern how they treated such people. The helpless come next, and of all the helpless ones who appeal to us, surely the widow and the fatherless have the first claim. All through Scripture these two groups are marked out as the special object of God's care, and so they should be the objects of our compassion too. James says, "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world." (James 1:27)

Now the psalm sets Him over against men. Every hope in man is barren and empty — even man at his best. He may mean well, and he may look strong. But he is only breathing dust. His breath goes out and he returns to dust. Every plan of his that you trusted is buried with him.

The point here does not seem to be the wickedness of man but his helplessness. The best of men may be in view, entertaining the kindest of thoughts. Yet suddenly he dies, and in that very day his thoughts perish. It is folly to put the weight of our trust on such a one as that.

But what help and hope we have in God! The rest of the Psalm presents Him to us in His character and actions. To begin with, He is the Creator: to end with, He will reign for ever. In between we learn that He keeps truth for ever. He judges righteously. He shows mercy in many ways to the needy, and He turns the way of the wicked upside down. Who would not set his hope in a God who bears such a character as that? In this God will we trust and, when He reigns in Zion to all generations, Hallelujahs will fill the earth. In anticipation of His reign our hearts are saying Hallelujah today.

And saints in that day will sing the praises of their God, with a force and depth of meaning they all share. They will have been kept through the terrible time of temptation and persecution, right up to the coming in glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. He comes not as a brief, passing sight for men to stare at, but to reign in Zion, and that throughout all generations.

The writer of Chronicles says that "Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king in place of David his father" (1 Chron. 29:23). The LORD's throne was then at Jerusalem, and it has never been anywhere else on earth. To Zion, therefore, He will come back, for He has chosen her, He desired her for a dwelling (Ps. 132:13-14).

Not only does He have power, but He is faithful — He keeps truth for ever. And again He shows His tender mercy to comfort those who are in sorrow. The oppressed, the hungry and the prisoners come before Him. They are the objects of His care and power. To the blind He gives eyes, and He raises up those who are bowed down… He keeps and helps the stranger whose heart may be sick where he is, and the fatherless or widow whose supports are gone… It is what God always is.

Such is the One who will reign for ever, even the God of Zion. Well indeed may the psalmist say to all generations, "Praise the LORD."

There is great encouragement for us here. We can be sure that all God's ways with men will end in a great outburst of praise. All creation will join in a chorus of Hallelujahs. The last five Psalms make this very clear… As His ways reach their close, and the bright scene of His coming reign opens out, the universe will echo with the great Hallelujah chorus.

The five closing Psalms form a group of their own. Each one begins and ends with the word Hallelujah, which English Bibles translate as "Praise the LORD." Each Psalm calls for praise, yet each gives different reasons for praising Him. The call seems to grow warmer until it reaches its high point in Psalm 150. The earth and Israel are mainly in view, as fits poems God gave a thousand years before Christ came. Yet along the way they bring in many things we can apply to ourselves with real joy.

Zion's God Jehovah is the deliverer and the One who carries out judgment. Messiah announces Him this way — only He could. Then to Israel, the remnant, He is "our God," and praise is pleasant and fitting, with the people at peace. How lovely is this peace, and Jehovah's prosperity in them!

"Whoever offers praise glorifies me" (Ps. 50:23). If prayer suits us — expressing our dependence as creatures of God, children of the Father and servants of Christ — then "praise is fitting," and so is giving thanks, since it is due to God as the source from which all blessings flow.

Every psalm begins with a call to praise, and Jehovah is still the Name that inspires it. Praise, says the psalmist here, is pleasant and fitting. How can anyone recognise this glorious God and stay cold? If the sun's rays reach you, they warm you. And now Israel is rejoicing in the favour of the One she strayed from for so long. Jerusalem is built up again, and its outcasts gathered in. They have found Him the healer of broken hearts, the Physician for their deep and open wounds.

I could not praise God — the work that properly belongs to me as a believer — unless the song of praise had been put into my mouth on the ground of redemption. In Psalm 40 we read, "He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God." Christ begins this song once redemption is accomplished… and so believers can sing it too — it is called "a song of praise to our God." But they cannot sing it until they know redemption.

Let us remember this, dear reader. It is just as true for us as it was for Israel that praise is fitting. Our great first business is to praise the Lord. Our every breath should be a hallelujah… We should always remember this: nothing pleases the heart of our God and glorifies His Name like a thankful, worshipping spirit in His people. It is well to do good and share with others. God is well pleased with such sacrifices… All this is wonderfully true. But we must never forget that the very highest place belongs to praise. Praise is what will occupy our ransomed powers through the golden ages of eternity, when acts of kindness will no longer be needed.

In Psalm 147 the saints take their place now in Jerusalem and Zion to say what He is. He is their God; He builds up Jerusalem and gathers the outcasts of Israel, healing the broken in heart and binding up their wounds.

Man can break down, but only the Lord can "build up Jerusalem." We in our folly can scatter the people of God; but it is only the Lord who "gathers" His outcast people. We can break hearts; it is only the Lord who "heals the broken in heart." We can open old wounds; it is the Lord who "binds up" our wounds.

It is of the deepest importance to see what Daniel's prayer rests on. Again and again in his confession he emphasises that it is God Himself who had broken up the people. Until we face and own that fact, holding nothing back, there can be no recovery. Once we face it, we have good ground to turn to God and plead for mercy that restores. For God is One who can not only break up, but can also heal. God can scatter, but God can also gather together (Psalm 147:2). If we refuse to admit that God has broken us up, and see only the foolish things men have done, we shut out all hope of recovery for those who want to be faithful to God.

Seeing only men as the cause of divisions has led many sincere people to a false conclusion: if men caused the divisions, men have the power to cure them. So the efforts made to bring the people of God together again are doomed to fail. They are worse than a failure, for they only add to the confusion among the people of God. To bring together is beyond what man can do; it is God's work.

Far greater things lie ahead for Israel than the work of Nehemiah for the small group who returned. Yet speaking of that work may have opened the way for their glorious hope, which cannot be separated from the Messiah, from the kingdom, and from all Israel then being saved. Then it really will be Jehovah building Jerusalem and gathering Israel's outcasts. This goes far beyond the small, temporary mercy shown to the Jews who came back from Babylon.

In this Psalm we listen to the pleasant melody of the Lord's song in His own land. The time of singing has now come. For Jehovah has built up Jerusalem, and gathered together the outcasts of Israel (verse 2) (compare Isaiah 11:12). He is known in Zion as her God. By His power He has silenced her enemies. He has set a border of lasting peace around the land He loves and chose for His own.

We see His glory and might in creation, yet all of that seems to be a background. Against it the kindness of His dealings with His people shines all the more brightly. There will be the building up of Jerusalem and the gathering of the outcasts of Israel at the beginning of the millennial age.

People can break things down. Only the Lord can "build up Jerusalem." In our folly we can scatter the people of God. Only the Lord "gathers together" His outcast people. We can break hearts. Only the Lord "heals the broken in heart." We can open old wounds. Only the Lord "binds up" our wounds.

The God who "counts the number of the stars" and "calls them by their names" is the God who "heals the broken in heart." The stars are too high for us to reach. The sorrows of a broken heart are too deep for us to reach. But the God who can count the countless stars of heaven can stoop to heal one broken heart on earth.

Notice the order in our psalm. It tells us first that God heals the broken in heart and binds up their wounds. Only then does it tell us that the same God counts the stars and calls them by their names. What do we learn from this order? We learn how deeply God cares for the sorrows and sadness of people.

In each of these passages the verb is in the present tense. So the action shows what God is like. It is not something God will do now and then if we wait for Him. It is what He always does, because it is His character and His delight to do it. So we never need to ask, Is He willing to comfort? The question is this: are we ready to receive this blessed ministry from Him?

To heal the broken-hearted He became flesh. He shed His tears to dry ours, and broke His heart to bind up our hearts.

His grace broke her heart. Now He binds it up with His words of love, saying, "Your sins are forgiven … your faith has saved you; go in peace."

We know, too, on the resurrection day, the tender way love took to heal this brokenhearted man and drive away his tears. So in all our backslidings, He restores our souls, by breaking our hearts and winning our hearts with His unchanging love.

If we had the power, we would probably have raised the dead first, and then said to the woman, "Do not weep." But Jesus takes another way — a better way. It makes the story full of comfort for us all. He first says to the brokenhearted mother, "Do not weep," and then He raises the dead. So the woman could say, "In my great sorrow He came so near to me, that He wiped away my tears. He not only took me out of my sorrowful circumstances, but He walked beside me in them."

In Psalm 147 the saints take their place now in Jerusalem and Zion to say what He is. He is their God. He builds up Jerusalem and gathers the outcasts of Israel. He heals the broken in heart and binds up their wounds. Verses 4 and 5 celebrate His greatness, His goodness and His judgment.

Human eyes can pick out about six thousand stars in the northern and southern skies. Long ago telescopes pushed that number into millions. With the huge instruments in use today, astronomers no longer talk only of stars. They talk of galaxies of stars running into millions, and of depths of space we cannot imagine. We can measure those depths only in "light-years" — the distance light covers in a year, travelling at 186,000 miles a second. Our God has counted all the stars, for He made them, and He has given each one a name.

God gave Adam the intelligence to name all the creatures. But God alone could number and name the countless millions of stars: "He determines the number of the stars; He gives to all of them their names" (Psalm 147:4). How precious that this verse follows the words "He heals the brokenhearted."

The names that God gives mean something, because they describe the person or thing He names. Every star is different: He knows what makes it different, and He gives it a name that fits. So great a God as that is ours.

He had the right to take the number of the tribes, for they were all His own. If He had no right to them, and no expectations from them, He would not have counted them. The same is said of His divine right in another part of His domain: "He determines the number of the stars; He gives to all of them their names." This is the expression of His sovereignty over the hosts of heaven.

The stars are too many for us to count. The sorrow of a broken heart is too deep for us to measure. But God can count the stars in heaven and heal the broken hearts on earth. In the greatness of His love He gave His only Son to come into this world to heal the brokenhearted.

Which is the greater? That a mighty supreme being should send out the glorious lights that fill the heavens? Or that the same Being should bend down and take an interest in poor weak things like you and me? It is the greatness of His love and grace that draws Him to those He has created. He cares for them in their sorrows and binds up the broken heart.

Stars picture the great number of people who will receive a heavenly inheritance (Heb. 11:12). Even today the Lord calls His own by name! (John 10:3). He is great indeed and mighty in power!

I was overwhelmed. I thought of the millions of stars, and of our planet as a tiny speck in such a galaxy of wonder. And God knows their number, and calls them by name. No wonder the Psalmist added the words, "His understanding is beyond measure" (Ps. 147:5).

In Psalm 147 the saints take their place now in Jerusalem and Zion to say what He is. He is their God. He builds up Jerusalem and gathers the outcasts of Israel, healing the brokenhearted and binding up their wounds. Verses 4 and 5 celebrate His greatness, and also His goodness and judgment.

His grace also matches the immensity of His power in creation, for He who bound up their wounds counted the number of the stars. Verse 6 only mentions government, and verse 10 the emptiness of human strength. Apart from these, the psalm sets out grace in Israel and power in creation.

God is not only great in power, as creation shows. He is great in character too. Not only great in what He has done, but great also in what He is... But He also bends down to bind up the broken heart. Which is greater? For a mighty supreme being to send out the glorious lights that fill the heavens? Or for that same Being to bend down and take an interest in poor weak creatures like you and me?

en mispar, "no number": used only of the understanding of the Lord. Psalm 147:5.

His understanding is infinite — completely unlimited. Our own understanding is so limited that we cannot grasp how an unlimited understanding is even possible.

The number of the stars is too great for us to count. The sorrow of a broken heart is too deep for us to measure. But God can count the stars in heaven and heal the broken hearts on earth. In the greatness of His love He gave His only begotten Son to come into this world to heal the brokenhearted.

Note something very significant. Our psalm first tells how God heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. Only then does it say that the same God counts the stars and calls them by their names. What do we glean from this order? We gather how intensely God cares for the sorrows and sadness of mankind.

No star fails to give the brightness assigned to it. As it shines, it pays its tribute to the glory of the One who created it. In the same way, no living vessel of His grace and power will fail to fill the place given to it... He also keeps a watchful count of the sheep of His blood-bought flock. He numbers the very hairs that grow on His people's heads, so close and jealous is His care.

Yet if we take our place of nothingness before God and bow down to the dust, He graciously lifts us up (v. 5). By contrast, those who want to exalt themselves in wicked contempt for God, He will cast down to the ground (v. 6).

Christ, as the wisdom and power of God, shines out from verse 5 — though here in connection with the mystery of God's dealings with His earthly people (Rom. 11:33-36).

Man may crush the meek; but the Lord lifts them up. Sadly, man may exalt the wicked, but the Lord casts them down to the ground.

Man can break down, but only the Lord can "build up Jerusalem." We in our folly can scatter the people of God; but it is only the Lord who "gathers together" His outcast people. We can break hearts; it is only the Lord who "heals the broken in heart." We can open old wounds; it is the Lord who "binds up" our wounds.

Jerusalem, Israel, and Creation are the subjects of praise, and of the display of Jehovah's grace… It also matches the immensity of His power in creation, for He who bound up their wounds counted the number of the stars. Government is just referred to in verse 6, and the emptiness of human strength in verse 10. Apart from these, the psalm sets out grace in Israel and power in creation.

Now the infinite wisdom of all this shines out. The order of heaven has banished the confusion of earth. The meek, shaped to this by being trodden down, can now be lifted up, while the wicked He brings to the ground.

His understanding is infinite — absolutely unlimited. Our own understanding is so limited that we cannot grasp how anyone could have unlimited understanding. Yet if we take our place of nothingness before God, bowing down to the dust, He most graciously lifts us up (v. 5). In contrast, those who want to exalt themselves in wicked contempt for God, He will cast down to the ground (v. 6).

God's dealings with Israel and Jerusalem are what mainly call out the Hallelujahs of Psalm 147. The psalm looks at His glory and might in creation. Yet all that seems to be a background, and against it the kindness of His dealings with His people shines all the brighter. The millennial age will begin with the building up of Jerusalem and the gathering of the outcasts of Israel. Then it is that He will cast down the wicked and lift up the meek, healing the broken in heart and binding up their wounds.

In the governmental ways of God, the proud man will always find opposition, for God resists the proud. In taking a low place the humble will find that they have the support of the grace of God. The flesh loves to assert itself and seek a prominent place. If, however, we humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, He will exalt us in due season.

This is God's way of acting. He never honours us when we are thinking that we are anything. Deep humbling has often come before great blessing, sometimes even humbling in the eyes of others. We were brought low, and the Lord lifted us up.

The four great subjects are mercy (vv. 2-6), providence (vv. 8-11), government (vv. 12-18), revelation (vv. 19, 20).

Verses 4 and 5 celebrate His greatness, His goodness and His judgment. Verses 7 to 9 celebrate His goodness in blessing the earth.

"Praise," says the psalmist here, "is pleasant and fitting." How can anyone acknowledge this glorious God without warmth? If you do no more than receive the sun's rays, you must be warmed. And now Israel is rejoicing in the favour of the One she has strayed from for so long. Jerusalem is built up again. Its outcasts have been gathered. They have found Him to be the healer of the broken-hearted, the Physician for their deep and open wounds.

Verses 3 to 6 declare the glories and the ever blessed perfections of His character. Israel now knows Him and boasts in Him as their Lord. He has shown Himself to them in the wonderful riches of His goodness, and that has filled their harps with new songs of thanksgiving and praise (verse 7). What Israel will taste in their Messiah in the coming day, the Christian finds in Jesus now. In Him the believer sees and knows from experience how Almighty power is joined to the gentle tenderness of perfect love. It is He who counts the number of the stars. He also keeps count of the sheep of the flock He bought with His blood, and the very hairs on His people's heads are numbered, so exact is His care.

Singing to the Lord with thanksgiving is a normal and good response to His grace. The harp is mentioned here too. Its ten strings give a full range of harmony, free to express itself in adoration of the Lord.

If we knew better what these instruments were — and that is disputed — we would no doubt see a distinct meaning in each. All we can say now is that the harp was closely tied to songs of joy.

The clouds gather only to prepare rain. Heaven is always serving the earth, and the result is grass covering even the mountains. That is how the animals get their food, and the young ravens too, whose cry reaches the ears of God. But is this His final aim? Can the horse's strength delight Him? Or a man's legs? No. What rules throughout is moral and spiritual. The man who fears Him, the man who hopes in His steadfast love — he is the creature God delights in.

The nation that was once foolish now speaks with a sound mind about the true foundation of all blessing, in verses 10 and 11. "Not of the one who wills, nor of the one who runs, but of God who shows mercy" — that will be the humble but delighted confession of a renewed Israel in that day. Even now it is the keynote of all true Christian praise.

A further call for praise is found in the providential goodness of the Lord. He orders the clouds and sends the rain, and "makes grass grow" to provide for His creatures.

The clouds gather only to prepare rain. So heaven is in constant service to earth, and the result is grass covering even the mountains. That is how the animals get their food, and the young ravens too, whose cry reaches the ears of God. But is this His final aim? Can a horse's strength delight Him? Or a man's strong legs? No. What rules all the way through is the moral and the spiritual. The man who fears Him, the man who hopes in His loving-kindness — he is the creature God delights in.

If He covers the heavens with clouds, it is to prepare rain for the good of the earth. He even makes grass grow on the mountains, where it may be of no use to man. But He cares for animals too, and provides food for them. The young ravens may seem of no significance to us, but He cares for them also.

All the forces of nature act according to divine laws. "Laws of nature" are but laws of God, the manner in which all things are upheld by the word of His power. He has not given up His rights as the God who governs the world, any more than He has given up His place as Creator. He is sovereign and acts according to His own will, blessed be His name. He makes His sun shine and His rain fall. He sends fruitful seasons that fill people's hearts with food and gladness.

God is Creator and Ruler of the universe, and it delights Him to pour His good gifts on people, even though they do not deserve them and are not grateful. "The LORD is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made" (Ps. 145:9). The Lord Jesus told His disciples to love their enemies, "so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust" (Matt. 5:45). Paul and Barnabas said the same about God: "He did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness" (Acts 14:17). The seasons come and go in a steady rhythm. That is lasting evidence of God's gracious interest in His creatures.

And how good He is! If He opened the windows of heaven all at once, a deluge would sweep all life away. Instead, He makes the drops of rain small, and they fall as refreshment on the place beneath. It is the same with the troubles He sends: the suffering and the grief are, after all, nothing but blessings in disguise for faith.

In Psalm 147 the saints take their place in Jerusalem and Zion to say what He is. He is their God. He builds up Jerusalem and gathers the outcasts of Israel. He heals the broken in heart and binds up their wounds. Verses 4 and 5 celebrate His greatness, His goodness, and His judgment. Verses 7 to 9 celebrate His goodness in blessing the earth.

When He covers the heavens with clouds, it is to prepare rain for the good of the earth. He even makes grass grow on the mountains, where it may be of no use to man. But He cares for animals too, and provides food for them. The young ravens may seem of no importance to us, but He cares for them also (v. 9).

The raven's name comes from a root meaning "to be black," and the law lists every kind of raven as unclean (Lev. 11:15; Deut. 14:14). When these meat-eating birds brought the prophet Elijah flesh as well as bread, it showed God's miraculous power; He made them feed His servant (1 Kings 17:4, 6). They are greedy eaters, and they have no storehouse or barn. Yet God feeds them, and He will surely feed those who trust in Him (Job 38:41; Ps. 147:9; Luke 12:24).

It is not only the great lion, but also the small raven, when his young ones cry to God — there it is, they cry to Him. They do not complain; they cry. They tell their need, and God has put that into them. It is a cry, and God hears it as directed to Himself. "They wander about for the lack of food." But He hears and answers.

God considers the young. It is wonderful to read that the young ravens in their helplessness cry to God. The beasts acknowledge the Creator by their instincts and look to Him for food, even when the sound is not the sweet song of a lark, but only the croak of a raven.

They might seem worthless, or even harmful, and yet He cares for them with perfect wisdom. Will He then fail to watch over His child who knows and trusts Him?

The birds neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns. Yet your (not their) heavenly Father feeds them. They may share the results of a fallen world, as other animals do. Man shares them more than any, since he is their head, a moral creature, and much to blame both directly and indirectly. Still, with no means of their own and no anxious care, our heavenly Father feeds the birds. That is the plain, beautiful, and instructive rule.

He does not delight in those who trust in mere physical strength. He delights in those who fear Him and hope in His mercy.

Again the psalmist turns to nature to show the tender care running all through it. The clouds gather, only to make rain. Heaven is always serving earth, and so grass covers even the mountains. The animals get their food, and so do the young ravens that cry in God's ears. But is this His final aim? Can the horse's strength delight Him? Or even a man's legs? No. What rules all through is the moral and the spiritual. The man who fears Him, the man who hopes in His faithful love — he is the creature God delights in.

Jerusalem, Israel, and creation are the subjects of praise in Psalm 147, and they show the LORD's grace. His government is only mentioned in verse 6, and the emptiness of human strength in verse 10. Apart from these two verses, the psalm shows grace toward Israel and power in creation.

Solomon himself tells us in Proverbs 21:31 that "the horse is made ready for the day of battle." He then adds what he later forgot: "but the victory belongs to the LORD." Yet David wrote, before Solomon began to reign, "The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue" (Psalm 33:17). He wrote again that the LORD's "delight is not in the strength of the horse" (Psalm 147:10). In days of danger the LORD is worth more to His people than regiments of cavalry.

Among the sons of Jesse there seem to have been some fine examples of nature — men whom Samuel, left to his own judgement, would have picked for the throne of Israel... But it was not so. Natural attraction had nothing to do with the Lord's choice. He looks beneath the shiny surface of men and things, and judges by His own principles, which never fail... But the Lord puts no confidence in the legs of a man.

If only men in their strength were redeemed or counted, would it not look as if God took "pleasure in the legs of a man"? (Psalm 147:10) But it is the soul He values, and the soul of an infant is precious in His sight.

The previous Psalm showed how God received more praise from His acts of grace and redemption than from all His acts in creation. Here we see that those same acts of grace and redemption also bring Him more delight than creation does. It is not "the strength of the horse" or "the legs of a man" that God now delights in, though they do show His handiwork. Instead, "the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear Him, in those who hope in His steadfast love."

The power that really does God's work is "of God and not of us." So the first thing that matters is that God's power should plainly do the work, and God should get the glory. Ability, gift and intelligence in a servant are good things, and we should not despise them. But if the servant who has them is tempted to lean on them, or worse, to show them off, God will pass him by. He will use some foolish or unimportant instrument instead, to our astonishment.

Men may take pleasure in the strength of a horse, especially a war horse. But that strength is no pleasure to God, and He places no confidence in the strength of a man's legs either. He does take pleasure in the faith of every person who gives Him the reverent fear of his heart. Such a person expresses the believing expectation (or hope) of His mercy.

Again the psalmist goes to nature to show the tender care displayed throughout it. The clouds gather, only to prepare rain. Heaven is in constant ministry to earth, and so grass clothes even the mountains. The animals receive their food, and the young ravens cry in the ears of God. But is this His final aim? Can the horse's strength delight Him? Or even in man, his legs? No. The moral and spiritual rule throughout. The man who fears Him, the man hoping in His loving-kindness — he is the creature in whom His delight is.

But God's choice of a man to be king does not depend on the outward advantages of nature. God had provided Himself a man from among the sons of Jesse, but had not named him to the prophet. The mere qualities of nature are nothing to God. He has no "pleasure in the legs of a man" (Ps. 147:10). God rebukes Samuel, and instructs us: "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart."

The previous Psalm had shown how God receives praise in His acts of grace and redemption, beyond all that His acts in creation had brought Him. Here we see that the same acts of grace and redemption bring Him more delight than the others.

Nothing gratifies love, we may say from this, like using it. Love does not act to be admired, but to be used. Nothing answers the heart of Jesus so much as drawing from Him and trusting Him. The woman of Samaria went away with a heart filled out of His wells. That refreshed Him far more than if she had stayed to give Him something out of her pitcher — though He needed it then. It let Him say, "I have food to eat that you do not know about." This was Jesus on earth; this is God in heaven. Israel will give Him this delight one day, and every poor sinner gives it now. He knows that the blood of Christ and the righteousness of God are his own precious property. So he takes them, and all things with them, as the gift of grace, with confidence and joy of heart.

In verses 10 and 11 the once foolish nation speaks with a sound mind about the true foundation of all blessing: "So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy." That will be the lowly but delighted acknowledgement of restored Israel in that day. Now it is already the keynote of all true Christian praise.

In Psalm 147 the saints take their place in Jerusalem and Zion to say what He is. He is their God... In verse 12, the song of praise returns to celebrate His ways towards Jerusalem again.

For the third time this psalm calls the people to praise the Lord. They have already praised Him for His restoring grace, which gathered the outcasts and rebuilt Jerusalem. Now they praise Him for His preserving care. That care keeps the gates of the city, maintains peace, and satisfies the needs of His people. It commands the seasons for their blessing. It reveals His mind, and gives His statutes and judgments to Israel.

He who does His pleasure throughout the universe gives peace and plenty to Israel. Zion is therefore especially summoned to join in this praise, for God has especially become her God; and they who have been forgiven much and blessed much should love much and praise much.

Every psalm begins with a call to praise, and Jehovah is still the Name that stirs it. "Praise," says the psalmist here, "is pleasant and fitting." How can anyone know this glorious God and stay cold? If the sun's rays reach you, you must be warmed.

Man can break down, but only the Lord can "build up Jerusalem." We in our folly can scatter the people of God, but only the Lord "gathers in" His outcast people. We can break hearts; only the Lord "heals the brokenhearted." We can open old wounds; it is the Lord who "binds up" our wounds.

Now Zion does not mean simply Jerusalem, for that city too would in the end fall under God's judgment. The Lord founded Zion in His mercy when He stepped in and raised up David, so it has become a symbol of the mercy and grace of God. We see this in a scripture such as Hebrews 12:22. The godly poor among the people will trust in that grace, which Zion stands for. They did so in days that are past. They will do so in days that are to come.

Far greater things lie ahead for Israel than the work of Nehemiah for the remnant who had returned. Yet speaking of that work may have opened the way to their glorious hope, a hope bound up with the Messiah, the kingdom, and all Israel saved at that time. Then it really will be Jehovah building Jerusalem and gathering Israel's outcasts, far beyond the small temporary mercy shown to the Jews brought back from Babylon.

Jerusalem is told to praise the Lord. What a change for that city! Today it is "spiritually called Sodom and Egypt" (Rev. 11:8), and nearby enemies attack it bitterly and without pause. When the people at last see that the Lord Jesus is both their Lord and their God, they will have found the bars of their gates strengthened and their children blessed in the safety of a secure home.

This is the third time in the psalm that the people are called to praise the Lord. They have already praised Him for His restoring grace, which gathered the outcasts and rebuilt Jerusalem. Now they praise Him for His preserving care. That care keeps the gates of the city, maintains peace, and satisfies the needs of His people (vv. 13-14). It commands the seasons for their blessing (vv. 15-18). It reveals His mind, and gives His statutes and judgments to Israel (vv. 19-20).

He is known in Zion as her God. By His power He has silenced the enemies. He has set a border of lasting peace around the beloved inheritance He chose. He has blessed the children of Jerusalem inside her, and His lasting saving strength keeps her gates safe from violence (verses 13, 14).

Jerusalem is told to praise the Lord. What a change for that city, which today is "spiritually called Sodom and Egypt" (Rev. 11:8), and is attacked bitterly and without pause by enemies close by. One day they will realize that the Lord Jesus is both their Lord and their God (v. 12). Then they will find the bars of their gates strengthened, and their children blessed in the safety of a secure home.

Jerusalem now sits in this sunshine, wrapped in the everlasting Arms. Zion has her walls and defences that no enemy can break, and her happy children. Inside her there is prosperity and contentment. These are only the outward signs of God's favour: Jehovah has done this, and it is the seal of God on her forehead.

Psalm 147 — Jerusalem, Israel, and Creation are the subjects of praise, and of the display of Jehovah's grace... That grace also matches the vastness of His power in creation, for the One who bound up their wounds counted the number of the stars... the psalm shows grace in Israel and power in creation.

In this psalm He is to Israel, the remnant, "Our God"; and, with them at peace, praise is pleasant and fitting. How lovely is this peace, and the Lord's prosperity on them! Indeed, "He takes pleasure in those who fear Him, in those who hope in His mercy" — not in their own righteousness.

(vv. 12-20) For the third time in the psalm, the people are called to praise the Lord. They have already praised Him for the restoring grace that gathered the outcasts and rebuilt Jerusalem. Now they praise Him for His preserving care. It keeps the gates of the city, maintains peace, and satisfies the needs of His people (vv. 13-14). It commands the seasons for their blessing (vv. 15-18). It reveals His mind, and gives His statutes and judgments to Israel (vv. 19-20).

Psalm 147 — Jerusalem, Israel, and creation are the subjects of praise, and of the display of Jehovah's grace… That grace matches the vastness of His power in creation, for the One who bound up their wounds counted the number of the stars. The psalm mentions government only in verse 6, and the emptiness of human strength in verse 10. Apart from these, it sets out grace toward Israel and power in creation.

Jehovah has built up Jerusalem and gathered the outcasts of Israel (verse 2) (cp. Isa. 11:12). Zion knows Him as her God. By His power He has silenced the enemies, and set a border of lasting peace around the beloved inheritance He chose. He has blessed the children of Jerusalem inside her, and He keeps her gates safe from violence in the lasting strength of His salvation (verses 13, 14) (cp. Isa. 60).

Jerusalem is told to praise the Lord. What a change for that city, which today is "spiritually called Sodom and Egypt" (Rev. 11:8), and which nearby enemies attack bitterly and without pause. At last they will realize that the Lord Jesus is both their Lord and their God (v. 12), and they will have found the bars of their gates strengthened and their children blessed in the safety of a secure home… The constant pressure of hatred and war is gone forever. In its place come peace within their borders, and the finest wheat given to them.

If Israel had only submitted to the Lord, He would have fed them with the finest of the wheat. No land would have been left waste to stunt the growth of the wheat. Instead there would have been everything it needed to grow well… Yet what Israel has missed for many centuries they will enjoy at last, when they turn to the Lord after the Great Tribulation.

In this way the Anointed One offered Himself to the people as their Saviour King, and He proved to be exactly that to everyone who had eyes to see. In this small picture of the Messiah's own rule, anyone could see that Jehovah was among the people as the Shepherd of Israel. He was seeking the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and leading His flock into the "green pastures" of that ancient prophetic song of praise: "He makes peace in your borders; he fills you with the finest of the wheat" (Ps. 147:14).

And here the believing citizen of the heavenly Jerusalem finds the right words for the worship of his own heart toward the God of His salvation. What Israel will taste in their Messiah in the coming day, the Christian finds in Jesus now.

What a change — from the husks the world offers, to feeding on the finest of the wheat. He who offered Himself by the Eternal Spirit without spot to God is alive from among the dead, and He is our peace. (Eph. 2:14).

For the third time in the psalm, the people hear the call to praise the Lord. They had already praised Him for His restoring grace that gathered the outcasts and rebuilt Jerusalem. Now they praise Him for His preserving care. That care keeps the gates of the city, maintains peace, and satisfies the needs of His people (vv. 13-14). It commands the seasons for their blessing (vv. 15-18). It reveals His mind, and gives His statutes and judgments to Israel (vv. 19-20).

The whole earth is in subjection to Him. The swiftest messengers hurry His commandment throughout it. He gives the snow and scatters the frost; He hardens the water with His cold, and melts it back again with a warmer wind. Nature is soft clay in His hand everywhere, and owns its God.

The Lord speaks to the earth with firm decision, and it submits to His working.

It is sad when we reduce everything to an impersonal nature. We speak as if these things just had to happen, with no reference to anything in particular. But these verses show that God is actively and intelligently behind what men call nature.

Scripture declares the supremacy of "the Word" in the workings of what is called nature, as in 2 Peter 3:5-7. (See Ps. 147:15, 18; Ps. 148:8.)

Psalm 147 raises its Hallelujahs because His word runs very swiftly upon earth. That word does the melting and humbling of the human heart. This is the necessary moral preparation for His stepping in to heal, to gather His people, and to build up Jerusalem.

He can harden the hearts of those who harden themselves against Him, and then can melt them down by His great love.

They might have seen the creative and providential power of Jacob's God, but His mind and laws belonged to His people.

It is very possible for us to misuse the word of the gospel, just as Jacob misused the word about God's statutes and judgments. We may pride ourselves on the light that shines on us, while our hearts stay cold. But if the truth we know melts us, our state will be pleasing to God.

It is sad when we reduce everything to an impersonal nature, as if these things must happen with no reference to anything in particular. But these verses show that God is actively and intelligently behind what men call nature.

And to Him the whole earth is in subjection. His commandment throughout it is hastened by the swiftest messengers. He gives the snow and scatters the frost; solidifies the water with His cold, and melts it back again with a warmer wind. Nature is plastic in His hand everywhere and owns its God.

The Lord speaks to the earth with firm decision, and it submits to His working. Snow is said to be like wool, a covering to keep the earth warm when cold weather comes (v. 16). If frost is called for, He provides it, or hail, at a time when He sees fit. Just as simply, He can by His Word melt snow and hail, and the wind helps this to make waters flow. Similarly, He can harden the hearts of those who harden themselves against Him, then can melt them down by His great love.

The snow and hail are laid up in storehouses — where? Not in some hidden place, in vast masses. Not merely in the invisible vapour filling the sky, as science now would say. Behind all that, those storehouses of mercy and of judgment are in the hand of God. His word produces them — the snow, to protect the grass in winter, and to cool and refresh in summer; the hail, in smiting plagues and sweeping judgments (Isa. 28:17). Cold acting on vapour makes snow, we are told, turning its molecules into crystals of lovely and varied form. Those forms are planned — by whom? Whose laws are fulfilled by these tiny crystals? The working of whose mind do they display?

Then there is the white frost of heaven that those of us who live in cold climates find on our car windows on some cold mornings. We may despise it as we clear it from our windows or shiver while we wait for the defroster to work. But it really is a blessing from the Lord, so that we do not freeze to death as energy leaves the earth. Frost is frozen drops of dew. God has given birth to each of those cold crystals that sparkle in the sunshine! He has sent them for us to enjoy!

Next to its coldness, and perhaps more striking than that, snow is the standard for absolute whiteness, for purity. Perhaps Job did not know that this whiteness comes from pure white light reflecting off the countless faces of its crystals. But what "treasures" of whiteness does God keep in store? He is light. The snow reflecting the sunlight shows how completely His essential righteousness is displayed in that work of redemption. That work lets Him say: "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow" (Isa. 1:18).

In verse 18 the psalm says God sends out His word and melts the snow and ice. In verse 19 it says He shows His word to Jacob, so that Jacob might feel the melting power of His word. Jacob was his name according to nature, whereas Israel was his name according to God's grace given to him.

Frozen water or snow. God asked Job, "From whose womb did the ice come forth, and who has given birth to the frost of heaven?" The Psalms answer it: it is God who "hurls down his crystals of ice like crumbs; who can stand before his cold?"

All this is attributed to GOD and not to nature. "HE gives snow." "HE scatters HIS ice." It is "HIS cold." "HE sends out HIS word." "HE causes HIS wind to blow."

It is sad when we reduce everything to an impersonal nature. We speak as though these things must happen, with no reference to anything in particular. But these verses show that God is actively and intelligently behind what men call nature.

Snow may cover the earth like a burial cloth. Winter may lay its icy hand on man and stop all his activities. Still, it is His snow, His hand, to teach man His supreme power. The beast goes into its shelter; let us too enter the "cleft of the rock," until these troubles have passed. Whether the storm comes in the whirlwind of the south, or from the frozen north, it is only His breath. How good, then, to humble ourselves under His mighty hand!

The Lord speaks to the earth with firm decision, and it submits to His working. He can give such cold that no one can stand before it (v. 17). Just as easily, He can melt snow and hail by His Word, with the wind helping to make the waters flow. In the same way, He can harden the hearts of those who harden themselves against Him. Then He can melt them down by His great love.

Verse 18 says God sends out His word and melts the snow and ice. Verse 19 says He shows His word to Jacob, so that Jacob might feel that same melting power. Jacob was his name according to nature, whereas Israel was his name according to the grace God gave him.

Verses 15–18 celebrate His dealings with the seasons in power. Verses 19 and 20 celebrate His showing His word and judgments to Jacob, as He had not done for any nation. The nations might have seen the creative power of Jacob's God and His care over all things. But His mind and His laws belonged to His people.

In verses 15-18 we see His power in His dealings with the seasons. In verses 19 and 20 we see Him showing His word and judgments to Jacob, as He had not done to any nation. Other nations might have seen the power of Jacob's God in creation and in His care of the world, but His mind and His laws belonged to His people.

But God declares the truth of His Word to Jacob — a weak, undeserving creature of dust. He declares His statutes and judgments to the same nation, but now grace calls them Israel, "a prince with God." Clearly they are in a most favoured position, for God has not dealt with any other nation as He has with them.

He takes pleasure in those who fear Him, in those who hope in His mercy — not in their own righteousness. They also have His word, God's own spoken words. He had not dealt so with any nation.

What pleases Him is not raw physical strength but the right moral condition, as verses 10 and 11 show. That is why He has shown His word to Jacob in verse 19.

God had not dealt so with any other nation. But to Jacob He had shown His word — His statutes and His judgments to Israel (verses 19, 20). If the other nations wanted to know Jehovah, they had to receive that knowledge from this wise and understanding people. God had clothed them with everlasting favour as His chosen priests: the keepers of His truth and the ones who pass it on.

Notice that God has "broken down" the wall that He Himself put up long ago. It would have been sin for anyone else to do it. The godly gloried in that separation, and could say, "He declares his word to Jacob, his statutes and rules to Israel" (Ps. 147:19)… But such distinctions belong to the past. God's present work is the forming of the one body.

So there was a hint of what was in God's mind — to have a redeemed people for Himself, a people to whom He could communicate by His word what was of Himself. (Psalm 147:19-20.) In this way He would have formed them for Himself to show His praise, if only they had the kind of heart that would fear Him and keep His commandments. It will be so when He puts His law inside them and writes it on their hearts.

The possession of His word, His statutes and His judgments was one of the great privileges given to Israel. Romans 3:2 tells us that one of their chief advantages was that "they were entrusted with the oracles of God." He had not dealt in this way with any other nation. At last His word will have its proper effect on them. It will produce the meek and broken heart He desires, and they will be blessed and burst out in a heartfelt Hallelujah. Through God's goodness His word is available for us today. If it humbles us as it should, we too shall be blessed and able to take Hallelujah on our lips.

God's dealings with Israel and Jerusalem are what especially call out the Hallelujahs of Psalm 147. The psalm does look at His glory and might shown in creation. Yet all of that seems to be only a background. Against it, the kindness of His dealings with His people shines all the more brightly.

In verses 19, 20, He shows His word and judgments to Jacob as He had not done to any nation. They might have seen the creative and providential power of Jacob's God, but His mind and laws were His people's.

The law itself was not given until Sinai, and to one particular people. Some say it was given to the whole world. But how could it have been given to the Egyptians? It opens by addressing Israel: "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt." And in Psalm 147:20 we read that He has not dealt this way with any nation, and they do not know His rules. Cain was not under it, yet sin was there (Gen. 4:7). Nor do we read of it during the whole book of Genesis. Yet responsibility was there, and sin, and God's judgment.

Having His word and statutes and judgments was one of the great privileges given to Israel. Romans 3:2 tells us that one of their chief advantages was this: God entrusted them with His own words. He had not dealt in this way with any other nation. One day His word will have its proper effect on them. It will produce the meekness and brokenness of heart that He desires, and they will be blessed and break out in a heartfelt Hallelujah. Through God's goodness His word is available to us today. If it humbles us as it should, we too shall be blessed and able to take Hallelujah on our lips.

In verse 18 God sends out His word and melts the snow and ice. In verse 19 He shows His word to Jacob, so that Jacob might feel that same melting power. Jacob was his name according to nature. Israel was his name according to the grace God gave him.

No other nation had been dealt with so. But to Jacob He had shown His word — His statutes and His judgments to Israel (verses 19, 20). If the Gentiles wanted to learn the knowledge of Jehovah, they had to receive it from this wise and understanding people. God had adorned them with everlasting favour as His chosen priests, the keepers and dispensers of His truth (Zech. 8:23; Isa. 61:6).

Notice that God has "broken down" the wall which He Himself put up long ago. It would have been sin for anyone else to do so. The godly gloried in this. … But such distinctions belong to the past. God's present work is the forming of the one body. Christ has abolished the enmity in His flesh (Ephesians 2:15). Peace is now proclaimed to those far off and to those near, and both draw near to the Father.

In its Hebrew form this is Hallelujah, Praise the LORD, or Jah. The last five Psalms begin and end with this word, this note of praise.

The five closing Psalms form a group by themselves. Each Psalm calls for praise, yet each gives different reasons why the praise should be given to Him. There seems to be an increasing fervour in the call until the climax comes in Psalm 150.

The heavens are called to praise the Lord. The great host of angelic beings are called to praise. Then, descending to creation, the sun, moon, and stars of light add their praise. The highest heavens with the clouds above the lower heavens are called to praise. Let the heavens praise the Lord, for He commanded and they were created, "He spoke, and it came to be" (Ps. 33:9). He established the spheres forever. He decreed their movements, and they will not turn aside from them.

This psalm looks ahead to the glorious praise which will fill the millennial scene. Verses 1 to 6 are taken up with the praises that will fill the heavens. We can hardly dismiss this as a poetic reference to the angels, for the next verse names them. We would suggest it is another of those Old Testament sayings left vague on purpose for the time being. The New Testament gives us added light. Now we can see that God will have a mighty host of heavenly saints in their appointed place when the millennial age comes. Through grace we shall be among them.

There is no hint of the human praises which will one day fill heaven. The only hint is the blank place left at the beginning. That place is indeed ours, and the words "in the heights" may well remind us of it. God is going to show even to rulers and authorities in the heavenly places the immeasurable riches of His grace and His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. We are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ (Eph. 1:3). How it should affect our souls to realise that in us the value of the work of Christ is to find its fullest expression.

These are not intelligent creations of God, yet they are His creation. The very fact of this creation is material for praise to God. "He commanded and they were created." His creative power is celebrated, and so is His establishing and sustaining power that keeps them "forever and ever" (v. 6). His decree can never fail.

All creation is called to praise God, but with the added word — He exalts the horn of His people. It is more than deliverance and mercy. He exalts them in the creation as the people of His favour on earth. He is the praise of His saints, a people near Him. That is a blessed thought. But how far more blessed for us, who will be near Himself, with no veil, in His house and in His presence! Israel is near the Creator, as His people on the earth; we with God our Father in heaven, like the Lord Jesus His only Son.

(vv. 1-6) The heavens are called to praise the Lord. The great host of angelic beings are called to praise. Then, descending to creation, the sun, moon, and stars of light add their share of praise. The highest heavens with the clouds above the lower heavens are called to praise. Let the heavens praise the Lord, for He commanded and they were created, "He spoke, and it came to be" (Ps. 33:9). He established the spheres forever, and decreed their movements, from which they will not turn aside.

Then come the glorious ranks of angels. They are the constant servants of God's blessed will — the "hosts" who always take their appointed places, and who understand and agree with the commands they carry out.

Angels will join in this spontaneous praise, then all the hosts of heaven, including sun, moon and stars, the number of which is beyond our comprehension.

It seems as though the angel's mention of that "Babe" on earth found a response in heaven. At once a heavenly host was there, praising God as their normal service (see Psalm 148:2) and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased!" Men were silent at the birth of Christ, and did not know the greatness of Him who had been born among them. The heavenly company, though, spoke out in praise of the glory which had reached God in the highest.

The full praise of heaven and earth is now invoked, beginning with heaven. There is no hint of the human praises which will one day sound in heaven. We find it only in the blank space left at the start — the place that is truly ours, and which the words "in the heights" may well bring to mind. God is going to show even to the rulers and powers in heavenly places the surpassing riches of His grace and His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. We are the ones blessed with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ. How it should move our souls to realise that the value of the work of Christ is to find its fullest expression in us. We are members of Christ Himself and His joint-heirs, which angels can never be.

When the Lamb comes out, they sing a new song. Notice that the angels never sing. People make them sing, but they never do in Scripture. Angels shout and cry, but there is only one note found with them. Man has all kinds of weaknesses, but he can be tuned; it takes someone like man to be tuned. The angels shout and praise, and that is lovely. And they stand. And at the tomb, two angels sat. But these elders sing a new song.

Psalm 148 follows with Hallelujahs which seem to echo throughout creation. It looks at the glorious praise which will fill the millennial age. The Lord is to be praised from the heavens and in the heights. We can hardly dismiss this as a poetic reference to the angels, for they are specifically mentioned in the next verse... God will have a mighty host of heavenly saints in their appointed place when the millennial age is reached, and that we through grace shall be among them.

Then we come down to the sun and moon and stars. These are material things, and for that very reason they enter the sphere of what we can see. So they become symbols and witnesses of higher things.

These are not intelligent creations of God, yet they are still His creation, and their creation itself gives material for praise to God. "He commanded and they were created." And this praise takes in not only His power as Creator, but His power to establish and sustain, which keeps them "forever and ever" (v. 6). His decree can never fail.

He set the spheres in place forever, and fixed the movements they will never depart from.

Angels will join in this spontaneous praise. Then all the hosts of heaven will join, including sun, moon and stars, and their number is beyond what we can grasp.

Then the angels will praise Him, along with all the hosts of those mighty spiritual beings that Ephesians 1:21 calls "rule and authority and power and dominion". After them come the sun, moon and stars, and everything else God created and set in place to fill the heavens. So in these verses we see the very thing that Revelation 5 shows in a much fuller way. We also see the same order there. In that chapter we first have the worship of the heavenly saints, represented by the twenty-four elders, then the voice of many angels around the throne, and then every creature joins in the praise.

In that day the Devil will be bound in the Abyss. Now he has almost unlimited control over the elements of nature. God is above all, and He overrules Satan's activities for His own glory and for the good of His people. Still, the forces of nature do not always show the true character of God in a public way… But in that day the Psalm speaks of, everything will move only at God's command, and so will set forth His praises.

But if those things praise Him, what about mankind? Great numbers of people today refuse to give honor to their Creator. But then the psalm calls on the "kings of the earth" to do so, and on "all peoples" too. That takes in princes, who hold places of dignity, and judges, who hold authority. It leaves no one out, for it calls "young men and maidens, old men and children" just as much to join in this great symphony of praise to the living God.

The notes of praise swell higher and higher. In Psalm 148 it is heaven and earth which sing His praises. The heights above, the angels, the heavenly hosts, the sun, the moon, the stars, and the heaven of heavens — His eternal dwelling place — all praise Him.

David realised that God's dwelling in the darkness of the holy place did not at all mean that God was confined there. In fact, "heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You" (v. 27). God is infinite (unlimited) and omnipresent (present everywhere). Yet in pure grace He marked out the temple as the place of His dwelling, to focus Israel's thoughts on Him as the Centre of all Israel's interests.

"The waters above the heavens" are no doubt those spoken of in Genesis 1:7. There God called the expanse "heaven" — the heaven close to the earth, the atmospheric heaven.

Most take the "waters that are above the heavens" to be some immense unknown reservoir of waters lying beyond the expanse… But the "waters above the expanse" of the fourth day are simply those stored up in the clouds, and can be nothing else… The use of the expression "heaven of heavens," however, is a difficulty for which I have no explanation; and the truth may lie in another direction.

It is a glorious celebration of Him who fills all things. He is over all, blessed for ever, and He will have worship from His creatures — heavenly, earthly, or in those deeper places human thought may not explore. The waters above the heavens lift up their hands to praise the only Lord (verse 4), though their limits and the purpose of their creation are still hidden from man.

Though these are not intelligent creations of God, yet they are His creation, and the very fact of this creation is material for praise to God. "He commanded and they were created." The psalm celebrates not only His power to create, but His power to establish and sustain, keeping them "for ever and ever" (v. 6). His decree can never fail.

The highest heavens with the clouds above the lower heavens are called to praise. Let the heavens praise the Lord, for He commanded and they were created, "He spoke, and it came to be" (Ps. 33:9). He established the spheres for ever, and decreed their movements, from which they will never stray.

We can hardly dismiss this as being a poetic reference to the angels, for they are specifically mentioned in the next verse. We venture to think it is another of those Old Testament sayings purposely left vague for the moment. The added light of the New Testament shows us more. When the millennial age comes, God will have a mighty host of heavenly saints in their appointed place, and through grace we shall be among them.

Psalm 148 calls first on heaven, and all in it, to take their part in the great Hallelujah. It calls them to praise the LORD, who created them and sustains them in their place… The great Creator whom heaven and earth must praise is the God of Israel, and Israel is His people.

Though these are not intelligent creations of God, yet they are His creation, and their creation itself is reason for praise to God. "He commanded and they were created." This praises not only His power as Creator, but also His power to establish and sustain them "forever and ever" (v. 6). His decree can never fail.

The psalm calls the heavens to praise the Lord. It calls the great host of angelic beings to praise. Then, coming down to creation, the sun, moon, and stars of light add their share of praise. It calls the highest heavens, with the clouds above the lower heavens, to praise. Let the heavens praise the Lord, for He commanded and they were created, "He spoke, and it came to be" (Ps. 33:9). He established the spheres for ever, and decreed their movements from which they will not swerve.

Then come the glorious ranks of angels, the constant ministers of God's blessed will. They are the "hosts" that take their appointed places, in intelligent sympathy with the commands they carry out.

It is God Himself in whom he rejoices, and whom His works make known; it is His name which he celebrates in psalms. This is indeed the joy of joys. Unlike changeable man, what He has done is the real showing of Himself, His nature — and that is what His "Name" implies. So we can know Him better than we can know ourselves: for the heart of man, "who can know it?"

All God's works will praise Him. But only the redeemed have the mind of Christ. Only they can, through the Holy Spirit, enter into the things of God and share in them, whether in grace or in judgment... They praise Him as the Creator, and express their sense of His consequent sovereign claims over all His creatures. It was His will alone that called them into being, and it was by reason of His will alone they continued to exist.

The saints are not yet planted in the heavens, glorified in the likeness of Christ, as they will be. They are on earth among the kings and people and princes and judges that verse 11 speaks of. Their Hallelujahs are faint and feeble as yet... we have to admit that there is nothing much wrong with the snow and wind, or with the mountains, trees, beasts and birds. The only trouble is the blight that the fall of man has placed on them... when man is set right on earth the curse will be lifted off the face of creation.

Let the heavens praise the Lord, for He commanded and they were created, "He spoke, and it came to be" (Ps. 33:9). He established the spheres forever, and decreed the movements they will never stray from.

These things cannot think, yet they are His creation, and the very fact that He created them is reason to praise God. "He commanded, and they were created." His power as Creator is not the only thing praised here. There is also His power to establish and sustain, which keeps them "forever and ever" (v. 6). His decree can never fail.

The next verses give the reason for praise. By Jehovah's word they were created, and they remain before Him in the place His decree has assigned them — impossible to cross, impossible to fail.

His faithfulness — His holding to what He is and what He has said — continues through the changing generations of men. So when we have His word, we can count on it as surely as on what is in heaven; it does not change, and neither does God. He established the earth, and it stands. All continues as God orders it; for — and it is another important truth — all that does exist is the servant of God. Even if He has given them fixed laws, why do they keep them? Because they depend on Him. They are His servants.

Psalm 148 calls first on heaven, and all in it, to take their part in the great Hallelujah, and to praise Jehovah, who created them and sustains them in their place. Then it calls on the earth, with all in it, to join in praising Him whose name alone is excellent.

(vv. 7-13) The earth is called to praise the Lord. The sea monsters and the deep they belong to; the changing elements, lightning and hail, snow and mist, and stormy wind doing His Word; the solid mountains and the hills; the trees and the animals — all of these are called to praise. Last of all comes man, the crown of the earthly scene. Kings and peoples, men and women, old and young are called to join in praising the One whose Name alone is exalted, whose glory is above the earth and the heavens.

The word may mean any great serpent or sea monster, a picture of a huge destructive creature… Scripture calls Pharaoh, king of Egypt, the great dragon (Ezekiel 29:3). As one of God's creatures, the dragon is called on to praise the Lord (Psalm 148:7).

Revelation 5 describes the creatures who praise as "every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea." So earthly things as well as heavenly things will join the chorus… Some translate the word "dragons" in verse 7 as "sea monsters," so the sea as well as the earth is in view in the Psalm, just as in Revelation.

We have now the lower sphere of earth, and here the call for praise is just as wide. We begin with what is strangest and least known: the monsters and the deeps they seem to belong to.

It may seem strange that great sea creatures are called first. This is life mostly hidden from man's view, yet far more plentiful than everything living on the land. "All deeps" is added here. It hints that there are depths beyond what we can see or even understand, and they too call for praise to the Lord (v. 7).

The kings and peoples are not yet subject to God, and all is disorder. The root of the trouble is there. We have to admit that nothing much is wrong with the snow and wind, or with the mountains, trees, animals and birds. The only blight on them came from the fall of man… when man is set right on earth, the curse will lift off the face of creation.

What greets us in this high and beautiful song is the perfect harmony of a freed creation's praise. Its subject is the once-rejected Lord of glory. It is a song worth singing now by a Christian faith that looks ahead, while it still bears the scorn of a world that treats the mystery of a hidden and exalted Christ as little better than a clever fable.

Verses 8 and 9 also look at things that are not intelligent in themselves, but that still affect people in remarkable ways. There is fire and hail, no doubt mainly the fire of lightning. There is snow and cloud, amazing creations of God. And there is stormy wind, sent at set times to fulfil the Word of God. Everyone will see these creations magnify the name of the Lord Jesus when He establishes His millennial kingdom.

Scripture declares the supremacy of "the Word" in the workings of what we call nature, as in 2 Peter 3:5-7. (See Ps. 147:15, 18; Ps. 148:8)

Hail usually forms from natural causes that we may not understand well yet. Even so, Scripture often refers to it as one of the judgements of God. It formed one of the plagues in Egypt... The hail is called upon to praise Jehovah, because it fulfils His word. Ps. 148:8; Isa. 28:2, 17; Hag. 2:17. It will also form a notable part of the judgements of God in His future dealings with this guilty world.

All this display of divine power is to carry out His will. "Praise the LORD... fire and hail, snow and mist, stormy wind fulfilling his word!" (Ps. 148:7-8). Sometimes it is as an "overflowing scourge", sometimes, "You visit the earth and water it; you greatly enrich it" (Ps. 65:9), but always it is God whose actions, plans and purposes are before the eye of faith.

Faith can discern the hand of God behind the schemes of Satan. If Satan is using man to hinder God's purposes, God is using Satan to carry them out. Every kind of agent is at God's disposal. Angels and archangels, saints and sinners, the devil and his demons, all serve to carry out God's plans. The very elements — fire and hail, snow and mist, and stormy wind — are "fulfilling His word" (Ps. 148:8). Nor is it otherwise with the circumstances of life, as we see in the story of Joseph.

Nothing happens but His hand is in it. Stormy wind and rain only fulfil His word. "He causes it to happen, whether for correction, or for His land, or for love" (Job 37:13). This is how we learn the most precious lessons. They are precious because we get past the trial that tests us and reach the loving-kindness of the Lord. Our feet can then stand in a level place.

Now Satan has almost unlimited control over the elements of nature. God is above all, and He overrules Satan's activities for His own glory and for the good of His people. Even so, the forces of nature do not always display the true character of God in a public way... When the Lord was here in humiliation He had to rebuke the winds and the sea (Matt. 8:26). But in that day, which will be full of His praises, there will be no occasion for His rebuke, for the stormy winds shall fulfil His will, like everything else (Ps. 148:8).

Even the stormy wind fulfils His word (Ps. 148:8)... this is the God who loves me! Our hearts bow down before the marvellous wisdom, skill, and greatness of such a God. And this God spans the heavens and measures the sea in the hollow of His hand. Yet He describes Himself as One who notices the falling sparrow and counts the hairs of His people's heads (Matt. 10:29).

(vv. 7-13) The earth is called to praise the Lord. The sea creatures and the deep they belong to; the changing elements — lightning and hail, snow and mist, and stormy wind fulfilling His word; the solid mountains and the hills; the trees and the animals: all are called to praise. Last comes man, the crown of the earthly scene. Kings and peoples, men and women, old and young are called to join in praising the One whose Name alone is exalted, and whose glory is above the earth and the heavens.

The mountains and hills are pictures of solidity. The trees introduce us for the first time to organized things. Next comes animal life — higher, and, in proportion, frailer. Then comes responsible man, in his various roles of responsibility.

In Scripture the cedar always stands for power or high position, if not pride. When the king of Israel wanted to pour contempt on the king of Judah, he compared himself to a cedar and Judah's king to a thistle (2 Kings 14:9). The psalm writer uses it for the prosperity of the righteous, who "grow like a cedar in Lebanon" (Ps. 92:12). When judgment falls on the great of the earth, Isaiah calls it the day of the LORD against the cedars of Lebanon (2:13). These mark the cedar as the symbol of dignity and power.

David's harp is the sign of nature answering in tune under the hand of man, even in its lowest and lifeless forms. It falls to man, God's highest and intelligent creature, to bring out and express these harmonies, to give the silence a voice. If he does not take his God-given place, no one learns what nature can do. Its depths go unmeasured, and God's design and glory in it stay hidden and misunderstood.

The kings and peoples are not yet subject to God, and all is disorder. That is where the root of the trouble lies. We have to admit that there is nothing much wrong with the snow and wind, or with the mountains, trees, animals and birds — except for the blight that man's fall has laid on them. When Satan is thrown out of the heavens, any blight there will be gone. When man is set right on earth, the curse will be lifted off the face of creation.

Then mountains and all hills, each one fulfilling its function as God directs. All these created things will be seen to magnify the name of the Lord Jesus when He sets up His millennial kingdom.

But praise widens out to take in everything: 'from the heavens' (v. 1) and all that are there, and from the earth (v. 7) and all that are there. For the LORD 'commanded and they were created', and 'His majesty is above earth and heaven.'

(vv. 7-13) The earth is called to praise the Lord. The sea creatures and the deep where they belong are called to praise. So are the changing elements — lightning and hail, snow and mist, and stormy wind fulfilling His word. So are the solid mountains and hills, the trees and the animals. Last of all comes man, the crown of the earthly scene. Kings and peoples, men and young women, old and young are all called to join in praising the One whose Name alone is exalted, whose glory is above the earth and the heavens.

After this the animals of the earth will praise Him, though without understanding. This even includes creeping things and birds, which were created before man was (v. 10). But if those things praise Him, what of mankind? Great numbers today refuse to give honour to their Creator. But then the "kings of the earth" are called on to do so, and "all peoples"… No one is left out. "Young men and maidens, old men and children" are just as much called to join in this great symphony of praise to the living God.

Psalm 148 follows with Hallelujahs that seem to echo through the whole creation. It looks ahead to the glorious praise that will fill the millennial scene.

Sin has spread through the whole creation and corrupted everything. We see anger and strife, envy, greed, revenge and violence all through the animal world around us. It runs from the fierce lion down to the little angry bee, from the tame dog to the ravenous wolf… Right now the whole creation groans and suffers together in pain. It waits with eager longing for "the revealing of the sons of God." In the millennial kingdom it will be "delivered from the bondage of corruption." That kingdom is under the sceptre of the "Prince of Peace" and "King of Righteousness," and it is the time of the "liberty of the glory of the children of God."

Noah carried them, "two of every sort," with himself and his household through the waters into the new world. The same covenant that settled him and his descendants there provided just as much for them (Gen. 9:10)… Later Moses redeemed them all out of Egypt… And under the law he sanctified them all to Jehovah — the fruit of the land and of the cattle, as well as the fruit of man. This shows us that Jehovah claimed the whole system as His own… And in the coming kingdom they will still own Him. All will be in subjection to Him and will join in the joy of redemption, beasts and all cattle praising the Lord (Ps. 148:10; Heb. 2:8; Rev. 5:13).

David's harp is a sign: even the lowest, lifeless parts of nature answer and make harmony in the hand of man. It lies with him, God's highest and intelligent creature, to bring out and express these harmonies — to make the silence vocal. If he does not take his God-given place, no one knows what nature can do. Its depths stay unexplored, and God's design and glory in it are hidden and misread. What will its awakening be when the earth is put into the hands of the Second, the ideal Man? How our David will make all nature His harp of many strings, and lead the anthem of praise from all creation!

We now have the lower sphere of earth, where the call for praise is just as universal. Here we begin with what is strangest and least known: the monsters and the deeps. ... The mountains and hills, on the other hand, are types of solidity. The trees introduce us for the first time to organised things. Next comes animal life — higher, and frailer in proportion. Then comes responsible man, in his various characters of responsibility.

If those things praise Him, what about mankind? Great numbers today refuse to give honour to their Creator. But "kings of the earth" are then called upon to do so, "and all peoples." That includes princes, those in places of dignity, and judges, those in authority. Yet no one is left out, for "young men and maidens, old men and children" are no less called to join in this great symphony of praise to the living God.

Here praise is called for from the heaven, and from everyone and everything connected with it — the praise of Jehovah's name. So also from the earth and all below, rising up to the kings and all peoples, of every age, sex, and degree. They are to praise His name set in His people, His holy or godly ones, beyond question Israel's sons. The church reigns with Him Who reigns over all the rest, the universe.

This is the great earthly millennial result, but connected, as we have seen, with a sphere beyond it — all creation... Then from the earth; and here the kings of the earth come in, and all people, princes, and judges of the earth. They are to praise the name of Jehovah, for His name alone is exalted. His glory is above earth and heaven. But He had raised up the horn of His people.

The fellowship of heaven and earth shall then be restored, and Christ, as the true Jacob's ladder, will be the Ruler and Sustainer of it all. The heavens and the earth, the morning stars and the children of Israel, the angels in the heights, and kings with all the people of the earth — they will all praise the name of the Lord together (Ps. 148).

(vv. 7-13) The earth is called to praise the Lord. The sea-monsters and the deep they belong to are called to praise. So are the changing elements — lightning and hail, snow and vapors, and stormy wind fulfilling His Word. So are the solid mountains and hills, the trees and the animals. Last of all comes man, the crown of the earthly scene: kings and peoples, men and maidens, old and young. They too are called to praise the One whose Name alone is exalted, whose glory is above the earth and heavens.

Now we come to the lower sphere of earth, where the call for praise is just as universal. Here we begin with what is strangest and least known; the monsters and the deeps... The mountains and hills, by contrast, are pictures of solidity. The trees bring in organized things for the first time. Next comes life in the flesh — higher, and frailer in the same measure. Then comes responsible man, in his various characters of responsibility. Last of all, here too, come the fixed places they hold in relation to one another, and the limits of their time at either end.

After this the animals of the earth will praise Him, though without understanding. This even includes creeping things and flying birds, things created before man was (v. 10). But if those things praise Him, what of mankind? Great numbers today refuse to give honour to their Creator. But then "kings of the earth" are called upon to do so, "and all peoples." That takes in princes, those in places of dignity, and judges, those in authority. Yet no one is shut out, for "young men and maidens, old men and children" are just as much called to join in this great symphony of praise to the living God.

Here praise is called for from the heaven, and everyone and everything connected with it, the praise of Jehovah's name; so from the earth and all below, rising up to the kings and all peoples, of every age, sex, and degree, to praise His name set in His people, His holy or godly ones, beyond question Israel's sons.

The psalm then takes up Israel's part in this general or universal praise. This is the great result on earth in the millennium, but it is tied, as we have seen, to a sphere beyond it — all creation. "Praise Jah" is still the key-note... Then from the earth; and here the kings of the earth come in, and all people, princes, and judges of the earth. They are to praise the name of Jehovah; for His name alone is exalted — His glory above earth and heaven.

All this joy of heaven and earth is much spoken of. The times of restoration and refreshing are felt all through it. "The presence of the Lord" becomes the exhilarating atmosphere everywhere... But note this: the apostle hangs all this joy of creation on "the revealing of the sons of God" (Rom. 8), and the prophets hang it on the redemption of Israel.

The believer is told to give thanks in everything. Praise can only be known in its full and blessed character in redemption. Yet it is a question whether such praise marks the gatherings of the saints as clearly as it should. No sense of obligation can raise the notes of praise. They can only spring from hearts made "merry" by the enjoyment of redeeming love in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Psalm 148 first calls on heaven, and all in it, to take its part in the great Hallelujah, and to praise Jehovah, who created them and keeps them in their place. Then it calls on the earth, and all in it, to join in praising Him whose name alone is excellent, and whose glory is above the earth and heaven — but who also lifts up the horn of His people, the praise of His saints, a people near to Him. The great Creator whom heaven and earth must praise is the God of Israel, and Israel is His people.

Praise is vocal, "the fruit of our lips, confessing His name" (Heb. 13:15). Praise can be for the Person or for His work. "Let them praise the name of the LORD, for His name alone is exalted" (Ps. 148:13). This is the praise of His name, that which He is. "Praise Him for His mighty acts" (Ps. 150:2) is of course praise for what He has done. Thanksgiving, on the other hand, is for something received.

The Lord Himself is praised, and His name is praised. His name, as distinct from Himself, is the varied honour and dignity He has gained by His mighty acts.

All who were exalted before are brought down to nothing, so that the Lord alone stands exalted. He is worthy of the fullest praise of all creation. This chapter has stressed His glory in connection with heaven and then the earth, since that glory is seen "above the earth and heaven." This looks ahead to the millennium. Joined to this praise is the lifting up of "the horn of His people." The horn speaks of power now given to His saints, and especially to the children of Israel, "a people near to Him." Can any place be more precious than this?

This hallelujah, or song of praise, calls on heaven and earth and everything in them to join in celebrating the glory of the Lord. And it calls for this praise from Israel, whose horn — her majesty — has been lifted up, and to whom "the first dominion," as another Scripture puts it, has now come. The Lord Himself, however, is above all this millennial earth and heaven, in a glory that is His own. His name alone is excellent. (See Psalm 8)

The blight will be gone and the curse lifted when, as verse 13 tells us, the name of the Lord alone will be excellent and His glory revealed. We know how that will happen. Psalm 8 has told us. It will be when the blessed Son of Man is shown openly, with everything under His feet. Then the shouts will wake the heavens! Hallelujah! And again, Hallelujah!

Psalm 148 and Romans 8 seem to give us good reason to include all creation in the homage due to "the Name JESUS."

The horn speaks of exaltation and power. Zacharias, anticipating the birth of Christ, speaks of Him as "a horn of salvation" (Luke 1:69; see also Ps. 18:2; Ps. 75:10; Ps. 148:14).

Psalm 148 calls first on heaven, and all in it, to take their part in the great Hallelujah, and to praise Jehovah who created them and keeps them in their place. Then it calls on the earth, with all in it, to join in praising Him. His name alone is excellent, and His glory is above the earth and heaven. Yet He exalts the horn of His people, and the praise of His saints — a people near to Him. The great Creator whom heaven and earth must praise is the God of Israel, and Israel His people.

Everyone who was once exalted is brought down to nothing, so that the Lord alone is exalted. He is worthy of the fullest praise of all creation. This chapter has stressed His glory in the heaven and then in the earth, since that glory is seen "above the earth and heaven." This is prophetic of the millennium. Joined to this praise is the lifting up of "the horn of His people." The horn speaks of power now given to His saints, and especially to the children of Israel, "a people near to Him." Can any place be more precious than this?

The closing verse holds a phrase of special and touching interest. The children of Israel are called "a people near to Him." They were always near, in His covenant purpose, to His gracious affection; He had loved them with an everlasting love (Jer. 31:3). Once He brought them near (Ex. 19:4). Jehovah carried them on eagles' wings and brought them to Himself. But it was to receive a covenant that soon put them at a hopeless distance. From that far distance He brought them near again. And now He who is the living covenant of grace and truth, the one mediator of blessing between God and man, has joined the people to their God for ever. In that nearness they will glory, with praise that will never end.

In His holiness Jehovah resented the sins of the people of Israel in Balaam's day — "a people near to Him" (Ps. 148:14). Just as surely, the Holy God resented the sins of the believers at Corinth. They were a people nearer still to Him, blessed more richly than Israel ever imagined. Chastisement followed in both cases.

All creation is called to praise God, but with one more word added — He exalts the horn of His people. It is more than deliverance and mercy. He exalts them within creation as the people of His favour on earth. He is the praise of His saints, a people near Him. That is a blessed thought. But how far more blessed for us, who will be near Himself, unveiled in His house and in His presence! Israel is near the Creator, as His people on the earth; we are near God our Father in heaven, like the Lord Jesus, His only Son.

The five closing Psalms form a group of their own. Each one begins and ends with the word Hallelujah, translated "Praise the LORD." Each Psalm calls for praise, yet each gives different reasons why we should give that praise to Him. The call seems to grow more fervent until it reaches its climax in Psalm 150.

At the Red Sea they had sung a song on the morning of their redemption from the Egyptians (Ex. 15). Now, finally delivered from all opposing powers, they are to sing a new song in praise to their God. We have met with the new song in previous Psalms (Ps. 33:3, 40:3, 96:1, 98:1, 144:9); and, apart from Isa. 42:10, this term in the Old Testament only appears in the Psalms, and that for Israel.

God made the first paradise on earth, and, like everything else, He made it "very good." Yet even so lovely a scene gave no fit conditions for song, though man stood at its centre, innocent, upright, thinking and richly gifted. God spoke with man, and man with Him, as the angels also do. But it is the crowning work of redemption, and that alone, which strikes a chord in the heart of God and tunes the heart of man to respond... song is born of salvation!

chasid, "pious toward God," also translated "holy" and "godly." The word occurs often in the Psalms, where God speaks of His saints. Ps. 31:23; Ps. 50:5; Ps. 116:15; Ps. 149:1, 5, 9.

This is the closing hallelujah, the praise of God in His sanctuary — His upper sanctuary, "the firmament of His power." The psalm before it was His praise in the lower sanctuary, "the congregation of saints." There Israel was heard; here it is the heavens.

Psalm 149 calls upon Israel to praise... Still it is now in the congregation of the saints. Israel's relationship is double: Jehovah has formed him for His praise; He is King in Zion. The reasons of praise are then given. Jehovah takes pleasure in His people; but we learn who have this place. He beautifies the meek with salvation.

Praise is to take the form of a new song, completely new in a world whose songs have been anything but true praise to God. It is true in "the assembly of the saints" now, if we consider the assembly to be "the Church of the living God"; but it will only be true publicly as such when the Lord Jesus reigns as King.

Psalm 149 calls upon Israel to praise. Israel's relationship is double: Jehovah has formed him for His praise; He is King in Zion. The reasons for praise are then given. Jehovah takes pleasure in His people.

Praise is to take the form of a new song, completely new in a world whose songs have been anything but true praise to God. It is true in "the assembly of the saints" now, if we take the assembly to be "the Church of the living God." But it will only be true in public when the Lord Jesus reigns as King. Only then will Israel rejoice in their Maker. They will recognise Him as both Creator and King — that is, the Lord Jesus.

It is a new song, to be raised only by the ransomed of Jehovah. It tells of the gladness which Zion's children have in their anointed King. They will make such melody within her walls of salvation in the day when He is recognised and worshipped as the Maker of His new-created people. He once rode in meekly, sitting on a donkey. He entered the city of solemn feasts in this way, as Israel's Judge and Zion's King, and He was rejected and despised. The new song of redemption-praise will be fitting on the lips of Zion's new-born sons. They will say of Him whom their fathers refused, "He is our God." And He will own them, and have pleasure in them, as His people.

Jesus enters the city with royal state. The crowd take the tone of the occasion. Their welcome, their palm branches and their joy fill out the scene of this royal procession. The shout of a King was among them. But the question still was: would Zion rejoice? Would the children of Israel be joyful in their King? Would Jerusalem be glad because He was coming, meek and lowly, and riding on a donkey?

The term Zion always has a metaphorical sense in Scripture. It stands for the stepping in of sovereign grace, in the person of God's chosen king. That was when Israel were completely helpless and the ark had been given into the hands of the enemy. David brought the ark to the city of David. This may be why Zion came to be seen as the centre of blessing, and as a source from which blessing flowed, as it often is in the Psalms. In the prophets' promises of Israel's future greatness, Zion is spoken of as the seat of the Messiah's royal power on earth. In Scripture Zion never means the church. It always means blessing on earth, and it is tied in a special way to Israel, when the ultimate blessing of the nations will come through Israel. Still, Christians now enter into its spiritual meaning, since they are under the reign of grace while here on earth.

These saints are clearly a people on earth. Are they the Church? Are believers now "to execute vengeance upon the Gentiles?" On the contrary, the word now is — "Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord'" (Rom. 12:19). Instead of inflicting "punishments upon the people," the servants are forbidden to pull up the weeds. They are told to let them grow until the harvest.

Psalm 149 calls upon Israel to praise... Israel's relationship is double: Jehovah has formed him for His praise; He is King in Zion. The reasons for praise are then given. Jehovah takes pleasure in His people; but we learn who these people are. He beautifies the meek with salvation.

Praise is to take the form of a new song, completely new in a world whose songs have been anything but true praise to God. It is true in "the assembly of the godly" now, if we take that assembly to be "the Church of the living God". But it will only be true in public when the Lord Jesus reigns as King. For only then will Israel rejoice in their Maker, recognizing Him as both Creator and King, that is, the Lord Jesus.

This is a musical instrument with loose pieces of metal attached, like a modern tambourine. People in the East still love it. You tap it with the fingers.

Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women went out after her with tambourines and dancing. Gladness filled every heart, and came out in music, dancing, and song. They were redeemed, and they knew it on this happy morning. Loaded with the joy of their salvation, they tell it out in these words of gratitude and praise.

He has power as Creator, and He has supreme authority. Added to these, beautifully, is the wonder of His saving grace. The dance, the timbrel and harp accompany the song of praise. "For the Lord takes pleasure in His people; He adorns the humble with salvation" (v. 4). This salvation is not just rescue from enemies. It also clothes His own with pure beauty.

The children of Zion are joyful in their King, and the Lord takes pleasure in His people... God can find His delight in His people, and they find their delight in Him.

No one hears the murmur of the wilderness any more. Its weary discords, its sobs, its pains, its sorrows have given place to the glad "Hallelujah" of God's presence... It is Israel replaced in its own land, in the joy of the kingdom, and in the presence of the King... And what more fitting than such a song! What could be more suitable than instruments of music — the sweetest, the clearest, the loudest — to celebrate the praise of Jehovah?

It will be quite in its place by and by for an earthly people to have the dance and the instrumental music. But we are "holy brothers" who "share in a heavenly calling," and God has given us no warrant for such things now that the Holy Spirit has been here since Pentecost, living in the Christian and in the church. On the contrary, where Scripture speaks of singing in the assembly, it says, "I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also."

This worship does not need musical instruments. In the Old Testament they were only symbols of spiritual worship. But in the coming day Israel's public joy will have such accompaniments.

Israel's relationship is double: Jehovah has formed him for His praise; He is King in Zion. The reasons of praise are then given. Jehovah takes pleasure in His people; but we learn who have this place. He beautifies the meek with salvation... The persons in view here are clear, and so is their position: the meek in Israel, now delivered, and the Lord Jesus, King in Zion, carry out judgment on those who had oppressed them.

In Psalm 149 the great King has been manifested in His glory, and the effect of this is twofold, as verses 2 and 4 show us. The children of Zion are joyful in their King, and the Lord takes pleasure in His people. In that day Israel will have been brought into the reconciliation of the Cross. We have been brought into it now, as Colossians 1:21 tells us; they will be brought into it then. But in both cases the effect of it is the same — God can find His delight in His people, and they find their delight in Him.

But they are to praise Him also as their Saviour. He is taking pleasure in His people; and having brought them into the humbled condition necessary for their exaltation, He will beautify the meek with salvation.

They will be in a fit state of heart and mind to receive the salvation when they can be called "the meek." And the salvation they receive will beautify them. Today God's earthly people — the Jews — are neither meek nor beautiful, if we look at them as a nation; nor were any of us in our natural condition. If there is anything about any of us that is beautiful, it is the fruit of the salvation that has reached us. When Israel at last is humbled and meek she will be like her King, who was meek and brought salvation. His salvation will have beautified her.

Beautifully, the wonder of His saving grace is added to His power as Creator and His supreme authority... This salvation is not just deliverance from enemies. It clothes His own with pure beauty.

Salvation will be like an entrance hall to the glory that the next verse speaks of. There will be a glory on earth as well as glory in the heavens, and in it the saints will exult and be very joyful. They will pour that joy into song and into the high praises of God.

The Lord gives more grace, He resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. Grace upon grace is for the humble (James 4:6). "God shall save the humble" (Job 22:29): and hear his desire (Ps. 10:17); revive his spirit (Isa. 57:15): beautify him with salvation (Ps. 149:4); honour him (Prov. 15:33)... No one can praise grace like the humble soul, "Not I, but the grace of God which was with me" (1 Cor. 15:10). Grace is mercy given for nothing, and the promise is made to the humble.

chasid, "pious toward God," also translated "holy" and "godly." The word occurs often in the Psalms, where God speaks of His saints.

The reasons for praise are then given. The LORD takes pleasure in His people; but we learn who have this place. He beautifies the meek with salvation. Then he can say, Let the saints be joyful in glory. But if the high praises of God are in their mouths, the sword of earthly judgment and vengeance is in their hands. With it they judge the nations and peoples, and bind the mighty ones who had once oppressed them. So it is clear who is in view, and what their place is. The meek in Israel, now delivered, and the Lord Jesus, King in Zion, execute judgment on those who had oppressed them.

Their long history of sorrow over, the day of glory has come, and, at rest, they can sing aloud the praises of God.

At verse 5 the subject changes. It moves from the blessedness of Israel, as a vessel of divine goodness, to the higher and more solemn subject of the nation's honour as God's chosen partner and instrument in His judicial holiness. This had always been part of Israel's calling… They had once howled on their beds under the weight of anguish that the LORD's just displeasure had laid on them. He was their Saviour, yet they had spoken only mischief and revolt against His name (Hosea 7:14-16). But now they sing. They rest upon their beds (Isa. 57:2), every one settled and grounded in the LORD his righteousness.

The joy of the saints will not be clouded by the necessity of evil being judged; rather, evil having already been judged, will be a cause for deeper joy. Saints will be joyful in glory, and will sing on their beds, in rest and relaxation… Praise and the sword may sound contrary to one another, especially for Christians, who are now to love their enemies. But in the end, the praise of God and the judgment of evil will be fully consistent.

These saints are clearly a people on earth. Are they the church? Are believers now "to execute vengeance on the nations"? On the contrary, the word now is — "Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord'" (Rom. 12:19)… The binding of kings and nobles fits a nation called to carry out God's righteous judgments. It is completely foreign to the ways of those who are to follow in the footsteps of Christ. He is the meek and lowly One who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return.

The self-confident man sleeps when he should be awake, and he strikes when he should be quiet… A time is coming when "the godly" will "exult in glory," when "the high praises of God" will be in their throats, "and two-edged swords in their hands, to execute vengeance" (Ps. 149:5-7). But that is at the second coming, not the first. Peter's action was completely out of place, and it invited a sword-stroke on himself.

The joy of the saints will not be clouded by the need for evil to be judged. Once evil has been judged, it will be a cause for deeper joy... These may sound contrary to one another, especially for Christians, who at present are to love their enemies. But in the end, the praise of God and the judgment of evil will be completely consistent.

Jehovah takes pleasure in His people, but we are told who these people are. He beautifies the meek with salvation. Then he can say: let the saints be joyful in glory. But if the high praises of God are in their mouths, the sword of earthly judgment and vengeance is in their hands. It is theirs to use on the nations and peoples, and to bind the mighty ones who had once oppressed them. It was the judgment written.

These saints are clearly a people on earth. Are they the Church? Are believers now "to execute vengeance on the nations"? Not at all. The word for us now is: "Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord'" (Rom. 12:19). Instead of bringing "punishments on the peoples", the servants must not pull up the weeds. They are to let them grow until the harvest.

"The high praises of El" belong with the "two-edged sword", because He is the Strength of holiness, supreme over evil. The use of this Name here is very significant.

But if the high praises of "El" are in their mouth, a two-edged sword is in their hand, for the judgment still has to be carried out... They are Jehovah's saints, and what they failed to do when they first entered the land they must now do in divine power. The land is cleared of the wicked, and the meek are beautified with salvation.

If the praise of God is in their mouth, the sword of government will be in their hand. This is because in the day of glory they will share with the King in His government of the world, carrying out judgment on the enemies of the King. All the saints have this honour.

We may find it hard to put the high praises of God on the lips together with a two-edged sword of vengeance in the hand. We may think the two things do not fit at all. But that is because we are not Israel but Christians. At the beginning of the coming age, God is going to use Israel to bring rebellious peoples into subjection. We are called to show the grace of God before that age dawns. So the only two-edged sword we are called to use is the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. But we also have to remember that we too will have our part in judging the world in the coming age, as 1 Corinthians 6:2 tells us. That will not be by taking vengeance. It will be by managing the affairs of the world to come in a righteous way.

But they will go into the battle "with tambourines and lyres" (Isa. 30:32), or, as this Psalm puts it, "with the high praises of God in their mouth". They will be so satisfied and happy, sure of the results, because the glory is with them.

If the praise of God is in their mouth, the sword of government will be in their hand. This is because in the day of glory they will share with the King in His government of the world, executing judgment on the enemies of the King. All the saints have this honour.

These saints are evidently a people on earth. Are they the Church? Are believers now "to execute vengeance on the nations"? On the contrary, the word now is — "Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord'" (Rom. 12:19). Instead of inflicting "punishments on the peoples," the servants must not pull up the weeds. They are told to let them grow until the harvest.

God used Abraham to execute judgment on the allied kings. He used Israel to destroy the guilty inhabitants of Canaan. He raised up David to subdue the wicked nations around Israel. In the same way, He will use Israel again as one of His instruments to execute judgment on the wicked.

Verse 6 is indeed remarkable. We may find it hard to put together the high praises of God on the lips and a two-edged sword of vengeance in the hand. We may think the two do not fit together at all. But that is because we are not Israel but Christians. At the beginning of the millennial age God is going to use Israel to subdue rebellious peoples. We are called to set forth the grace of God before that age dawns. So the only two-edged sword we are called to wield is the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. But we too will have our part in judging the world in the coming age (1 Corinthians 6:2). That is not by executing vengeance, but by administering the affairs of the world to come in a righteous manner.

A time is coming when the saints will be joyful in glory, with the high praises of God in their mouth and a two-edged sword in their hand, to execute vengeance (Ps. 149:5-7). But that time is the second coming, not the first. Peter's action was entirely out of place.

If the high praises of God are in their mouths, the sword of earthly judgment and vengeance is in their hands. That sword is there to execute judgment on the nations and peoples, and to bind the mighty ones who had once oppressed them. It was the judgment written. So who is in view here is clear, and so is their position. The meek in Israel, now delivered, and the Lord Jesus, King in Zion, execute judgment on those who had oppressed them.

Vengeance must be executed against the nations, and punishment among the peoples. Kings are to be bound with chains, and nobles with fetters of iron. And Israel must do it. They are Jehovah's saints. What they failed to do when they first entered the land must now be done in divine power. The land is cleared of the ungodly, and the meek are beautified with salvation.

Then he can say: let the saints be joyful in glory. But if the high praises of God are in their mouths, the sword of earthly judgment and vengeance is in their hands. They are to carry it out on the nations and peoples, and to bind the mighty ones who had once oppressed them.

The judgment still has to be carried out. Vengeance must fall on the nations, and punishment on the peoples. Kings are to be bound with chains, and nobles with iron shackles — and Israel must do it. They are Jehovah's saints. What they failed to do when they first entered the land, they must now do in divine power.

Believers then will take sides with God completely in carrying out vengeance on the nations (v. 7), with punishment in perfect agreement with justice. Kings and nobles will be bound with chains — the opposite of the high place they hold now through their unbelieving activities (v. 8).

But Christ now comes to judge the poor of the people, to save the children of the needy, and to break the oppressor in pieces. These saints in Israel, snatched by His coming out of the hand of their deadly enemy, now receive their reward. They receive the leading place their oppressors held until now, and they share with Christ in carrying out judgment.

The high praises of God will be in their mouth and a two-edged sword in their hand (v. 6). These may sound contrary to one another, especially for Christians, who at present are to love their enemies, but in the final analysis of the matter, the praise of God and the judgment of evil will be fully consistent.

If the praise of God is in their mouth, the sword of government will be in their hand. In the day of glory they will share with the King in His government of the world, carrying out judgment on the enemies of the King.

The nations are now to meet their punishment for long ages of wrongdoing. Their kings will have no power to stand. They will fall into the hands of these avengers, to be bound and chained. It is the judgment written that is now carried out, and this is the honour given to all His saints.

These saints are clearly a people on earth. Are they the Church? Are believers now to carry out vengeance on the nations? No — the word now is: "Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord'" (Rom. 12:19). Instead of punishing the peoples, the servants are told not to pull up the weeds, but to let them grow until the harvest. Binding kings and nobles fits a nation called to carry out God's righteous judgments. It is completely foreign to the ways of those who follow in the footsteps of Christ — the meek and lowly One who, "when He was reviled, He did not revile in return."

It was an honour given to them to carry out the judgment written, and this will be true of them again, strange as it may sound to us. How different it is now! Those who have been led to discover in Jesus a Saviour… are made God's ministers of love, of mercy, and of grace to a rebellious world.

And with the Lord now among them, they will be the ones who carry out judgment. They will punish peoples, and bind kings with chains and nobles with fetters of iron. In this way they fulfil the prophetic word about Edom (Ezek. 25:14), about the land of Nimrod (Micah 5:6), and about the nations (Jer. 51:20). They will be unstoppable, for the Lord of Hosts will be with them. Who, reading only the earlier Psalms, would have predicted such a future for them?

Jehovah takes pleasure in His people, and we learn who has this place: He beautifies the meek with salvation. Then he can say, Let the saints be joyful in glory. But if the high praises of God are in their mouths, the sword of earthly judgment and vengeance is in their hands. They are to carry it out on the nations and peoples, and to bind the mighty ones who had once oppressed them. It was the judgment written. All His saints have this honour. So it is clear who these people are, and what their position is. The meek in Israel, now delivered, and the Lord Jesus, King in Zion, execute judgment on those who had oppressed them.

These saints are clearly a people on earth. Are they the Church? Are believers now "to execute vengeance upon the Gentiles"? On the contrary, the word now is — "Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God." For it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord" (Rom. 12:19). Instead of inflicting "punishments upon the people," the servants must not pull up the weeds; they are to let them grow until the harvest. Binding kings and nobles suits a nation called to carry out God's righteous judgments; it is completely foreign to the ways of those who follow in the footsteps of Christ — the meek and lowly One who, "when he was reviled, did not revile in return."

No truth is revealed more clearly in Scripture than this. The Lord put the sword of judgment into Israel's hands, and told them to use it with unsparing severity in certain cases (Deut. 20:10-18). It was an honour given to them to carry out the judgment written, and this will be true of them again, strange as it may sound in our ears (Zech. 9; 10; Ps. 149:6-9). How different it is now! God has led some to find in Jesus a Saviour, to know the ransom of their souls by His blood, and to receive in Him, risen and glorified, the free gifts of righteousness and eternal life. He makes them His ministers of love, of mercy, and of grace to a rebellious world.

The need to judge evil will not cloud the joy of the saints. Instead, because evil has already been judged, their joy will run deeper. The high praises of God will be in their mouth and a two-edged sword in their hand (v. 6). These may sound contrary to one another, especially for Christians, who at present are to love their enemies. But in the end, the praise of God and the judgment of evil will be fully consistent.

The saints who come with Christ, the heavenly saints, will share with Him in the judgment of that day (compare Psalm 149:6-9). Then God will take public and formal notice of the acts and words of this daring enemy.

Psalm 150 brings this series to a finish. There is in it only one reference to what God has done: God Himself in His excellent greatness is before the Psalmist's mind. This is of course always the great ultimate theme of praise and worship.

Psalm 150 is a general closing summons to praise Jehovah... in His sanctuary, with all the various instruments of the temple — praise for His mighty acts, praise for His own excellent greatness. Everything that has breath is called to praise Him. It is a loud, chorus-like ending, full of power and energy, suited to the Jewish state and temple service.

God is to be praised "in" certain things — in His sanctuary, in the firmament of His power, "for" or in His mighty acts. The first is His inner dwelling place. The second is the vast expanse of creation where His power works. The third is the actual doings in which His power shows itself. In the world to come, Israel will have the sanctuary of God set up among them, and there they will praise Him. We shall be among the heavenly saints... What praise will rise from the sanctuary on earth! What endless praises from the sanctuary in the heavens!

This is the closing hallelujah — the praise of God in His sanctuary, His upper sanctuary, "the firmament of His power." The psalm before it was His praise in the lower sanctuary, "the congregation of saints." There we hear Israel; here we hear the heavens. His acts and Himself, His greatness and His ways, are the themes of this lofty praise.

It is a great blessing that these five psalms of praise close with a call to earth and heaven to join in the praise of the Lord. God is to be praised in His earthly sanctuary of His holiness, and in the firmament of heaven, where He displays His power and majesty.

The Hebrew word is raqia, meaning 'expanse.' It is used for the sky we see when we look up, and also for the air in which the birds fly. We read that God called the firmament 'heaven'... The Psalmist speaks of them as distinct: "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork."

Psalm 150 gives the full praise to Jehovah in a double character: the sanctuary, and the firmament of His power. His ways come from the firmament of His power, and they were always according to the sanctuary in which He governed Israel and made good the revelation of Himself there. So it is with us. He makes all things work together for good to those who love Him, but He does it according to the heavenly place to which they belong and to which He is bringing them.

Here it is not even "Praise our God," as the earlier psalm was. It rises higher: "Praise God in his sanctuary." The deep sense of what God is reaches beyond the relationship we stand in, though that relationship with Him is the highest we have. Our Father's love, ours and Christ's, is sweet, but we joy in God. Blessed be His name!

The heavenly sanctuary is called to sing praise to God (v. 1). Not one voice in those glorious courts on high may stay silent. They have their own beautiful song to sing in the glories of the Father's house, and in the knowledge of Father, Son, and Spirit fully revealed.

Christ is in the firmament of His power now. He is praised for His acts, praised for His greatness manifested in them. Jehovah is the theme of praise — Jehovah the God of Israel, but Jehovah the Creator and Sustainer of all — the righteous judge.

Psalm 150 brings this series to a finish. There is in it only one reference to what God has done: God Himself in His excellent greatness is before the Psalmist's mind. This is of course always the great ultimate theme of praise and worship.

God is to be praised "in" certain things: — in His sanctuary, in the firmament of His power, "for" or in His mighty acts. The first shows His inner dwelling place. The second is the wide stretch of creation where His power works. The third is the actual deeds in which His power shows itself.

Those bright unfallen spirits live in the firmament of His power. They will be full of His praise, as they always are, though they cannot sound the note of redemption as we do. They will have watched His mighty acts with delight — not only acts of creation but acts of GRACE, which will stir their Hallelujahs.

His mighty acts are the occasion of His power; its measure is His excellent greatness (verse 2). The ones who bring this acceptable incense are the breathing creatures His hand has made (verse 6). His breath is in their nostrils so that His praise may fill their lips.

He is not only to be praised "in" but "according to" His excellent greatness. Now, who is equal to this? No creature, however blessed and exalted, can ever rise to the level of the Creator. Yet in that day praise will surely rise up that is enough — praise that will satisfy the heart of God.

This is, blessed be God, the closing Psalm — the feeble effort, though it is by the Spirit, to express His great praise. Though feeble, it is perfect in its principle and perfect in what it expresses, if not in the way it is expressed, because of the greatness of the One spoken of. And yet it is rightly expressed to perfection, as far as human words can carry it.

In this psalm God alone is named as the object before all hearts. This will be true in heaven and on earth. God's praise will sound in the sanctuary and in the firmament of His power, both for His mighty acts and according to His excellent greatness... Men will then turn to only one object of worship: the True God, the Living God, the Everlasting God, the Maker of all things, the Creator of heaven and earth, the Redeemer too, and the Saviour of His people.

His acts and Himself, His greatness and His ways, are the themes of this lofty praise... Every verse overflows with praise. Every thought is about it. Every object awakens it. Every power uses itself only in this service.

It is Israel put back in its own land, in the joy of the kingdom, and in the presence of the King. The long night is over. The nation has received double for all its sins. Its warfare is finished and its guilt is pardoned. This is the time of its "comfort." What could suit it better than such a song! What could be more fitting than using instruments of music — the sweetest, the clearest, the loudest — to celebrate the praise of the Lord?

The main word used is nebel, and it is thought to refer to some unknown kind of stringed instrument used to accompany the voice. It is at times mentioned along with the harp.

In earth's millennial praise various musical instruments are named (Ps. 149, Ps. 150). But the choral praise of the heavenly hosts is represented by the harp only. The harp and song correspond, as in that of the martyred company of Judah (Rev. 15:2). In the direct praise and worship of the Lord of old, the harp seems to be used more often than any other musical instrument. The reason is its rare mix of solemn, grand notes with soft and tender strains under the hand of a skilful player.

Then He is to be praised with all sorts of instruments, according to the full capacity of each. This waking up of lifeless nature, answering to the touch or breath of man, is a wonderful thing to look forward to. Nature is waiting on man, and so far he has drawn little but discord out of it. But this will be changed... Who will tell us what trumpet and psaltery and harp stand for here? — what spiritual meaning we are to find in them? Most would perhaps think even the thought of it mere fantasy; and we must at least still wait for the answer.

The musical inventions of man's device started in the unblessed house of Cain, who was of that wicked one and killed his brother. Men had long used them to further their unholy joys, as tools of revelry for those who loved pleasure more than they loved God.

But now those once dishonoured instruments are in the hands of worshippers. They have learned by experience that the inventor of true melody is the living Spirit of grace. Pure and delightful harmony will flow freely out at their wise touch. They themselves have been brought into the light of the knowledge of God in the face of Jesus Christ. So they will regard and use the works of their own hands only as welcome tools of His pure worship.

The Psalms were written under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. So we may conclude that this way of celebrating the praises of God fitted the way God was dealing with His people at that time. A call such as "praise him with lute and harp" sits perfectly in the Psalms. But in the New Testament it is "singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart"; and "I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also." "Those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."

Meanwhile the heirs of salvation are waiting, and their anointing as the sons of God is from the Holy One. For them there are harps of purer tone and of a different making — the harps of GOD.

toph. A musical instrument with loose pieces of metal attached, similar to the modern tambourine. This instrument is still a favourite in the East. You tap it with the fingers.

uggab, ugab. A wind musical instrument, of either one or several pipes. Egyptian monuments show a double pipe with holes like a flute. Sometimes several pipes of different lengths were joined together. The syrinx, or Pan's pipe, is still used in Syria, and sometimes has as many as twenty-three pipes.

Praise, and only praise, resounds on every hand. The voice of the enemy is silenced and his power is broken. No one hears the murmur of the wilderness any more. Its weary jarring notes, its sobs, its pains, its sorrows have given way to the glad "Hallelujah" of God's presence. Every heart is happy, and every mouth is filled with song... It is Israel replaced in its own land, in the joy of the kingdom, and in the presence of the King... And what more fitting than such a song! What could be more suitable than using the sweetest, clearest, loudest instruments to celebrate the praise of Jehovah?

The detail in verses 3-5 about the instruments of human worship is full of interest. Man invented these instruments. They began in the unblessed house of Cain, who belonged to that wicked one and killed his brother. For a long time they served the unholy joys of men. They were tools of revelry for people who loved pleasure more than they loved God.

But now those once dishonoured instruments are in the hands of worshippers. Experience has taught them that the inventor of true melody is the living Spirit of grace. Pure and delightful harmony will flow freely out at their wise touch.

The following verses show us Israel praising their God "with" all kinds of instruments of music. These instruments are the work of men's fingers. Today men use them for their own pleasure and praise, just like everything else their fingers make. Then they will be wholly for God. But even when they serve His glory in this way, they will still be lifeless instruments. Men may praise with them, but the instruments themselves do not praise.

This gives Christians no warrant to use such instruments in the worship of God. The mark of the Christian, as the Apostle says, is to "sing with the spirit and with the understanding also." But an earthly people would have an earthly way of expressing their praise. So everything here fits its own time.

It is essential therefore that along with the tuneful voice there should be the melodious accompaniment of the heart. This is to take the place of the musical instruments of the temple worship. The Christian is not invited to praise the Lord with the sound of a trumpet, with stringed instruments and the harp and the loud cymbals. Still, his song should be full of the deep feeling and holy enthusiasm of the inner man.

Ancient musical instruments, made of metal plates struck together. On their own they made no tuneful sound (compare 1 Corinthians 13:1). They worked only alongside other instruments… In Corinthians it is a picture of someone making a show in speaking without love in the heart.

The murmur of the wilderness sounds no more. Its weary discords, its sobs, its pains, its sorrows have given place to the glad "Hallelujah" of God's presence. Every heart is happy, and every mouth is full of song… It is Israel put back in its own land, in the joy of the kingdom, and in the presence of the King. The long night is over… And what more fitting than such a song! What could be more suitable than using instruments of music — the sweetest, the clearest, the loudest — to celebrate the praise of the Lord?

But now those once dishonoured instruments are in the hands of worshippers. Experience has taught them that the inventor of true melody is the living Spirit of grace. Pure and delightful harmony will flow freely at their wise touch… They will regard and use the works of their own hands only as welcome tools for His pure worship. For His glory they themselves had been created and redeemed, according to the riches of His grace.

What a day that will be! Trumpets, lutes, harps, tambourines, stringed instruments, pipes, organs, loud cymbals and high-sounding cymbals — every one of them will serve the work of praise. And more than that, the most tuneful instrument of all is the human voice. It will rise in praise to the Lord amid the sounding of trumpets and the clashing of cymbals. Shall we stop there? "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord."

These verses show us Israel praising their God "with" all kinds of musical instruments. These instruments are the work of men's fingers. Today men use them, like all the other works of their fingers, for their own pleasure and praise. Then they will be wholly for God. But even used this way for His glory, they will still be lifeless instruments. Men may praise with them, but the instruments themselves do not praise.

The Jewish camp had the silver trumpets and the high-sounding cymbals, without a doubt. But what were they worth? Christendom's camp has magnificent organs and orchestras and lovely choirs, without a question. But what about "the fruit of lips, confessing His name"? That is another matter, and that is the thing that counts!

And the finale, the last Psalm! It is the praise to the full. We have seen the "crescendo" of praise in these Psalms and now we reach the "fortissimo," the loudest and the strongest praise. With this the great redemption is complete. This Psalm begins with hallelujah and after this first hallelujah we find nothing but praise — praise Him — praise Him — praise Him! Let all that has breath praise the Lord. Hallelujah!

How glad the singers, how sweet the song! But the call goes out to make the song universal, and to gather every intelligent being into its joy: "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord." Breath means the breath of life, the faintest ability to say anything at all. Let such, and all such, praise the Lord. Hallelujah!

The following verses show us Israel praising their God "with" all kinds of instruments of music. Men made these instruments with their fingers. Today they use them, like all the other works of their fingers, for their own pleasure and praise. Then they will be wholly for God. But even when they serve His glory in this way, they will still be lifeless instruments. Men may praise with them, but the instruments themselves do not praise.

Every instrument in the temple service is to serve His praise. But above all, the voice of man is to sound the praise of the Lord. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord.

Then He is to be praised with all sorts of instruments, according to the full capacity of each. This waking up of lifeless nature, responsive to the touch or breath of man, is a blessed thing to look forward to. Nature is waiting on man, and so far he has drawn little but discord out of it. But this will be changed; and then what glorious music will fill man's home.

Praise can only spring from those that have the "breath" of life. In the coming age there will at long last be an adequate outburst of praise to the Lord, coming from everything that has breath. The curse will be gone, and praise will fill the scene. The Hallelujah chorus will be universal and complete.

"Praise the Lord." So this inspired collection of psalms and hymns and spiritual songs ends as it should, in a grand chorus of praise. It rises from this long-suffering earth, which will soon be set free and full of joy, when the world-kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ has come.

With this call to praise, the Psalter closes. We read of praise beginning, but we never hear of it ending. Sighs and groans have often sounded on earth, and will sound again. Tears, too, have run down many a cheek and soaked many a bed. Sighs and groans will one day stop on earth. But praise will keep rising from this world, sin-stricken as it now is. It will rise when the trials and sorrows of the saints are past, and all on earth are at last enjoying the reign of the Prince of Peace. So the Psalter ends with "Praise the Lord," or "Hallelujah" — the keynote for God's people here below until time is no more.

When the climax of the Psalms is reached, there is no room for any idea except praise to the Lord. "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord." So when we gather, we taste the state of things that will soon overflow in a universe of blessing. We too have no requests to make. We are simply wrapped in a garment of praise.