He delighteth not in the strength of the horse, he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man;
The psalm has just praised God for clouds, rain, grass, and food for cattle and young ravens. Now it turns from what He supplies to what He values, and it names two things that leave Him unmoved.
The list of God's care for His creatures builds to a climax, and the climax is not an animal at all. One writer traces the movement of thought through the whole passage:
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.
One writer places the verse within the plan of the psalm:
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.
In the Bible the horse stands for war power. Solomon wrote down where safety really comes from, and then forgot it:
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.
The "legs of a man" means physical strength and an impressive build. That is exactly what God passed over when He chose Israel's king:
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.
God's own way of counting people makes the point. One writer asks what it would mean if only strong men were counted:
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.
This verse is only half a sentence. The next line says what God does delight in, and one writer reads it beside the psalm before:
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."
Being gifted is not the problem. Leaning on the gift is. That matters for anyone who serves God:
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.
- Not delight — the verse names two peaks of created power: the war-horse and the strong man. God's pleasure rests on neither.
- But delight — He takes pleasure in those who fear Him and hope in His steadfast love. Grace and redemption please Him more than anything in creation.
- The soul, not the strength — He counts an infant a month old as precious, because it is the soul He values.
- The choice of David — natural attraction had nothing to do with God's choice. He looks beneath the surface.
- The warning for the gifted — ability is a good thing. But a servant who leans on it, or shows it off, may find God using someone else.
Jehovah taketh pleasure in those that fear him, in those that hope in his loving-kindness.
Psalm 147 praises God for numbering the stars, sending rain and feeding ravens. Then it stops to ask what pleases Him. Verse 11 gives the answer, and it names two things no creature can boast about: fear of Him, and hope in His mercy.
The verse gains its force from what comes just before it. Verse 10 rules out two things people have always admired: animal power and human fitness. One writer sets out the contrast:
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.
One writer traces the psalm's argument up to its peak:
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.
This principle is not theory; it decided who would be king of Israel. God sent the prophet Samuel to anoint one of Jesse's sons, and Samuel's eye went to the impressive one:
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."
Set beside the psalm before it, verse 11 shows what delights God most:
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.
So hoping in His mercy is not just allowed — it pleases Him. Bellett explains why from the way love works, and points to Jesus and a woman at a well in Samaria:
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.
Commentators read this psalm as looking ahead to a day when Israel is restored. Verses 10 and 11 become the nation's own confession of where blessing comes from:
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.
- Not strength. God's pleasure does not rest on a horse's power or a man's fitness. What people admire does not move Him.
- Not appearance. The same rule rejected Eliab: outward advantage counts for nothing when God chooses a man.
- But fear. Above rain, grass and fed ravens, the creature who fears Him is the one in whom His delight rests.
- And hope. He takes pleasure in those who hope in His mercy, because love wants to be used, not admired.
- So praise. Blessing rests on God who shows mercy, not on human will or effort. So praise, not boasting, is the keynote.