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Psalms 147
1Praise the LORD, for it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant and fitting to praise him.
2The LORD builds up Jerusalem. He gathers together the outcasts of Israel.
3He heals the broken in heart, and binds up their wounds.
4He counts the number of the stars. He calls them all by their names.
5Great is our Lord, and mighty in power. His understanding is infinite.
6The LORD upholds the humble. He brings the wicked down to the ground.
7Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving. Sing praises on the harp to our God,
8who covers the sky with clouds, who prepares rain for the earth, who makes grass grow on the .
9He provides food for the livestock, and for the young ravens when they call.
10He doesn’t delight in the strength of the horse. He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man.
11The LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his loving kindness.
12Praise the LORD, Jerusalem! Praise your God, Zion!
13For he has strengthened the bars of your gates. He has blessed your children within you.
14He makes peace in your borders. He fills you with the finest of the wheat.
15He sends out his commandment to the earth. His word runs very swiftly.
16He gives snow like wool, and scatters frost like ashes.
17He hurls down his hail like pebbles. Who can stand before his cold?
18He sends out his word, and melts them. He causes his wind to blow, and the waters flow.
19He shows his word to Jacob, his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.
20He has not done this for just any nation. They don’t know his ordinances. Praise the LORD!
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Questions this passage answers
Who is God?
God is the one living Creator who made everything and depends on nothing, and Scripture answers this question mainly by telling us his character rather than by defining his substance. When God described himself to Moses he said he is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abundant in loving kindness and truth, and yet will by no means clear the guilty. The New Testament adds that this God is finally known in Jesus Christ, who has made him known.
Who wrote the Bible?
The Bible was written by many human authors over a long period, and Scripture presents itself as God-breathed rather than as human opinion. Some books name their writer, some do not, and honest study says which is which. Paul calls every Scripture God-breathed, and Peter says no prophecy came by the will of man but that people spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit, which is the Bible's own account of how both authors are involved at once.
Can the Bible be trusted?
Scripture claims to be true and invites examination rather than avoiding it. It says God's word is truth and that it stands when everything else fades, and the New Testament writers appeal to eyewitnesses, named places and public events rather than to private experience. Trust in Scripture is finally trust in the God who speaks in it, and the clearest reason a Christian gives for that trust is that Jesus treated these writings as God's own word.
How should I pray?
When the disciples asked this, Jesus answered with a pattern rather than a technique. Pray to your Father, in private, without performance and without needing many words, because he already knows what you need. The prayer he gave begins with God's name, kingdom and will, then asks for bread, forgiveness and protection. Scripture adds that we may bring everything, that the Spirit helps our weakness, and that we can ask with confidence when we ask according to God's will.