¹Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant and praise is becoming.

Praising God is personal and emotional—at least, it should be, according to the writer of Psalm 147. The emotive words used in verse 1 tell us that praise is good, pleasant (or delightful, NLT), and becoming (fitting, ESV/NLT/NIV; beautiful, NKJV). These terms describe an experience more than just cerebral and ritual; the calls to sing (vs. 1) and use musical instrumentation (vs. 7) are calls to engage our emotions. There are times, to be sure, when we need to discipline ourselves to praise the Lord; after all, the call to praise is a command, and it occurs five times in this psalm. Of course, our praise should not be mindlessly emotional either, nor should it be endless repetition reflecting only surface knowledge about God. This psalm presents a beautiful, holistic connection with the Lord that is both experiential and saturated with truths about God’s character.

Written in the context of the Jewish community, as we see in verses 2, 12, and 19, this psalm is also appropriate for us today. If the Jewish people in the ancient world could praise God in this way, then we can do the same. In verses 2-6, the Lord is praise-worthy because of His attention and care to the outcasts, brokenhearted, wounded, and afflicted. He always sides with the underdog! He does not favorably judge the wealthy and powerful of this world at the expense of those less fortunate. Indeed, Jesus proclaimed the principle that “Many who are first will be last, and the last, first” (e.g., Mark 10:31). The Lord builds up, gathers together, heals, binds, and supports. What an amazing God we have! We may be tempted to wonder how, with so many needy people in the world, He can care for them all, but we are reminded that, “He counts the number of the stars; He gives names to all of them” (vs. 4). If God knows and names the cosmic bodies individually, how much more does He know us who are created in His image. Toward us, he is “abundant in strength; His understanding is infinite” (vs. 5). He personally “supports the afflicted” over against the “wicked” (vs. 6).

The Lord is praise-worthy because He is Lord over all of nature (vss. 7-11). In an agrarian society, personal livelihood depends on rain, which is foundational to the food chain. The ancient Jews were thus motivated to praise the Lord for the rain that watered the crops and nourished grazing lands for their herds and flocks (vs. 8). In turn, the flocks and herds provided food for the people (vs. 9). For us today, we can praise God for those things in life that affect our livelihood and our paychecks, for the health that enables us to work, and for doctors who help us when we are sick or injured, etc.

Verse 10 contains a curious thought: “He does not delight in the strength of the horse; He does not take pleasure in the legs of a man” (vs. 10). The point is that God’s focus is not ultimately on ensuring that people and animals are healthy specimens. Of course, we need strength to take care of the world God has given us and to carry on with our lives (see Gen. 1:28. 2:15), but as Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4, quoting Deut. 8:3). The Lord wants us to live with profound respect for Him (the meaning of “fear” in this context) and to embrace His lovingkindness (the basis for our relationship with Him); of all the possible criteria on which the Lord could base His relationship with us, these are what He favors most! (vs. 11).

The Lord is praise-worthy because He protects His people, Israel, represented here by the city of Jerusalem, also called “Zion” (vss. 12-14). This promise of protection is not provided as a blank check allowing them to presume upon God’s favor when they stray from His commandments. It follows from verse 11—His favor is on those who fear Him and who understand and live within His lovingkindness. For NT believers, this informs us that God is not mocked; we dare not think that, since we are eternally secure in our salvation, we can act in any way we like with impunity (Gal. 6:7). Indeed, He “sends forth His command to the earth; His word runs very swiftly” (vs. 16). In fact, the Lord is even in control of inclement weather (vss. 16-18), for all natural events are directed by “the voice of the Lord” (Ps. 29:3).

 Praising God does not mean we are freed from our responsibility to obey His words. He expects His words to be obeyed. “He declares His words …, His statutes and His ordinances” (vs. 19). The fact that He has informed us of His expectations is a good thing; it is a blessing. The world is wrong in its charge that Christianity is repressive and based on fear; unbelievers are clueless about the goodness of God’s laws (vs. 20a). But believers willingly and joyfully unite together to praise the Lord, calling others to do the same (vs. 20b).

Lord, I praise You for blessing me with the knowledge of Your ways, which guide me in my decision-making and behavior patterns of life.