Holy Bible

Praise ye the Lord. Psalm 147:1-11 Genuine worship: David Thomas, D. D. I. THE TRANSCENDENT EXCELLENCE of true worship (ver. 1). 1. It is good. (1) It accords with the constitution of the human soul. (2) It accords with the Divine command. (3) It agrees with the genius of the universe. 2. It is pleasant. It is the grand end of our being, the paradise of our nature; worship is not a means to an end, it is the grandest end, there is nothing higher, it is heaven. 3. It is "comely." Is it not a fitting and a beautiful thing that the greatest Being in the universe should be the most earnestly thanked, that the best Being should be the most profoundly reverenced, that the kindest Being should be the most enthusiastically adored? II. THE SUPREME OBJECT of true worship. 1. What He is in Himself. "Great." 2. In relation to His creatures.(1) To the human family. (a) Building up useful institutions (ver. 2). Schools for the ignorant, hospitals for the diseased, asylums for the poor, etc. (b) Uniting scattered peoples (ver. 2). By the promotion of one language, by the extension of free trade, by the abolition of political and religious difficulties, and by the advancement of one creed — Christ, and one code-His example. (c) Healing broken hearts (ver. 3). (d) Rectifying human conditions (ver. 6). (e) Disregarding martial force (ver. 10). (f) Interested in saintly men (ver. 11).(2) In relation to inanimate nature. He is at work — (a) In the stellar universe (ver. 4). (b) In the atmosphere (ver. 8).(3) In relation to mundane life (vers. 8, 9). ( David Thomas, D. D. ) Master motives to praise W. T. Fullerton. : — The psalms of David, like Christian experience, begin with the blessing of the separated life, and they end with a torrent of praise. The final four psalms each commence and finish with Hallelujah! We may all share in Christ's coronation; none are too weak to bring their praises, none so mighty but He is mightier. The motives I would urge upon you are very simple. I. BECAUSE OF WHAT GOD IS. 1. His character is seen in His works. His understanding is infinite, there is no limit to His power. He is in all things that He has created. The same power made a world and moulds a raindrop. The same wisdom names the stars and knows each blade of grass on the mountain-side. If our spirit be not warped we shall never lack cause for praise. A friend of mine tells me that the way to be always thankful for the weather is to keep a garden; if it is fine you can enjoy the flowers; if it is wet you can stay indoors and say how good the rain is for the garden. If our soul be like a watered garden and we recognize that the Lord cares for us, trial and sunshine will alike bring praise, and we shall ever be able to say, as an old man I know always begins his public prayers, "Lord, we thank Thee for our being and for our well-being." 2. The motive of all His works God finds in Himself. Learn more of Him. Live more with Him and you will praise Him more, until perhaps you will find language, even the language of the Psalms, too unworthy of what He has taught you of Himself, and you will sometimes just be silent and adore. II. BECAUSE OF WHAT PRAISE IS. 1. It is good.(1) If we praise God as we ought we shall be kept from praising ourselves. Surely that is good. I have heard that most self-made men are very apt to praise their maker; indeed we are all liable to sing the praises of self. The sure way of escaping this danger is to fill your heart and mouth with praise to God.(2) Praise leads us to value truly what we receive. The goodness becomes great when the memory of it is abundantly uttered. Praise is the plural of pray. 2. It is pleasant. A Puritan writer says there are some things good and not pleasant, and there are some things pleasant and not good, but there is one thing both good and pleasant, and that is for brethren to dwell together in unity. To which I would only add they should unite in praise. Praise is the instinct of the regenerate soul. What is natural is always pleasant. If your joys abound, praise God. It will shed a glow on the mountain, put a bloom on the grape, add moss to your rose. If sorrow is your portion, praise; however ill your lot you can find something to evoke thanksgiving. 3. It is comely. What can we do but praise? Gifts are bountifully given to us, and we have nothing to offer in return but thanks. We can only give Christ our sins and our praises, if He take the one shall we withhold the other? Nay, let Him have all. We shall see that praise on our part is comely if we lay hold of the marvellous truth that by and by God will praise us ( 1 Corinthians 4:5 ). ( W. T. Fullerton. ) Praise Henry Ward Beecher. : — I. WHAT IS PRAISING? As applied to men, it has a limited use, differing in degree, rather than in kind, from that which is employed in devotion. It is the expression of pleasure, of approval, of gratification in an action, in a course of action, or in the contemplation of one's disposition. All men are limited by manifold imperfections, and therefore it is that praise, as applied to men, must always be partial, and must be but occasional. Applied to God, praise is the experience and the utterance of the soul's admiration and joy in view of the Divine character, or its exhibitions in His moral government, in His providence, and in His grace. Praise always implies admiration and joy, and a disposition to make them known. What dispositions are implied, then, in the act of praising God? It implies, first, a knowledge of Divine manifestations. That is, praise is not merely the utterance of a feeling of pleasure or of gladness that wells up in the heart. Praise is something that is excited in our mind by the knowledge, or the supposed knowledge, of God. The act of praising implies, also, a moral taste that feels and enjoys the noble attributes of God, and the development of them. That is, it implies a moral sensibility to Divine element. It implies, likewise, gratitude, love, joy in the Lord. It is not an act of mere reason, nor of mere will, although both reason and wilt may be implicated in it. It is an overflow of feeling. It may take place consciously. It may take place with preparation through thought and instruction. But the highest forms of praise are spontaneous, irresistible, full of interjections. Such is the praise of the heavenly host. It is that utterance of the soul in its rarer moments, when before it passes, in sublime order, the Divine character, the Divine nature, the Divine government, and the soul is kindled with the prospect, and it gives forth, in language, or with feeling manifested, its own gladness and admiration. The Christian exercise of praising implies a degree of continuity. It is a disposition. It springs from a soul that is always seeing, more or less, the admirableness of God's nature and government, in grace and in providence. Moreover, the act of praising implies faith. That is, those who come to God with praise, as with prayer, must believe that He is. It is impossible to kindle the soul and to pour it forth toward a shadow; toward any being that stands in doubt in our convictions. Besides, the act of praising implies enthusiasm, soul-glow. But it is lyrical. It may dwell in the thoughts, but it is very apt to overflow the rim of thought, and to spill out in words and expressions. II. IN WHAT IS IT TO BE DISTINGUISHED FROM PRAYER? Why sometimes it is prayer. Prayer is the generic of which praise is only a specific element. Every address made consciously to God, whether of supplication, of confession, of simple communion, or of ecstatic praise, is prayer. Prayer, comprehensively, is the soul's communion with God. Praising, then, as one of the elements of prayer, and as distinguished from the other forms of prayer, is not supplication: it is asking nothing. It is not confession: it is not pouring out what we are. It is the soul's expression of admiration in view of the Divine excellence. It is gladness expressed; it is gratitude expressed; it is joy expressed — and all with reference to the manifestations of God Himself. ( Henry Ward Beecher. ) A praiseful spirit : — It is related that Beethoven had his piano carried to the middle of a beautiful field, and there, sunbeams and cloud shadows playing together on the grass, and birds performing their impromptu oratorios, he composed some of his great pieces. We are to come beneath the broad canopy of God's love, and, encompassed by innumerable mercies, we are to make music — the music of thankfulness for tokens of Divine goodness abounding in our lives. The Lord doth build up Jerusalem. Psalm 147:2-5 The greatness and gentleness of God J. Parker, D. D. : — The text reveals the constructive side of the Divine government. I. AS SHOWN IN THE BUILDING OF THE CHURCH. 1. "The Lord doth build up Jerusalem," etc. That He should do so shows — (1) That the Church is self-demolished. (2) That it is self-helpless. (3) That God is the Gatherer, the Redeemer, and the Builder of the Church. 2. It is not God's purpose to destroy. It is His very nature to preserve, extend, complete, and glorify. He does destroy, but never willingly. His arm does not become terrible until His heart has been grieved, until His patience has been exhausted, and until the vital interests of the universe have been put in peril. II. AS SEEN IN THE GENTLE CARE OF HUMAN HEARTS. "He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds." Still, you see how constructive and preservative is God. His work is edification, not destruction. Who cares for broken-hearted men? Who has patience with the weak and faint? The greater the nature, the greater the compassion. 1. The personality of God's knowledge. He knows every bruised reed. Hears suffer in secret; there is nothing hidden from God! 2. The infinite adaptations of Divine grace. Every heart, whatever its grief, may be healed. There is "a sovereign balm for every wound." 3. The perfectness of Divine healing. Other healers say, "Peace, peace, when there is no peace." Others "heal the hurt of the daughter of My people slightly." We are not healed until God heals us. God offers to heal us; our disease and our sorrow are challenges to prove His grace. What of the responsibility of refusal? III. AS SEEN IN THE ORDER, THE REGULARITY, AND THE STABILITY OF CREATION. 1. Creation is a volume open to all eyes. Read it, and see the might and gentleness, the wisdom and patience of God. Jesus Christ taught us to reason from the natural to the spiritual: "Consider the lilies," etc; "Behold the fowls of the air," etc. (1) God takes care of the great universe, may I not trust Him with my life? (2) Where God's will is unquestioned, the result is light, beauty, music: why should I oppose myself to its gracious dominion? 2. Let the Church be of good courage. "When the Lord shall build up Zion, He shall appear in His glory." "The gates of hell shall not prevail." ( J. Parker, D. D. ) He gathereth together the outcasts of Israel. Good cheer for outcasts Does not this showy us the great gentleness and infinite mercy of God? And as we know most of God in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, should it not charm us to remember that when He came on earth He did not visit kings and princes, but He came unto the humble and simple folk. I think you may judge of a man's character by the persons whose affection he seeks. If you find a man seeking only the affection of those who are great, depend upon it he is ambitious and self-seeking; but when you observe that a man seeks the affection of those who can do nothing for him, but for whom he must do everything, you know that he is not seeking himself, but that pure benevolence sways his heart ( Matthew 11:29 ). I also see here an illustration of His love to men, as men. If you seek only after rich men the suspicion arises, and it is more than a suspicion that you rather seek their wealth than them. If you aim only at the benefit of wise men, it is probably true that it is their wisdom which attracts you, and not their manhood: but the Lord Jesus Christ did not love men because of any advantageous circumstances, or any commendable incidents of their condition: His love was to man. hood. Another thing is also clear. If Jesus gathers together the outcasts el Israel, it proves His power over the hearts of men. I. TO WHOM MAY THIS TEXT APPLY? 1. The very poorest and most despised among men. The Lord Jesus Christ looks with love on those whom others look down upon with scorn. 2. Those who have made themselves outcasts by their wickedness, and are deservedly cast out of society. 3. Those who judge themselves to be outcasts, though as to outward actions they certainly do not deserve the character. Now, listen, thou who hast condemned thyself. The Lord absolves thee. Thou who hast shut thyself out as an outcast, thou shalt be gathered; for whereas they call thee an outcast, whom no man seeket, h after, thou shalt be called Hephzibah, for the Lord's delight is in thee. Only believe thou in Jesus Christ, and cast thyself upon Him. 4. Backsliders. 5. Depressed Christians. 6. Those who suffer for righteousness' sake, till they are regarded as the offscouring of all things. Blessed are those who are outcasts for Christi Rich are those who are so honoured as to be permitted to become poor for Him l Happy they who have had this grace given them to be permitted to lay life itself down for Jesus Christ's sake! II. IN WHAT SENSE THE LORD JESUS GATHERS TOGETHER THESE OUTCASTS OF DIFFERENT CLASSES. 1. He gathers them to hear the Gospel. 2. He gathers them to Himself — to blessedness and peace through reconciliation with the Father. 3. He gathers them into the Divine family — makes them children of God — heirs with Himself. 4. In due time He gathers them into His visible Church, and He gathers them into His work. 5. He gathers them into heaven. III. LESSONS. 1. Encouragement to those who are unworthy, or who think themselves so, to go to Jesus Christ to-night. 2. If Jesus Christ received some of us when we felt ourselves to be outcasts, how we ought to love Him! 3. Let us always feel that if the Lord Jesus Christ took us up when we were not worth having, we will never be ashamed to try and pick up others who are in a like condition. ( C. H. Spurgeon . ) He healeth the broken in heart. Psalm 147:3, 4 God's relation to sorrowing souls and to starry systems Homilist. : — I. HIS RELATION TO SORROWING SOULS. "He healeth the broken in heart." There are broken hearts and wounded souls in this world. The whole human creation is groaning. God works here to heal and restore. Christianity is the restorative element He applies — the Balm of Gilead — the tree whose fruit is for the healing of the nations. II. HIS RELATION TO STARRY SYSTEMS. "He telleth the number of the stars." 1. Those who deny God's active relation to both souls and stars. These comprehend those who deny the existence of God altogether, and those who admit His existence, but deny His superintendence in the universe; the latter regard all the phenomena and changes of nature as taking place not by the agency of God, but by the principles or laws which He impressed upon it at first. The universe is to them like a plant,: all the vital forces of action are in itself, and it will go on until they exhaust and die. 2. Those who admit God's active relation to stars, but, deny it to souls. They say that it is derogatory to Infinite Majesty to suppose His taking any notice of broken hearts. He has to do with the great, but not with the little. There are two or three thoughts which make this objection appear very childish.(1) One is that man's great and small are but notions. When I say that a thing is great, all I mean is that it is great to me. To God there is nothing great nor small(2) Another is that what we consider small are influential parts of the whole. Science proves that the motion of an atom must propagate an influence to remotest orbs; that all created being is but one great chain, of which the corpuscle is a link, which, if touched, will send its vibration to the ultimate points. In the moral system facts show that the solitary thought of an obscure man can shake empires, produce revolutions, and reform society.(3) Another thought is that — even on the assumption of our conception of magnitudes being correct — we have as much evidence to believe that God is as truly at work in the Small as the great.(4) Human souls, though in suffering, are greater than the stars in all their splendour.(5) There is higher evidence to believe that God restores souls than that He takes care of stars. The highest proof is consciousness. I infer, from my understanding, that God governs the heavenly bodies, but I feel that "He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds." This thought gives to its objection a contemptible insignificance. 3. Those who profess faith in God's active relation to both, but who are destitute of the suitable spiritual feeling. Antecedently, we should infer that, wherever there could be found a thinking moral nature like man's fully believing in this twofold relation of God — His connection with the heavenly bodies, and with all pertaining to the history of itself — there would be developed in that nature, as the necessary consequence of that faith, life, humility, and devotion. It is said that "an undevout astronomer is mad"; but an undevout believer in God's connection with the universe and man is impossible. Wherever, then, we find apathetic, proud, undevout men professing this belief, we find hypocrites. 4. To what class, in relation to this subject, dost thou belong? Thou wouldst probably revolt at the idea of belonging to either of the former two; but the latter, for many reasons, is worse than either: it is to play the hypocrite, and disgrace religion. Get, then, the true faith in the subject — the faith that will produce this true quickening, humbling, devotionalizing effect — and thou shalt catch the true meaning of life. ( Homilist. ) Healing for the wounded I. A GREAT ILL — a broken heart. The heart broken not by distress or disappointment, but on account of sin, is the heart which God peculiarly delights to heal. All other sufferings may find a fearful centre in one breast, and yet the subject of them may be unpardoned and unsaved; but if the heart be broken by the Holy Ghost for sin, salvation will be ire ultimate issue, and heaven its result. A broken heart implies — 1. A very deep and poignant sorrow on account of sin. 2. Utter inability to get rid of it. II. A GREAT MERCY. "He healeth The broken in heart." 1. He alone does it. 2. He alone can do it. 3. He alone may do it. 4. He will do it. Did Saul of Tarsus rejoice after three days of blindness?Yes, and you shall be delivered also. Oh, it is a theme for eternal gratitude, that the same God who in His loftiness and omnipotence stooped down in olden times to soothe, cherish, relieve, and bless the mourner, is even now taking His journeys of mercy among the penitent sons of men. Oh, I beseech Him to come where thou art sitting, and put His hand inside thy soul, and, if He finds there a broken heart, to bind it up. ( C. H. Spurgeon . ) Christ's hospital : — I. THE PATIENTS AND THEIR SICKNESS. 1. Those whose hearts are broken through sorrow. The text does not say "the spiritually broken in heart," therefore I will not insert an adverb where there is none in the passage. Come hither, ye that are burdened, all ye that labour and are heavy laden; come hither, all ye that sorrow, be your sorrow what it may; come hither, all ye whose hearts are broken, be the heart-break what it may, for He healeth the broken in heart. 2. Those whose hearts are broken for sin. 3. Hearts that are broken from sin. When you and sin have quarrelled, never let the quarrel be made up again. II. THE PHYSICIAN AND HIS MEDICINE. 1. Jesus was anointed of God for this work. 2. Jesus was sent of God on purpose to do this work. 3. He was educated for this work. He had a broken heart Himself. 4. He is experienced in this work. 5. His medicine is His own flesh and blood. There is no cure like it. III. THE TESTIMONIAL TO THE GREAT PHYSICIAN which is emblazoned in the text. I understand it to mean this. 1. He does it effectually. 2. He does it constantly. 3. He does it invariably. 4. He glories in doing it. IV. WHAT WE OUGHT TO DO. 1. Resort to Him. 2. Trust Him. 3. Praise Him. ( C. H. Spurgeon . ) Power and tenderness J. Morlais Jones. : — A great deal of what we call the scepticism of the present day is merely the protest of the human mind for unity. The spiritual world has so often been described as being so utterly unlike this, its laws have been so persistently spoken of as contradictory to the laws of this; warring continually against it, that you could almost think sometimes that if these two worlds are governed at all they must be governed by two different, contradictory, and even antagonistic deities. Man does not like this. It perplexes him. His allegiance becomes divided. He does not like to feel that he belongs to one world, and that he lives with one set of facts, whilst he is working and thinking and studying, and that he is in another world and with another set of facts when he worships and prays. Now, these words start from the fullest recognition of both. The reality of both is implied. I. THE SAME GOD HOLDS SWAY IN BOTH WORLDS. "He healeth the broken in heart. He telleth the number of the stars." The revelation of God is twofold. There is the revelation that He gives in the spirits of men — the revelation that comes to us of God's handling of the souls of men; and there is the revelation which God gives in this material creation outside. Now, let me ask you, shall we not understand God better by keeping the two together? Is it not a loss to separate them? Let me say that the best commentary upon the Bible is science, and the best commentary upon science is the Bible. There are scientific questions being discussed in England at this present moment that never will be settled until people approach them from the spiritual standpoint. And, let me add, our religious conceptions would be strengthened, would rest upon a firmer foundation, and would be healthier and sweeter, if we always remembered the things that have come to us through the physiologist, through the biologist, through the geologist, and through all the men of science. The complete, true understanding of God comes through remembering that He who telleth the stars is also the same who healeth the broken in heart. II. THERE ARE CERTAIN GREAT PRINCIPLES THAT PREVAIL IN BOTH WORLDS. Oh, there is a difference! There is plenty of difference. Why, I have only to read my text again. Broken hearts belong only to one sphere. The shadow of a great disaster is upon our souls. There is nothing like it elsewhere. "The sunshine has a heart of care," said the great English novelist who tried to write poetry and failed; but the care was in her own heart. "The whole creation groaneth and travaileth together in pain until now," said the Apostle Paul. The song of creation is set in the minor key. There is a little bit of something there besides poetry. Suffering is everywhere. Ask the doctor, and he will tell you that pathology is as broad as physiology. One is the shadow of the other. But let us steady our hearts. The same hand that keeps and helps and soothes the poor, bewildered, sorrowing creature, is the Hand that keeps the stars. If we could impress upon ourselves that the soul is as much under law as the body, that the well-being of the soul is determined by conditions as fixed and inexorable as the conditions that determine the well-being of the body, we could command spiritual influences with the same absolute certainty that we could command physical influences. "There is a law of gravitation," you say; "there is a law of the combination of chemical elements." Do not talk nonsense in a church. There is a law of pardon, there is a law of prayer, there is a law of spiritual health and sanctification. In an instant this morning you can, if you like, bring yourself into the current of help which will carry you up to the feet of God. Oh, if we but believed that all spiritual felicity is as much within our reach as the nearest law of nature! "Wilt thou be made whole?" I saw a young boy, the other day, making experiments with an electric battery. The place was full of electricity; but the connection was not established. Just one thing, and the current was complete. "Wilt thou be made whole?" "Yes." Then the current is complete. Cast yourself on the promises of God like a strong man casting himself into the tide. As truly as God leads the stars, can He, will He, heal the brokenhearted. ( J. Morlais Jones. ) He telleth the number of the stars. Psalm 147:4 The stars and the Cross J. T. Davidson, D. D. : — As the best, known constellation in our northern hemisphere is Ursa Major (sometimes called "the Plough"), so the best known, probably, in the southern hemisphere is Cruz Australis , or "the Southern Cross." Each side of our globe has, therefore, its own most conspicuous sign, or group of shining stars. But it is the privilege of those who reside at or near the Equator to command a view of both of these beautiful constellations. Standing within the vicinity of the Line, and looking up, the eye can sweep a wide celestial dome, which includes the Northern Plough on the one side, and the Southern Cross upon the other. Now, it is of extreme importance that intelligent Christians should be able to behold at the same time the two hemispheres of nature and of grace. In the same field of vision we should embrace the Plough and the Cross, and intelligently identify the God of nature with the God of grace. The psalmist David always did so, and notably does so in the passage before us. What particularly strikes me here is the marvellous combination of Divine act. I find three statements, each of which commands our admiring thought, but the union of which — for they are closely bracketed together — is positively startling. Slightly varying the order, for the sake of convenience, I would take the whole as a descending climax, a diminuendo bar, of which the three steps are these: 1. God in the heavens: "He tolleth the number of the stars: He calleth them all by their names." 2. God in the Church: "The Lord doth build up Jerusalem; He gathereth together the outcasts of Israel." 3. God in the home of the afflicted: "He healeth the broken in heart; He bindeth up their wounds." I. GOD IN THE HEAVENS. Do we not well from time to time to turn away from the distractions of this lower world, from the petty interests of this mere grain of sand on which we dwell, and, lifting up our eyes in intelligent contemplation to the glorious canopy overhead, to muse on the magnificent empire of Him "who alone spreadeth out the heavens, and treadeth on the waves of the sea; who maketh Arcturus, Orion, and the Pleiades, and the chambers of the south; who doeth great things past finding out: yea, and wonders without number"? Oh! it will deepen our sense of the condescending love of God shown towards His Church and towards His afflicted people, when we behold His stately and majestic march over the fields of immensity, and see His own hand kindling and trimming every one of those innumerable lamps of heaven! II. GOD IN THE CHURCH There is, as we all know, a literal sense in which the scattered tribes of Abraham's family shall yet be gathered in. "He that scattered Israel shall gather him as a shepherd doth his flock." Not more certain is the fact of his dispersion than is the decree of his restoration. A day is coming when Jacob's captivity shall be turned. But the words have also a wider meaning. Blessed be God, He hath devised means whereby His banished of all nations may be brought back; and He is daily, by those means and in all lands where the Gospel is proclaimed, gathering in the outcasts to His fold; and let me say that never have we better evidence that God is in any particular locality building up His Jerusalem than when the outcasts are being gathered in. The surest token of a prosperous Church is zealous and unwearied effort on the part of its members to win the lost and the lapsed around it to Christ. Oh! let us be stirred by the view of the Divine condescension, by the thought that He who sitteth on the circle of the universe, whose arm swings the solar system round yonder star Alcyone, and who holds in His hand the reins of all those stellar steeds that bound around the circuit of immensity, stoops down to this little planet on which we dwell, not only to build up upon it a Church of ransomed men, but even to go out after those who have been poor outcasts from His fold. III. GOD IN THE CHAMBER OF THE STRICKEN HEART. Oh! is it not a marvellous conception: away from the Bible, man never entertained the shadow of such a thought: the Mighty and Eternal One, from whose hand worlds upon worlds are sent forth like sparks from the blacksmith's anvil, or like chaff from the summer threshing-floor, bending to the humblest ministry of mercy, and putting liniments round the wounded heart! Ah! it is only the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ that can make the text intelligible. Only in New Testament light can we interpret this mystery; but the person and the mission of the Divine Redeemer make all plain. His mediatorial arms stretch "from the highest throne in heaven to the place of deepest woe." In Him the majesty of Divine Omnipotence comes down to the door of human poverty and sorrow. ( J. T. Davidson, D. D. ) "He telleth the number of the stars R. Brewin. Sir Robert Ball says, "The number of the stars visible in England without a telescope may be estimated at about three thousand. Argelander has given to the world a well-known catalogue of the stars in the northern hemisphere, accompanied by a series of charts on which these stars are depicted. All the stars of the first nine magnitudes are included, as well as a very large number of stars lying between the ninth and the tenth magnitude. The total number of these stars is three hundred and twenty-four thousand one hundred and eighty-eight, and yet they are all within reach of a telescope of three inches in aperture. It almost invites us to the belief that the universe which we behold bears but a very small ratio to the far larger part which is invisible in the sombre shades of night." Sir Robert Ball himself estimates the number of the stars at no less than one hundred millions, and an even higher estimate still is given by some astronomers. ( R. Brewin. ) The geometry of God: H. Macmillan, D. D. It was truly said by the famous astronomer Kepler that "God is the great arithmetician." He counts everything that He has made. He makes all things in fixed numbers. He forms the flowers according to certain numerical relations, so fixed and precise that the Linnaean system of classification was based upon them. The roses have five divisions, the lilies three, the seaweeds, lichens and mushrooms two or four, and every other part of their structure is arranged in fives or threes or twos, or by multiplying these figures. Even the little fringe around the mouth of the seed-vessel of a moss growing on the wayside wall, which you can hardly see with your naked eye, if you magnify it with a lens you will find it arranged in exact numbers — four, eight, sixteen, thirty-two — a series in which every number is the double of the preceding one. The leaves of plants are all arranged around the stem on the same principle, and a fir-cone is one of the most beautiful illustrations of it. Crystals are constructed with mathematical regularity. You cannot unite the chemical elements of Nature to form a compound body by chance or in any proportion you please. ( H. Macmillan, D. D. ) Geometry of God H. Macmillan, D. D. : — God counts the number of the stars, and He arranges them in the heaven-s not by chance, but according to a fixed system. In the Solar system, for example, the intervals between the orbits of the planets go on doubling as we recede from the sun. Thus Venus is twice as far from Mercury as Mercury is from the sun; the earth is twice as far from Venus as Venus is from Mercury; Mars is twice as far from the earth as the earth is from Venus, and so on. In this way the planets are arranged in the sky around the sun in the same numerical order as the leaves are arranged around the stem of a plant or the scales around a pine-cone, or the teeth around the edge of the seed-vessel of a microscopic moss. And that extraordinary law, the most universal of all laws, which everything throughout the u

Benson Commentary Psalm 147:1 Praise ye the LORD: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely. Psalm 147:1-3 . Praise the Lord, for it is good — It is acceptable to God, and greatly beneficial and productive of comfort to ourselves. It is pleasant, and praise is comely — “Being the only return man can make for his creation and redemption, and all other mercies; the offspring of gratitude, and the expression of love; the elevation of the soul, and the ante-past of heaven; its own reward in this life, and an introduction to the felicities of the next.” — Horne. The Lord doth build up Jerusalem — It is the Lord’s own doing, and not man’s. He gathereth together the outcasts of Israel — Hebrew, ???? , the banished, or expelled, who had been carried captives out of their own land, and dispersed in divers strange countries. He healeth the broken in heart — Those whose hearts were broken, either with a sense of their sins, or with their afflictions, calamities, and sorrows. He seems to speak peculiarly of the captive Israelites now returned. Psalm 147:2 The LORD doth build up Jerusalem: he gathereth together the outcasts of Israel. Psalm 147:3 He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds. Psalm 147:4 He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names. Psalm 147:4 . He telleth the number of the stars — Which no man can do, for those which astronomers number are only such as are most distinctly visible to the eye, and most considerable for their influences. He calleth them all by their names — That is, “He as distinctly and exactly knows them, how numerous soever they be, ( Genesis 15:5 ,) and how confusedly soever they seem to us to be scattered in the sky, as we do those things which we call by their proper names, and thus he knows how to gather the outcasts of Israel out of all their dispersions, and to find every one of them wheresoever they are.” Psalm 147:5 Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite. Psalm 147:5-6 . Great is our Lord, and of great power — “This is a proper conclusion, drawn from the former part of the Psalm, and especially from the preceding verse. The greatness of God’s power, which overcometh all difficulties, to effect the salvation of his people, is not to be grasped by the human mind; and that wisdom which numbers the stars of heaven, and the sand of the sea, and the generations of the sons of Adam, can itself be subject to the rules of no arithmetic.” The Lord lifteth up the meek, &c. — “To exalt and reward the humble, penitent, believing, and obedient; and to depress and punish the proud, impenitent, unbelieving, and disobedient; these are the measures and ends of all the divine dispensations. And as a man ranks himself in one or other of these two divisions, he may expect from heaven storm or sunshine, mercy or judgment.” — Horne. Psalm 147:6 The LORD lifteth up the meek: he casteth the wicked down to the ground. Psalm 147:7 Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God: Psalm 147:7-9 . Sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving — Hebrew, ??? ????? ????? , literally, answer to the Lord in praise. “Sing alternately,” which may fairly be supposed to be the sense intended by the psalmist, as it was the ancient practice to sing alternately. Celebrate in this way, with your thankful songs, the infinite power, wisdom, and goodness of God. Sing praise upon the harp — Let instruments of music accompany your voices, and exert your utmost ability in his praise. Who covereth the heaven with clouds — Which, though they darken the air, and intercept the beams of the sun, yet contain and distil those refreshing dews and showers which are necessary to render the earth fruitful. Who — By the rain which descends on them; maketh grass to grow upon the mountains — Even the high mountains, which man neither takes care of, nor could water; and gives that grass to the wild beasts that inhabit them, for which man neither does nor can make any provision. And feeds the young ravens which cry — Which, in their way, call upon him for sustenance. And surely this watchful care of the Divine Providence over all creatures, speaks the same language to us which God made use of to Joshua, and which the apostle hath applied to Christians; I will never leave thee nor forsake thee, Joshua 1:5 ; Hebrews 13:5 . For “He who provides food for the wild beasts, will never leave the lambs of his flock destitute; and he who feeds the young of the unclean ravens when they cry, and, as it were, ask a supply of their wants from him, will not, in the day of dearth and calamity, forsake the meek and harmless dove that mourns continually in prayer before him.” — Horne. Psalm 147:8 Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains. Psalm 147:9 He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry. Psalm 147:10 He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man. Psalm 147:10-11 . He delighteth not in the strength of the horse, &c. — As if he needed either one or the other for the accomplishment of his designs: see the note on Psalm 33:16-17 . Mr. Green translates the verse, He delights not in the courage of the horse, nor is pleased with the agility of the warrior; and Bishop Patrick connects it with the preceding verse: and paraphrases it thus: “Let us not doubt, then, but he that takes care of crows will much more take care of us; and not be afraid, though we are of little force, ( Nehemiah 4:3 ; Nehemiah 7:4 ,) and have no armies of horse and foot to defend us: for the Lord, who fights for us, hath no need of these, (4:29,) and will not take part with our enemies, because they are superior to us in the strength of their horses, and the nimbleness of their soldiers.” But the Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him — “He delights to give those his assistance and protection who, worshipping him devoutly, fear to offend him; and having no help in themselves, nor any earthly refuge to flee to, depend, notwithstanding, with a steadfast faith on his infinite mercy.” Psalm 147:11 The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy. Psalm 147:12 Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem; praise thy God, O Zion. Psalm 147:12 . Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem, O Zion — O holy city, O holy hill. For where should praise be offered to God, if not there where his altar is? And where should glory be given to him, if not in his house, the beauty of holiness? Let the inhabitants of Jerusalem praise God in their own houses; let the priests and Levites that attend in Zion, the city of their solemnities, in a special manner praise him. They have more cause to do it than others. and they lie under greater obligations; for it is their business, it is their profession. Praise thy God, O Zion — He is thine, and therefore thou art bound to praise him; his being thine includes all happiness, and therefore thou canst never want matter for praise. Psalm 147:13 For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates; he hath blessed thy children within thee. Psalm 147:13-14 . For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates — Thy strength consists not in thy walls, and gates, and bars, but in his protection. They had walls and gates, and kept their gates barred in time of danger; but that would not have been an effectual security to them, if God had not strengthened the bars of their gates, and fortified their fortifications. Let us remember, the most probable means we can devise for our defence and preservation will not answer the end, unless God give his blessing with them; we must, therefore, in the careful and diligent use of these means, depend upon him for that blessing, and attribute the undisturbed repose of our land more to the wall of fire than the wall of water round about us, Zechariah 2:5 . He maketh peace in thy borders — In all thy land, even to its utmost borders, which are most liable to the incursion of enemies. He puts an end to the wars that existed, and prevents those that were threatened and feared. And he preserves the country in tranquillity, healing all differences between contending parties, and preventing intestine broils and animosities. And filleth thee with the finest wheat — With wheat, the most valuable grain, the finest of that, and a fulness thereof. Canaan abounded with the best wheat, Deuteronomy 32:14 ; and exported it to the countries abroad, Ezekiel 27:17 . It was not enriched with precious stones or spices, but with what was far more valuable, with bread which strengthens man’s heart. That, with abundance of milk and honey, vines and fig-trees, rendered it the glory of all lands. Psalm 147:14 He maketh peace in thy borders, and filleth thee with the finest of the wheat. Psalm 147:15 He sendeth forth his commandment upon earth: his word runneth very swiftly. Psalm 147:15 . He sendeth forth his commandment, &c. — Which is sufficient, without any instruments, to execute whatsoever pleaseth him, either in the works of nature or of providence. For, as the world was first made, so it is still upheld and governed by the almighty word of God’s power. His word runneth very swiftly — The thing is done with out delay or difficulty, for nothing can oppose or retard the execution of his counsel. As the lightning, which passeth through the air in an instant, such is the word of God’s providence, and such the word of his grace, when it is sent forth with commission, Luke 17:25 . Psalm 147:16 He giveth snow like wool: he scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes. Psalm 147:16-18 . He giveth snow like wool — Not only in colour, and shape, and softness, and its falling silently like a lock of wool; but in its covering the earth and keeping it warm, and so promoting its fruitfulness. He scattereth the hoar-frost — Which is dew congealed, as the snow and hail are rain congealed; like ashes — Which it resembles in colour and smallness of parts, and has the appearance of ashes scattered upon the grass. Sometimes also it is prejudicial to the products of the earth, and blasts them, as if it were hot ashes. He casteth forth his ice — Great hailstones, which are of an icy nature, and which are very properly said to be cast forth, or cast down, out of the clouds, and that like morsels or fragments, the particles being congealed in them. Who can stand before his cold? — The cold which he sometimes sends into the air is so sharp and piercing that it would be intolerable if men did not defend themselves from it by houses, clothes, furs, fires, &c. He sendeth out his word and melteth them — To prevent the hurt that might ensue by the continuance of the snow, frost, and cold, he issues forth another command, which as suddenly (see Psalm 147:15 ) makes a thaw. He causeth his wind to blow — The southern, or some other warm wind, sent with commission to dissolve the frost and melt the snow; and the waters flow — The waters, which were bound up, are loosened, and made to flow again, and the rivers return to their wonted course. Psalm 147:17 He casteth forth his ice like morsels: who can stand before his cold? Psalm 147:18 He sendeth out his word, and melteth them: he causeth his wind to blow, and the waters flow. Psalm 147:19 He sheweth his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto Israel. Psalm 147:19-20 . He showeth his word unto Jacob — “That word, the effects of which, upon the spiritual system, are similar to those experienced by nature in the vernal season: that word was showed unto Jacob, and became the property of Israel, while Israel continued to be the church of God. It hath since been made over, with all its types realized, and its prophecies accomplished in Jesus, to the Christian Church.” He hath not dealt so with any nation — But for many ages left all others to their native darkness and blindness, and to those dim discoveries of God, and of themselves, and of God’s will concerning them, which they had from the light of nature. Divine revelation is that peculiar blessing, “which distinguishes the church of God from the rest of the world, and for which her children are bound at all times to praise the Lord.” Psalm 147:20 He hath not dealt so with any nation: and as for his judgments, they have not known them. Praise ye the LORD. Benson Commentary on the Old and New Testaments Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.

Expositor's Bible Commentary Psalm 147:1 Praise ye the LORD: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely. Psalm 147:1-20 THE threefold calls to praise Jehovah ( Psalm 147:1 , Psalm 147:7 , Psalm 147:12 ) divide this psalm into three parts, the two former of which are closely connected, inasmuch as the first part is mainly occupied with celebrating God’s mercy to the restored Israel, and the second takes a wider outlook, embracing His beneficence to all living things. Both these points of view are repeated in the same order in the third part ( Psalm 147:12-20 ), which the LXX makes a separate psalm. The allusions to Jerusalem as rebuilt, to the gathering of the scattered Israelites, and to the fortifications of the city naturally point to the epoch of the Restoration, whether or not, with Delitzsch and others, we suppose that the psalm was sung at the feast of the dedication of the new walls. In any case, it is a hymn of the restored people, which starts from the special mercy shown to them, and rejoices in the thought that "Our God" fills the earth with good and reigns to bless, in the realm of Nature as in that of special Revelation. The emphasis placed on God’s working in nature, in this and others of these closing psalms, is probably in part a polemic against the idolatry which Israel had learned to abhor, by being brought face to face with it in Babylon, and in part a result of the widening of conceptions as to His relation to the world outside Israel which the Exile had also effected. The two truths of His special relation to His people and of His universal lovingkindness have often been divorced, both by His people and by their enemies. This psalm teaches a more excellent way. The main theme of Psalm 147:1-6 is God’s manifestation of transcendent power and incalculable wisdom, as well as infinite kindness, in building up the ruined Jerusalem and collecting into a happy band of citizens the lonely wanderers of Israel. For such blessings praise is due, and the psalm summons all who share them to swell the song. Psalm 147:1 is somewhat differently construed by some, as Hupfeld, who would change one letter in the word rendered above "to harp," and, making it an imperative, would refer "good" and "pleasant" to God, thus making the whole to read, "Praise Jehovah, for He is good; harp to our God, for He is pleasant: praise is comely." This change simplifies some points of construction, but labors under the objection that it is contrary to usage to apply the adjective "pleasant" to God; and the usual rendering is quite intelligible and appropriate. The reason for the fittingness and delightsomeness of praise is the great mercy shown to Israel in the Restoration, which mercy is in the psalmist’s thoughts throughout this part. He has the same fondness for using participles as the author of the previous psalm, and begins Psalm 147:2 , Psalm 147:3 , Psalm 147:4 , and Psalm 147:6 with them. Possibly their use is intended to imply that the acts described by them are regarded as continuous, not merely done once for all. Jehovah is ever building up Jerusalem, and, in like manner, uninterruptedly energising in providence and nature. The collocation of Divine acts in Psalm 147:2 bears upon the great theme that fills the singer’s heart and lips. It is the outcasts of Israel of whom he thinks, while he sings of binding up the brokenhearted. It is they who are the "afflicted," helped up by that strong, gentle clasp; while their oppressors are the wicked, flung prone by the very wind of God’s hand. The beautiful and profound juxtaposition of gentle healing and omnipotence in Psalm 147:3-4 , is meant to signalise the work of restoring Israel as no less wondrous than that of marshalling the stars, and to hearten faith by pledging that incalculable Power to perfect its restoring work. He who stands beside the sick bed of the brokenhearted, like a gentle physician, with balm and bandage, and lays a tender hand on their wounds, is He who sets the stars in their places and tells them as a shepherd his flock or a commander his army. The psalmist borrows from Isaiah 40:26-29 , where several of his expressions occur. "Counting a number for the stars" is scarcely equivalent to numbering them as they shine. It rather means determining how many of them there shall be. Calling them all by names (lit., He calls names to them all) is not giving them designations, but summoning them as a captain reading the muster roll of his band. It may also imply full knowledge of each individual in their countless hosts. Psalm 147:5 is taken from the passage in Isaiah already referred to, with the change of "no number" for "no searching," a change which is suggested by the preceding reference to the number of the stars. These have a number, though it surpasses human arithmetic; but His wisdom is measureless. And all this magnificence of power, this minute particularising knowledge, this abyss of wisdom, are guarantees for the healing of the broken hearted. The thought goes further than Israel’s deliverance from bondage. It has a strong voice of cheer for all sad hearts, who will let Him probe their wounds that He may bind them up. The mighty God of Creation is the tender God of Providence and of Redemption. Therefore "praise is comely," and fear and faltering are unbefitting. The second part of the psalm ( Psalm 147:7-11 ) passes out from the special field of mercy to Israel, and comes down from the glories of the heavens, to magnify God’s universal goodness manifested in physical changes, by which lowly creatures are provided for. The point of time selected is that of the November rains. The verbs in Psalm 147:8 , Psalm 147:9 , Psalm 147:11 , are again participles, expressive of continuous action. The yearly miracle which brings from some invisible storehouse the clouds to fill the sky and drop down fatness, the answer of the brown earth which mysteriously shoots forth the tender green spikelets away up on the mountain flanks, where no man has sown and no man will reap, the loving care which thereby provides food for the wild creatures, owned by no one, and answers the hoarse croak of the callow fledglings in the ravens’ nests-these are manifestations of God’s power and revelations of His character worthy to be woven into a hymn which celebrates His restoring grace, and to be set beside the apocalypse of His greatness in the mighty heavens. But what has Psalm 147:10 to do here? The connection of it is difficult to trace. Apparently, the psalmist would draw from the previous verses, which exhibit God’s universal goodness and the creatures’ dependence on Him, the lesson that reliance on one’s own resources or might is sure to be smitten with confusion, while humble trust in God, which man alone of earth’s creatures can exercise, is for him the condition of his receiving needed gifts. The beast gets its food, and it is enough that the young ravens should croak, but man has to "fear Him" and to wait on His "lovingkindness." Psalm 147:10 is a reminiscence of Psalm 33:16-17 , and Psalm 147:11 of the next verse of the same psalm. The third part ( Psalm 147:12-20 ) travels over substantially the same ground as the two former, beginning with the mercy shown to the restored Israel, and passing on to the wider manifestations of God’s goodness. But there is a difference in this repeated setting forth of both these themes. The fortifications of Jerusalem are now complete, and their strength gives security to the people gathered into the city. Over all the land once devastated by war peace broods, and the fields that lay desolate now have yielded harvest. The ancient promise { Psalm 81:16 } has been fulfilled, its condition having been complied with, and Israel having hearkened to Jehovah. Protection, blessing, tranquillity, abundance, are the results of obedience, God’s gifts to them that fear Him. So it was in the psalmist’s experience; so, in higher form, it is still. These Divine acts are continuous, and as long as there are men who trust, there will be a God who builds defences around them and satisfies them with good. Again the psalmist turns to the realm of nature; but it is nature at a different season which now yields witness to God’s universal power and care. The phenomena of a sharp winter were more striking to the psalmist than to us. But his poet’s eye and his devout heart recognise even in the cold, before which his Eastern constitution cowered shivering, the working of God’s Will. His "commandment" or Word is personified, and compared to a swift-footed messenger. As ever, power over material things is attributed to the Divine word, and as ever, in the Biblical view of nature, all intermediate links are neglected, and the Almighty cause at one end of the chain and the physical effect at the other are brought together. There is between these two clauses room enough for all that meteorology has to say. The winter piece in Psalm 147:16-17 dashes off the dreary scene with a few bold strokes. The air is full of flakes like floating wool, or the white mantle covers the ground like a cloth; rime lies everywhere, as if ashes were powdered over trees and stones. Hailstones fall, as if He flung them down from above. They are like "morsels" of bread, a comparison which strikes us as violent, but which may possibly describe the more severe storms, in which flat pieces of ice fall. As by magic, all is changed when He again sends forth His word. It but needs that He should let a warm wind steal gently across the desolation, and every sealed and silent brook begins to tinkle along its course. And will not He who thus changes the face of the earth in like manner breathe upon frost-bound lives and hearts, "And every winter merge in spring"? But the psalm cannot end with contemplation of God’s universal beneficence, however gracious that is. There is a higher mode of activity for His word than that exercised on material things. God sends His commandment forth and earth unconsciously obeys, and all creatures, men included, are fed and blessed. But the noblest utterance of His word is in the shape of statutes and judgments, and these are Israel’s prerogative. The psalmist is not rejoicing that other nations have not received these, but that Israel has. Its privilege is its responsibility. It has received them that it may obey them, and then that it may make them known. If the God who scatters lower blessings broadcast, not forgetting beasts and ravens, has restricted His highest gift to His people, the restriction is a clear call to them to spread the knowledge of the treasure entrusted to them. To glory in privilege is sin; to learn that it means responsibility is wisdom. The lesson is needed by those who today have been served as heirs to Israel’s prerogative, forfeited by it because it clutched it for itself, and forgot its obligation to carry it as widely as God had diffused His lower gifts. The Expositor's Bible Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.