Psalm 147 on a Hard Week

by Chris Jones

Praise the LORD.

How good it is to sing praises to our God,

how pleasant and fitting to praise him!

The LORD builds up Jerusalem;

he gathers the exiles of Israel.

He heals the brokenhearted

and binds up their wounds.

He determines the number of the stars

and calls them each by name.

Great is our Lord and mighty in power;

his understanding has no limit.

The LORD sustains the humble

but casts the wicked to the ground.

Sing to the LORD with grateful praise;

make music to our God on the harp.

He covers the sky with clouds;

he supplies the earth with rain

and makes grass grow on the hills.

He provides food for the cattle

and for the young ravens when they call.

His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse,

nor his delight in the legs of the warrior;

the LORD delights in those who fear him,

who put their hope in his unfailing love.

– Psalm 147

This is a Psalm I usually love. I particularly love verse 10, which the old King James renders “He taketh no pleasure in the legs of a man”. I have quoted that verse MANY times to dudes whose shorts were a little too short.

However, I have not enjoyed this psalm much lately. As I write this, I am dealing with sinusitis all over my head, a root canal later today, and I just found out my son has strep. When the nasty stuff in this world bears down on you, praise is harder.

But maybe I need this psalm more in times like now. When your reality is endless boxes of tissues and other people sounding like Charlie Brown’s parents because of the congestion in your ears, it’s probably important to read that God gathers exiles, binds up wounds, and heals the brokenhearted.

When your son can’t go to school for two days and you and your wife have already taken sick days this week and one of you will have to smile and awkwardly tell your boss they will have to take another day…. That’s a good time to read that God provides food and rain and lots of other good things.

Maybe these hard times are even opportunities to learn up close and personal that God is trustworthy when He says He will get you through whatever.

That’s what I’m banking on, anyway. Maybe you should, too.