1 Praise the Lord!
For it is good to sing praises to our God;
For it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful.
2 The Lord builds up Jerusalem;
He gathers together the outcasts of Israel.
3 He heals the brokenhearted
And binds up their wounds.
4 He counts the number of the stars;
He calls them all by name.
5 Great is our Lord, and mighty in power;
His understanding is infinite.
6 The Lord lifts up the humble;
He casts the wicked down to the ground.
7 Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
Sing praises on the harp to our God,
8 Who covers the heavens with clouds,
Who prepares rain for the earth,
Who makes grass to grow on the mountains.
9 He gives to the beast its food,
And to the young ravens that cry.
10 He does not delight in the strength of the horse;
He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man.
11 The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him,
In those who hope in His mercy.
12 Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!
Praise your God, O Zion!
13 For He has strengthened the bars of your gates;
He has blessed your children within you.
14 He makes peace in your borders,
And fills you with the finest wheat.
15 He sends out His command to the earth;
His word runs very swiftly.
16 He gives snow like wool;
He scatters the frost like ashes;
17 He casts out His hail like morsels;
Who can stand before His cold?
18 He sends out His word and melts them;
He causes His wind to blow, and the waters flow.
19 He declares His word to Jacob,
His statutes and His judgments to Israel.
20 He has not dealt thus with any nation;
And as for His judgments, they have not known them.
This psalm continues the focus of Psalm 146:6-10, reviewing the various expressions of God’s solicitude for Israel—and for which Israel’s responsive praise is not only obligated, but also good and pleasant. First and foremost in his ensuing review, the psalmist affirms that the Lord builds up Jerusalem (v.2)—referring here not to His “building” of the actual city, but rather, as borne out by the following parallel line, to His regathering of the outcasts of Israel. God also heals the brokenhearted (v.3), referring to His acts of delivering His people from oppression and distress at the hands of more powerful forces—hence the following emphasis on God’s sovereign authority (this being the point of His giving names to all of the stars) and strength (vs.4-5). The psalmist also points to the fact that, just as the Lord gives to every beast its food without showing favor (i.e., giving more food) to animals that are endowed with greater strength, such as the horse (vs.9-10a), so too He shows no favor towards the stronger when expressing His solicitude towards man (v.10b, in which “legs” symbolizes the muscular power that impels a warrior forward)—as particularly manifest in the history of Israel, who were not only not the strongest of peoples, but, from their inception (see Deuteronomy 7:7) onwards, among the fewest and weakest. It is in human weakness—provided that the weak are among those who fear (i.e., worship) the Lord and wait upon His lovingkindness—that God’s power is most manifest (2 Corinthians 12:9). — Wechsler, page 351.
Williams’ take:
Israel’s redemption from Egypt, the healing of the wounds there inflicted, and her formation into a nation, illustrate the greater deliverance now awaiting her, and which she will celebrate when the kingdoms of the earth become the Kingdoms of her Messiah. …
[God’s] power over nature, and His ability to make it serve His creatures, is recognized by His people and excites their praise (vs.7-18). In verses 10-11 He distinguishes between physical and spiritual strength. …
[God’s] election of Israel as the depository of His Word, and as the channel of its communication to the world (vs.19-20), moved both Moses and Paul to wonder and worship (Deuteronomy 4:8; Romans 3:2 and 11:33). — Williams, page 413.
