PRAISE GOD
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Opening Prayer
As I come to you today, Father, accept my gratitude and praise. As I read your Word, teach me more of yourself and encourage me to follow you more closely.
Read PSALM 147
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
Psalm 147
1 Praise the Lord.[a]
How good it is to sing praises to our God,
how pleasant and fitting to praise him!
2 The Lord builds up Jerusalem;
he gathers the exiles of Israel.
3 He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.
4 He determines the number of the stars
and calls them each by name.
5 Great is our Lord and mighty in power;
his understanding has no limit.
6 The Lord sustains the humble
but casts the wicked to the ground.
7 Sing to the Lord with grateful praise;
make music to our God on the harp.
8 He covers the sky with clouds;
he supplies the earth with rain
and makes grass grow on the hills.
9 He provides food for the cattle
and for the young ravens when they call.
10 His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse,
nor his delight in the legs of the warrior;
11 the Lord delights in those who fear him,
who put their hope in his unfailing love.
12 Extol the Lord, Jerusalem;
praise your God, Zion.
13 He strengthens the bars of your gates
and blesses your people within you.
14 He grants peace to your borders
and satisfies you with the finest of wheat.
15 He sends his command to the earth;
his word runs swiftly.
16 He spreads the snow like wool
and scatters the frost like ashes.
17 He hurls down his hail like pebbles.
Who can withstand his icy blast?
18 He sends his word and melts them;
he stirs up his breezes, and the waters flow.
19 He has revealed his word to Jacob,
his laws and decrees to Israel.
20 He has done this for no other nation;
they do not know his laws.[b]
Praise the Lord.
Footnotes
- Psalm 147:1 Hebrew Hallelu Yah; also in verse 20
- Psalm 147:20 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint nation; / he has not made his laws known to them
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Offer your own song of praise to God or listen to ‘How good it is to sing,’ which is based on Psalm 147.*This is a song written for those returning to Israel following their 70 years in exile in Babylon. Jerusalem is still in ruins (v. 2), and the people still carry the mental and emotional scars from their time in Babylon (vv. 3, 6), but their years of exile have given them a greater appreciation for God (see 2 Chronicles 36:21–23), whom they had previously taken for granted. Their return is a sign of God’s continu- ing goodness, power, and love (vv. 5, 11).
How has your love for God and appreciation for his goodness grown through tough times? Perhaps you wandered away from God for a time, but he has gathered (v. 2) you back into his people, the church. Reflect on the times he has ‘bound up your wounds,’ restoring you and comforting you. In what ways has he provided for you (vv. 8, 9)? When has he given you the security and space you needed to thrive (v. 13, 14)?
The returning exiles had a new appreciation for their unique relationship with God (vv. 19, 20)! Hebrews 1:2 declares that we have an even greater privilege (‘… in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son’). Is it one we take for granted?
Apply
Use the questions within our reflection today to build your own personal list of praise for what God has done in your life and your community.
Closing prayer
Lord Jesus, in good times and bad, each day holds infinite reasons for me to thank you and offer you praise. Give me a heart that is ever mindful of your goodness to me.
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