Commentary - Psalm 147:7-11

Bird's-eye view

This portion of Psalm 147 is a call to worship God rightly, which means worshiping Him for the right reasons. The psalmist moves seamlessly from the duty of thanksgiving to the foundation of that thanksgiving. And what is that foundation? It is the potent reality of God's personal, sovereign, and detailed providence over all things, from the clouds in the sky down to the cry of a baby raven. This section then pivots to a sharp and necessary contrast. Having established God's attentive care over creation, the psalmist declares what does not impress this God. He is not impressed with the things men trust in: military might, physical prowess, raw human strength. Instead, God's pleasure is found in a particular kind of person, the one who fears Him and who waits for His lovingkindness. This is the gospel in miniature. We are called to abandon all trust in our own strength and to place our entire hope in God's covenant mercy.

Outline

Commentary

Psalm 147:7

7 Sing to Yahweh with thanksgiving; Sing praises to our God on the lyre.

The summons here is twofold, but the substance is one. We are to sing to Yahweh, and the content of that song is to be thanksgiving. This is not a call to some vague, sentimental feeling. Thanksgiving is a weapon. It is a declaration of facts. We are thankful for something, which means we are acknowledging a Giver and His gifts. This is the ground floor of all true worship. Ungrateful worship is a contradiction in terms. And this is not a silent, internal affair. It is to be sung, and sung with musical instruments. The lyre, or harp, was an instrument for corporate, public praise. This is the joyful noise of a redeemed people who know they have been given everything and have earned nothing. This is the sound of the commonwealth of Israel, gathered and glad.

Psalm 147:8

8 He is the One who covers the heavens with clouds, The One who provides rain for the earth, The One who makes grass to sprout on the mountains,

Now the psalmist begins to list the receipts. Why should we be thankful? Because God is not an absentee landlord. He is the active, present sustainer of all things. Notice the participles here: He is the One who covers, the One who provides, the One who makes. This is not deism. The world does not run on impersonal natural laws that God wound up and let go. God is personally and continually managing the weather. He covers the sky with clouds. He provides the rain. He makes the grass grow, not just in the cultivated valleys, but on the mountains, in the wild places. This is a display of His common grace, His benevolent care over the entire creation. The same God who orchestrates the water cycle is the God who orchestrates your salvation and sanctification. If He can manage the clouds, He can manage your crisis.

Psalm 147:9

9 Who gives to the animal its food, And to the young ravens which call out.

The focus narrows from the macro to the micro. God's providence extends from the clouds to the creatures. He gives the beast of the field its food. And then, with a touch of divine tenderness, the psalmist specifies "the young ravens which call out." This is a classic biblical image of God's care for the seemingly insignificant. Jesus Himself picks up this very illustration in Luke 12 to teach us not to worry. If God hears and answers the croaking cry of a baby raven, a creature considered unclean by the Law, how much more will He hear and answer the cries of His own children? God is not just the God of the cosmos; He is an infinitely skilled miniaturist, attending to the smallest details of His world. This is a profound comfort. No detail of your life is too small for His notice or too insignificant for His care.

Psalm 147:10

10 He does not delight in the might of the horse; He does not take pleasure in the legs of a man.

Here is the great turn, the continental divide of the passage. After describing what God does, the psalmist tells us what God does not value. He is not impressed with the things that impress the world. "The might of the horse" was the ancient equivalent of tank divisions and air superiority. It represents military power, the ability to project force. "The legs of a man" refers to the speed and strength of an infantry soldier or a champion runner. It represents human prowess, athletic ability, and self-sufficient strength. God is not impressed with our technology, our armies, our Olympic athletes, or our resumes. Why? Because these are the very things that proud men trust in instead of God. To delight in these things is to flirt with humanism, to believe that man is the measure of all things. God rejects this utterly.

Psalm 147:11

11 Yahweh is pleased with those who fear Him, Those who wait for His lovingkindness.

If God does not take pleasure in human strength, what does He take pleasure in? The answer is the very opposite. He is pleased with those who fear Him. This is not a craven, servile terror, but a glad and reverent awe. It is the creaturely recognition of the Creator's majesty, holiness, and authority. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom because it is the beginning of seeing reality aright. And what does this fear produce? It produces waiting. Those who fear God do not trust in the strength of their own legs, but rather they "wait for His lovingkindness." That word, lovingkindness, is hesed, God's covenant loyalty, His steadfast, unrelenting, never-giving-up love. To wait for His hesed is to hope in His mercy. It is to confess that you have no might of your own, and to rely entirely on His gracious promises. This is the posture of faith. This is the heart of the gospel. God is pleased when we stop trying to impress Him and start trusting Him.

Application

This passage gives us a diagnostic tool for our worship and for our lives. What are you thankful for? Your answer reveals what you believe about God's providence. Do you see His hand in the weather, in the economy, in the small details of your day? True thanksgiving acknowledges God as the active governor of all things, and this fuels robust praise.

More than that, this passage forces us to ask what we trust in. The world constantly tempts us to find our security and our identity in the "might of the horse" and the "legs of a man." We are tempted to trust our bank accounts, our political party, our physical fitness, our intellectual abilities. This psalm calls us to repent of all such idolatry. God takes no pleasure in our self-reliance.

His pleasure is found in our dependence. He delights in the man or woman who, knowing their own weakness, fears Him enough to abandon all other hopes and waits patiently for His mercy in Jesus Christ. This is where true strength is found. Not in the legs of a man, but on the knees of a man who fears God and hopes in His unfailing love.