Psalms 147King James Version
Praise ye the Lord. He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds. He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names.
A creation-and-covenant praise psalm in two parts (the LXX splits it into two). The LORD builds up Jerusalem, gathers the outcasts, heals the broken-hearted, binds up wounds, tells the number of the stars and calls them by name. He does not delight in the strength of a horse or the legs of man, but in those who fear him and hope in his mercy. He makes peace in the borders of Zion, fills her with the finest wheat, sends snow and hoarfrost, His word runs very swiftly. He showed his word to Jacob, his statutes to Israel. He has not dealt so with any nation. Praise the LORD.
The God who numbers the stars by name is the same God who heals the broken-hearted: the scale of cosmic management and the scale of personal wound are not in competition for his attention.
verse: "He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds. He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names." The juxtaposition is deliberate: star-naming and wound-binding in the same sentence.
No superscription. Part of the closing Hallel. The psalm appears to be post-exilic, referencing the rebuilding of Jerusalem's walls (v2, 13). The LXX divides it at v12, treating the two halves as separate psalms (Psalms 147 and 148 in the LXX numbering). The physical phenomena (snow, hoarfrost, ice, wind) of vv15-18 may reflect seasonal liturgical use.
The congregation praising in Jerusalem; God who built up Jerusalem and heals wounds; the outcasts gathered; the broken-hearted; the stars called by name; the snow and ice; Jacob and Israel as the specific covenant recipients.
Psalm 147's telescoping from cosmic scale (naming stars) to intimate scale (binding wounds) became a foundational text for Christian theology of divine care. The exclusive covenant relationship ('He hath not dealt so with any nation,' v20) was used by Paul in Romans 9-11 to ground his theology of Israel's special calling and its implications for Gentile inclusion.
For when you feel both the vastness of the universe and the smallness of your own wound simultaneously. The psalm says those two scales are held in the same attention.
1Praise ye the LORD: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely.
2The LORD doth build up Jerusalem: he gathereth together the outcasts of Israel.
3He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.
4He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names.
5Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.
6The LORD lifteth up the meek: he casteth the wicked down to the ground.
7Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God:
8Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains.
9He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry.
10He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man.
11The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.
12Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem; praise thy God, O Zion.
13For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates; he hath blessed thy children within thee.
14He maketh peace in thy borders, and filleth thee with the finest of the wheat.
15He sendeth forth his commandment upon earth: his word runneth very swiftly.
16He giveth snow like wool: he scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes.
17He casteth forth his ice like morsels: who can stand before his cold?
18He sendeth out his word, and melteth them: he causeth his wind to blow, and the waters flow.
19He sheweth his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto Israel.
20He hath not dealt so with any nation: and as for his judgments, they have not known them. Praise ye the LORD.