Theme:
The Lord is worthy of joyful praise because He restores His people, governs creation with perfect wisdom, and delights in humble, reverent trust.
Tone:
Jubilant and reverent.
Structure:
A repeated call to worship followed by reasons: God’s grace in restoring the broken, His majesty over the heavens and earth, and His special care for those who fear Him.
The Call
The psalm begins with an invitation that feels both glad and weighty: praise is not presented as religious decoration, but as what is “good” and “fitting.” Worship rises as the proper response when God has drawn near—when scattered lives and scattered people are being gathered again.
The Reflection
Praise deepens into wonder as the psalmist holds together what we often separate: the Lord who “heals the brokenhearted” is the same Lord who “counts the number of the stars.” His tenderness is not a small comfort set alongside greater powers; it is the very shape of His greatness.
The psalm lingers on God’s active care—sending rain, making grass grow, feeding creatures—and then turns our hearts away from false confidence: God is not impressed by human strength, speed, or self-reliance. He delights in those who fear Him, in those who hope in His steadfast love. Worship, then, becomes a reordering of desire: from trusting what we can measure to trusting the One whose understanding cannot be measured.
The Resolve
The ending gathers all this praise into a settled allegiance. God has not only ruled the skies and fields; He has spoken to His people with clarity—giving His word, His statutes, His peace. The final note is not simply that God is powerful, but that He is near and speaking. The heart comes to rest in this: the Lord’s grace is not abstract; it addresses a people, sustains a city, and steadies those who learn to hope in Him.
Psalm 147’s praise finds its fullest harmony in Jesus Christ, in whom God’s vastness and gentleness meet without contradiction. Christ heals the brokenhearted not as a distant benefactor but as the One who draws near in flesh—touching the sick, receiving the weary, binding wounds with mercy and truth.
And the Word God “sends forth” in this psalm ultimately points to the eternal Word made flesh (John 1). The same Lord who orders creation by His command reveals God’s heart in Christ—showing that divine power is not opposed to compassion, but expressed through it. Christian worship, shaped by this psalm, becomes praise for the Creator who also redeems, gathering the scattered into one people under the peace of His reign.
The psalm says God “heals the brokenhearted” and “binds up” their wounds (v. 3). The Hebrew verb חָבַשׁ (ḥābash), “to bind up,” is a hands-on word used for wrapping a wound. It portrays God not only as sovereign over what is vast, but as personally attentive to what is raw and bleeding—His grace applied, not merely announced.
“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” — Psalm 147:3
Answer the questions below. When you choose an option, you will see the result and an explanation.
1. According to the psalm’s description, what does the Lord do for the brokenhearted?
2. What kind of people does the Lord delight in, as described in the psalm?