Psalm Photos - 147 - Unseen
Psalm 147
Praise the Lord! How good it is to sing praises to our God; for he is gracious, and a song of praise is fitting.
The Lord builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the outcasts of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted, and binds up their wounds.
He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names.
Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure.
The Lord lifts up the downtrodden; he casts the wicked to the ground.
Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; make melody to our God on the lyre.
He covers the heavens with clouds, prepares rain for the earth, makes grass grow on the hills.
He gives to the animals their food, and to the young ravens when they cry.
His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the speed of a runner;
but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.
Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion!
For he strengthens the bars of your gates; he blesses your children within you.
He grants peace within your borders; he fills you with the finest of wheat.
He sends out his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly.
He gives snow like wool; he scatters frost like ashes.
He hurls down hail like crumbs— who can stand before his cold?
He sends out his word, and melts them; he makes his wind blow, and the waters flow.
He declares his word to Jacob, his statutes and ordinances to Israel.
He has not dealt thus with any other nation; they do not know his ordinances. Praise the Lord!
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An amazing series of acclamations about God in this Psalm - what isn’t listed here? From the vastness of the universe to the smallest word - its all there, its all given here to the power and vastness of God. My picture today may be a strange one - a flower petal in a swimming pool. But I was sitting by the pool reading earlier today (reading Slow Church - which seems to be a terrific read ahead) and saw this petal moving around in the pool. I know that it was the pump that was moving the water through the pool and therefore creating the currents that the petal rode upon. However, without knowing about the pump in the pool, one wouldn’t see the machinery behind everything that’s doing the work. To me, that’s a lot of how God is at work - there’s so much that God does that we do not see. There is so much of God’s moving and God’s power that is at work but we do not have the eyes or the comprehension to see it or understand it - we just see the results.