IT'S A GIFT, NOT AN OBLIGATION

Put Not Your Trust in Princes

1 Praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD, O my soul!
2 I will praise the LORD as long as I live;
I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

3 Put not your trust in princes,
in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.
4 When his breath departs, he returns to the earth;
on that very day his plans perish.

5 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
    whose hope is in the LORD his God,
6 who made heaven and earth,
    the sea, and all that is in them,
who keeps faith forever;
7     who executes justice for the oppressed,
    who gives food to the hungry.

The LORD sets the prisoners free;
8     the LORD opens the eyes of the blind.
The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down;
    the LORD loves the righteous.
9 The LORD watches over the sojourners;
    he upholds the widow and the fatherless,
    but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

10 The LORD will reign forever,
your God, O Zion, to all generations.
Praise the LORD!

He Heals the Brokenhearted

1 Praise the LORD!
For it is good to sing praises to our God;
    for it is pleasant,^{1

147:1
Or for he is beautiful} and a song of praise is fitting.
2 The LORD builds up Jerusalem;
    he gathers the outcasts of Israel.
3 He heals the brokenhearted
    and binds up their wounds.
4 He determines the number of the stars;
    he gives to all of them their names.
5 Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;
    his understanding is beyond measure.
6 The LORD lifts up the humble;^{2

147:6
Or afflicted}
    he casts the wicked to the ground.

7 Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving;
    make melody to our God on the lyre!
8 He covers the heavens with clouds;
    he prepares rain for the earth;
    he makes grass grow on the hills.
9 He gives to the beasts their food,
    and to the young ravens that cry.
10 His delight is not in the strength of the horse,
    nor his pleasure in the legs of a man,
11 but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him,
    in those who hope in his steadfast love.

12 Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem!
    Praise your God, O Zion!
13 For he strengthens the bars of your gates;
    he blesses your children within you.
14 He makes peace in your borders;
    he fills you with the finest of the wheat.
15 He sends out his command to the earth;
    his word runs swiftly.
16 He gives snow like wool;
    he scatters frost like ashes.
17 He hurls down his crystals of ice like crumbs;
    who can stand before his cold?
18 He sends out his word, and melts them;
    he makes his wind blow and the waters flow.
19 He declares his word to Jacob,
    his statutes and rules^{3

147:19
Or and just decrees} to Israel.
20 He has not dealt thus with any other nation;
    they do not know his rules.^{4

147:20
Or his just decrees}
Praise the LORD!

Praise the Name of the LORD

1 Praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD from the heavens;
praise him in the heights!
2 Praise him, all his angels;
praise him, all his hosts!

3 Praise him, sun and moon,
praise him, all you shining stars!
4 Praise him, you highest heavens,
and you waters above the heavens!

5 Let them praise the name of the LORD!
For he commanded and they were created.
6 And he established them forever and ever;
he gave a decree, and it shall not pass away.^{5

148:6
Or it shall not be transgressed}

7 Praise the LORD from the earth,
you great sea creatures and all deeps,
8 fire and hail, snow and mist,
stormy wind fulfilling his word!

9 Mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars!
10 Beasts and all livestock,
creeping things and flying birds!

11 Kings of the earth and all peoples,
princes and all rulers of the earth!
12 Young men and maidens together,
old men and children!

13 Let them praise the name of the LORD,
    for his name alone is exalted;
    his majesty is above earth and heaven.
14 He has raised up a horn for his people,
    praise for all his saints,
    for the people of Israel who are near to him.
Praise the LORD!

Sing to the LORD a New Song

1 Praise the LORD!
Sing to the LORD a new song,
    his praise in the assembly of the godly!
2 Let Israel be glad in his Maker;
    let the children of Zion rejoice in their King!
3 Let them praise his name with dancing,
    making melody to him with tambourine and lyre!
4 For the LORD takes pleasure in his people;
    he adorns the humble with salvation.
5 Let the godly exult in glory;
    let them sing for joy on their beds.
6 Let the high praises of God be in their throats
    and two-edged swords in their hands,
7 to execute vengeance on the nations
    and punishments on the peoples,
8 to bind their kings with chains
    and their nobles with fetters of iron,
9 to execute on them the judgment written!
    This is honor for all his godly ones.
Praise the LORD!

Let Everything Praise the LORD

1 Praise the LORD!
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens!^{6

150:1
Hebrew expanse (compare Genesis 1:68)}
2 Praise him for his mighty deeds;
praise him according to his excellent greatness!

3 Praise him with trumpet sound;
    praise him with lute and harp!
4 Praise him with tambourine and dance;
    praise him with strings and pipe!
5 Praise him with sounding cymbals;
    praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD!

Footnotes

[1] 147:1 Or for he is beautiful
[2] 147:6 Or afflicted
[3] 147:19 Or and just decrees
[4] 147:20 Or his just decrees
[5] 148:6 Or it shall not be transgressed
[6] 150:1 Hebrew expanse (compare Genesis 1:6–8)

Last summer at about this time, I was gearing up to head to Ethiopia with a group of friends to share how Christ’s death on the cross could radically transform lives through the forgiveness of all sins and the promise of eternal life. I was geared up, I was pumped, I was ready to see lives changed! And then we got there, and my particular small team spent four straight days being oppressed, persecuted, and hated for the message of love we brought. And suddenly I was frustrated, I was angry, and frankly I was kind of mad God had brought me all this way for “nothing.” But then God moved in His perfect timing like He always does, and He “[healed] the brokenhearted [me!] and [bandaged] their wounds” (Psalm 147:3).

As I was praying one morning on the trip and expressing my frustration with how the week was going, the Lord revealed something miraculous to me: “My love is not a welfare check.” See, there was a fundamental misunderstanding I had when it came to the God’s love—I viewed it as something obligatory, something God HAD to give us because we messed up His perfect world with our sin. Something in me believed that it was just a necessary provision for our circumstances, much like how the government provides for those lacking the necessary resources to live or provide for a family.

But the truth is that God doesn’t HAVE to love us, He CHOOSES to love us. And when a holy God who is capable of “[frustrating] the plans of the wicked” (Psalm 146:9b) and “[bringing] the wicked down into the dust” (Psalm 147:6b) chooses to love us in spite of our junk, well, that’s a million times better, more complete, and more dumbfounding than Ryan Gosling in The Notebook.

When we grasp God’s love with our finite minds and fickle hearts, suddenly these passages come to life. He delights in our hope being in His love, and it makes complete sense that everything that has breath should praise Him! Praise the LORD!

1. Do you truly know and believe that God loves you?

2. In what ways has God displayed His love to you in the last month? Share these praises with a friend or your community group!

3. What’s something you can do today to respond to God’s great love for you? Go do it, friends!