Psalm 147

¹ Praise the LORD, for it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant and fitting to praise him.

² The LORD builds up Jerusalem. He gathers together the outcasts of Israel.

³ He heals the broken in heart, and binds up their wounds.

⁴ He counts the number of the stars. He calls them all by their names.

⁵ Great is our Lord, and mighty in power. His understanding is infinite.

⁶ The LORD upholds the humble. He brings the wicked down to the ground.

⁷ Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving. Sing praises on the harp to our God,

⁸ who covers the sky with clouds, who prepares rain for the earth, who makes grass grow on the mountains.

⁹ He provides food for the livestock, and for the young ravens when they call.

¹⁰ He doesn’t delight in the strength of the horse. He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man.

¹¹ The LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his loving kindness.

¹² Praise the LORD, Jerusalem! Praise your God, Zion!

¹³ For he has strengthened the bars of your gates. He has blessed 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 commandment to the earth. His word runs very swiftly.

¹⁶ He gives snow like wool, and scatters frost like ashes.

¹⁷ He hurls down his hail like pebbles. Who can stand before his cold?

¹⁸ He sends out his word, and melts them. He causes his wind to blow, and the waters flow.

¹⁹ He shows his word to Jacob, his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.

²⁰ He has not done this for just any nation. They don’t know his ordinances. Praise the LORD!

Around Psalm 147

Book context

PsalmsEditorial draft

Psalms is a collection of 150 songs and prayers used in Israel’s worship, written by several people over a long period. Headings name David most often, along with Asaph, the sons of Korah and others. The collection falls into five books, each ending with a short blessing of the LORD (41:13, 72:19, 89:52, 106:48), and it closes with a call for everything that has breath to praise the LORD (150:6). The psalms hold praise, lament, thanksgiving, confession and trust, so readers find words for nearly every season of life.

Why we say this

HisFullGlory editorial · broad consensus · not yet reviewed by a theological reader

From the text itself

Sources

Notes summarise their sources in our own words. Where Christians or scholars disagree, the note says so. Notes are not original-language evidence and do not replace the text.

AI explanation

About Psalms as a whole · Written by an AI model · Not reviewed by a theological reader

This explanation was written by an AI model to help you get started. It names no sources and can contain mistakes. Scripture comes first, and context with sources is shown separately on this page.

What this book is about

“How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever?” A prayer can begin like that, and in the Psalms it does. Four times the poet asks how long, and then, in the same short song, comes the turn: “But I trust in your loving kindness.”

That honesty runs through the whole book. Psalms is a collection of 150 songs and prayers, and it holds praise, thanksgiving, lament, confession, songs for the king, and reflections on wisdom and on God's law. It is arranged in five books and moves, on the whole, from many laments at the start to pure praise at the end.

Joy, fear, anger, guilt and doubt are all spoken to God directly.

Background

The psalms were written and gathered over several centuries. Their headings link about half of them with David and others with Asaph, the sons of Korah, Solomon and Moses. They were sung in the worship of the temple and later in synagogues and churches.

How Christians read it

Jews and Christians have prayed the Psalms daily for well over two thousand years. The New Testament quotes them more than any other book and reads many as speaking of Christ, among them Psalms 2, 22 and 110. The psalms that call for judgment on enemies are hard to read. Many understand them as handing vengeance over to God instead of taking it oneself.

About this explanation

Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model, on 19 October 2026. It draws on the WEB text and general knowledge and was not checked against sources by a person. Every quotation from Scripture is checked automatically against the WEB text.

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