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Here in the United States the Messianic Jewish movement is small. We have only a few hundred congregations, many of them small and many theologically unhealthy. In Israel, Messianic Jews make up less than 1% of the population.

The world does not like us, the Jewish community does not like us, and much of the church doesn’t understand us; and we face real opposition from the spiritual forces of darkness that want to destroy us; and we are in a battle with our old sin nature – a battle we must not lose – or we will be ruined.

So here’s the question: Can’t the God who holds the universe in His hands also hold us – in our smallness and our weakness – in those same hands?

Psalm 147 answers that question.

To understand this psalm we need to remember what the Jewish community in Israel was experiencing. The exiles who returned from the Persian empire came home to a ruined Jerusalem. The walls were broken down, the temple was destroyed, the houses in ruin. Those who returned were few and poor. Hostile neighbors wanted them to fail and plotted against them – sometimes with armed attacks. The returned exiles built the walls with a trowel in one hand and a sword in the other. Even after the walls were finished, Nehemiah had to persuade people to live in the city because it was still so empty and unappealing. This was a small, financially strained community surrounded by peoples who hated them and worked against them.

This psalm has three parts. Each one begins with a call to praise the Lord for His wisdom, power and care.

Praise the Lord! How good to sing praises to our God! How delightful and how fitting! The Lord is rebuilding Jerusalem and bringing the exiles back to Israel. He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds. He counts the stars and calls them all by name. How great is our Lord! His power is absolute! His understanding is beyond comprehension! The Lord supports the humble, but he brings the wicked down into the dust.

The Lord is to be praised because He is rebuilding Jerusalem and gathering the exiles, healing a people who have been deeply wounded. Then the psalm suddenly shifts from a wounded nation to the stars. Notice how deliberately it places the tiny remnant next to the vast number of stars in the universe. This wise and powerful God knows the exact number of the stars and calls each one by name.

And His greatness is not limited to His attributes like being all powerful and all knowing and all present, but includes His moral attributes: He is full of love for His people. He is perfectly righteous, just, and fair which is seen by Him raising up the humble and bringing down the wicked. He is raising up humble Israel and bringing down nations that are wicked and stronger.

The next section praises the Lord for His wisdom and power seen in His care for creation and for His people. Sing out your thanks to the Lord; sing praises to our God with a harp. He covers the heavens with clouds, provides rain for the earth, and makes the grass grow in mountain pastures. He gives food to the wild animals and feeds the young ravens when they cry. He takes no pleasure in the strength of a horse or in human might. No, the Lord’s delight is in those who fear him, those who put their hope in his love.

The Lord makes the clouds, sends rain, makes the grass grow, and feeds the wild animals. Then the psalm turns again. The Almighty God is not impressed by human might – not by political power, numbers, wealth, or the strength of a horse – which was the most advanced military weapon of that day. What delights Him is people who fear Him and know that He loves them – no matter what their situation is, no matter what is happening to them.

The third and final section follows the same pattern: Glorify the Lord, O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion! For he has strengthened the bars of your gates and blessed your children within your walls. He sends peace across your nation and satisfies your hunger with the finest wheat. He sends his orders to the world; how swiftly his word flies! He sends the snow like white wool; he scatters frost upon the ground like ashes. He hurls the hail like stones. Who can stand against his freezing cold? Then, at his command, it all melts. He sends his winds, and the ice thaws. He has revealed his words to Jacob, his decrees and regulations to Israel. He has not done this for any other nation; they do not know his regulations. Praise the Lord!

The Lord is strengthening the gates of Jerusalem and blessing her children. However, His care is not limited to the capital city. He is bringing peace to the entire nation. And then, once more, the focus shifts to His power over creation – snow, frost, hail, cold, wind, and ice. Then the psalmist returns to praise the Lord for revealing His words to the Jewish people. What an honor, what a privilege, what a blessing to have His revelation! That makes Israel unique among the other nations of the world.

The psalm ends where it began – by calling the Lord’s people to praise Him.

Think about why this psalm would have encouraged the Jewish people in their situation. The Babylonians had destroyed much of the nation. Our beautiful capital city, and the temple – the most special place on Earth – had been destroyed. Many had been taken as slaves into Babylon and spent generations as foreigners in a foreign land. Now a small remnant returned home, only to find a ruined city surrounded by enemies who wanted to keep it that way. It would have been easy to conclude that the God of Israel had abandoned us or that the gods of Babylon and Persia were greater than He was.

Psalm 147 responds to that: the same God who names every star and commands all the forces of nature is committed to the successful rebuilding of Jerusalem, bringing more of the exiles home, protecting them, and providing for them and for the rest of the Jewish people throughout the land. God’s wisdom, power, and care that are revealed in creation are the same wisdom, power, and care available for His people. That’s why a small, wounded remnant can trust Him completely.

So what does Psalm 147 mean for us today? How do we apply it to us and our situation?

When the exiles began returning, Jerusalem was small and vulnerable. In many ways we are in a similar position – a minority community of Messianic Jews and Gentile believers grafted into us – misunderstood by the wider church and the wider Jewish community, and increasingly opposed by a world that does not accept what we believe. It would be easy to look at our numbers and wonder if we really matter to God.

But the Word of God tells us that God has always specialized in using the small, the weak, and the seemingly insignificant. Messiah taught us that the Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed – which is a very small seed. Rabbi Paul reminded the Corinthians: Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. God deliberately chooses what the world considers weak so that no one can boast in human strength. He does not need large numbers, impressive resources, or worldly influence to accomplish His purposes.

And if the same God who knows every star ‑ a number so vast we cannot comprehend it ‑ calls each one by name, how much more does He know and care for every person here this morning?

Psalm 147 also points us to the Lord who protects His people from their enemies. He strengthens the bars of Zion’s gates and brings the wicked down into the dust. The God who rules the universe with infinite power is fully able to protect His people. The same sovereign power that orders the stars and commands the forces of creation is working on behalf of His people and giving us the help we need to face every enemy that comes against us.

We need to know where our strength comes from – not from human might, not from numbers or wealth or political influence. Our best strategies and our most impressive resources are not what wins our battles. Our strength comes from fearing the Lord, trusting Him, and knowing that He loves us. When we have that strength that comes from Him, He enables us to resist Satan and the fallen angels, resist the power of sin and the desires of our sin nature, and gives us victory over the world with its many temptations

Psalm 147 encourages us in our ongoing struggle with our wounds. He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds. Every one of us has wounds – some inflicted by others and some caused by giving into our sin nature that is fighting against us. For some, the wound goes back decades. For others, it reopens week after week, because someone continues to hurt us or because we keep giving in to the same temptation and experiencing the consequences of our sin.

Adonai Rofaynu, the Lord our Healer, knows our wounds and is able to heal them. It was written about Messiah: He was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. When we are united to Messiah, our sins are forgiven, our rebellion is pardoned and we are reconciled to God and have peace with Him. Then, as we learn to walk in the Spirit, live in the Spirit, the Lord continues His healing work in our lives, transforming us and restoring what sin and rebellion have damaged.

Psalm 147 gives us assurance that God provides for us and gives us security even in difficult times. He strengthens the gates. He blesses the children within the walls. He sends peace within the borders. He satisfies His people with the finest wheat. Even when the world around us is dangerous, the Lord can give us peace within, care for our families, strengthen our children and provide what we need. Our security comes from the sovereign God who rules over everything – not from the circumstances around us.

Psalm 147 reminds us of an extraordinary privilege: God has revealed His words to Jacob, His decrees and regulations to Israel. He has not done this for any other nation. While the nations around Israel tried to understand the will of their gods through false prophets, occult practices and speculation, the true God spoke. He gave His people His actual words. That is an incalculable gift. God’s Word tells us who He is, so we are not left to invent a god of our own imagination. It tells us who we are, so we understand our identity, our purpose and our need. It gives us His moral standard, so we are not left to determine right and wrong for ourselves. It shows us the path of blessing and the consequences of rebellion, sparing us the pain of learning those lessons only through hard experience. And woven through all of it is the promise of a Redeemer, so that in the Law, the Prophets and the Writings we can see the ultimate divine revelation – the Messiah.

This revelation was not given to any other nation. This was not because God’s purposes for Israel ended with Israel, but because He chose Israel to be the channel through which His revelation would come to the whole world. We share the same revelation, but now that Messiah has come, we have the fullest revelation. Our calling is to treasure that revelation, obey it and proclaim it to a world that desperately needs it.

Psalm 147 teaches us that while God does great things for us, He calls us to respond faithfully. We are to praise the Lord, recognizing His goodness and greatness. We are to sing praises to Him and give Him thanks, acknowledging His blessings and faithfulness. We are to glorify Him, giving Him the honor He deserves. We are to fear Him, taking Him very seriously because of His holiness and power, because He is our sovereign Lord. We are to hope in His love, trusting Him even when we can’t see what He is doing. We are also to receive and obey His Word, because God has revealed His truth to His people.

And finally, Psalm 147 calls us to keep praising the Lord no matter our circumstances. The psalm begins with “Hallelu‑Yah!” and closes with “Hallelu‑Yah!” The faithful praise the Lord even when their circumstances are difficult. The faithful praise the Lord because they know He is greater than our smallness, greater than our enemies and greater than our wounds. So whatever our circumstances may be, let’s keep on praising Him. Hallelu‑Yah! Praise the Lord!

Adon Olam, Lord of the Universe, You are the God who numbers the stars and calls them by name, and are in control of all things – and You know our names, our struggles, our battles and our wounds. Give us peace, protect our families, provide what we need, and give us courage when we are opposed. Teach us to trust You rather than human strength. Remind us that our significance does not come from our size, strength, wealth, or influence, but from You. Thank You for healing the broken hearted and bandaging their wounds. Adonai Rofaynu, Lord our Healer, You will heal us as we walk in Your Spirit so teach us to walk in Your Spirit. Thank You for Your Word and for bringing us into its great blessings. Help us to delight in Your Word, obey Your Word and proclaim Your word. Hallelu‑yah! Praise the Lord! Amen.