Tag: Psalm 147:2-6
Healing the Brokenhearted
Scripture reading for September 24: Psalm 147:2-6 “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 stars; He gives all of them their names. Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; His understanding is beyond measure. The Lord lifts up the humble; He casts the wicked to the ground.”
Matthew 9:11-12 “And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” But when He heard it, He said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.””
As we conclude the healing verses from Psalms, we come to Psalm 147. This psalm boasts of God’s plan to build up Jerusalem, the city of the Great King. God would build it up by gathering the outcasts of Israel and healing the brokenhearted and downcast. As God has amazing power over the universe, the psalmist declares God’s determining the exact number of stars and even calling each one by name. In fact, the understanding of God is beyond man’s capacity to measure or understand. But this amazing and powerful God lifts up those who humbly acknowledge their weakness and need. He also will judge the wicked who refuse to come to Him for healing.
This passage reminds us of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Who came to seek and save the lost sheep of Israel. He went to Jerusalem to declare God’s healing grace and preach the Good News. He declared that those who were well did not need a physician, but the sick did. He called sinners, not the righteous. His message went initially to the Israel, but was to be taken to the whole world. As He knows the stars and calls them by name, so God knows the Names of those who are His and records them in His Book of Life!
Prayer: Father God, thank You for healing the brokenhearted and binding up their wounds. Thank You for coming for the humble, the hurting and the wounded. You give us new life eternal and new names as members of Your eternal family! Use me to help build up the New Jerusalem. Amen!