Psalm 147 (146-147)
Rejoice, Jerusalem! Let the Church rejoice be cause the Lord has “strengthened the bars of her gates.” The powers of evil and death will not overcome her. The Lord blessed her children and gave them his peace, not that of the world. He feeds his Church with his word and the best of wheat: his body-made-bread of life.
1 Alleluia!
How good it is to sing to our God,
how sweet and befitting to praise him!
2 The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem;
he gathers the exiles of Israel;
3 he heals their broken hearts
and binds up their wounds.
4 He determines the number of stars,
he calls each of them by name.
5 The Lord is great and mighty in power;
his wisdom is beyond measure.
6 The Lord lifts up the humble,
but casts the wicked to the ground.
7 Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving,
make music on the harp for our God.
8 With clouds he covers the sky,
and provides the earth with rain;
he covers the hills with grass,
and with plants for man to cultivate.
9 He provides food for the cattle,
even for the young ravens when they call.
10 He is not concerned with the strength of a horse;
nor is he pleased in the speed of a runner;
11 The Lord delights in those who fear him
and expect him to care for them.
12 Exalt the Lord, O Jerusalem;
praise your God, O Zion!
13 For he strengthens the bars of your gates
and blesses your children within you.
14 He grants peace on your borders
and feeds you with the finest grain.
15 He sends his command to the earth
and swiftly runs his word.
16 He spreads snow like wool;
he scatters frost like ashes.
17 He hurls down hail like pebbles;
who will stand before his icy blasts?
18 But he sends his word and melts the snow;
he makes his breeze blow,
and again the waters flow.
19 It is he who tells Jacob his words,
his laws and decrees to Israel.
20 This he has not done for other nations,
so his laws remain unknown to them.
Alleluia!
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Comments Psalms, Chapter 147
For the Jews, Jerusalem was more than a capital: it was the Holy City where God dwelt in his Temple. His presence protected the city and the people against hostile forces: Jerusalem is really the Church. Our God fills the distance between the order of the universe and the life of each one of us. He calls the stars by name and helps the humble. He is intimately near to each one of his children but he comes to them through the reality – so humanly deceiving in many cases – of his Church.
The Jews marveled at the transformation of water into ice: how could God so transform the elements? In the same way we marvel, when suddenly God melts situations in our world that seemed permanently solidified.