It is good to sing praises to our God
Psalm 147:1-6. December 3, 2022 - Saturday, 1st Week of Advent
In the year 586 BC, the Jewish nation experienced its first national tragedy. The Babylonians came, destroyed Jerusalem with its temple and took the people into exile. It was a tragedy of cosmic proportions mourned in the book of Lamentations. The author places this complaint on the lips of the destroyed city: “Look and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow, which was brought upon me, which the LORD inflicted on the day of his fierce anger” (Lam 1:12). But then soon after that tragedy, an unknown prophet, whom the scholars call Second-Isaiah, began to offer hope to his heartbroken people. They would return and rebuild the city (see Is 40-55).
The prophecy of the Second Isaiah turned true. The Babylonian empire did not last long. It was replaced by the Persians and in the year 538 BC, Cyrus, the emperor of Persia issued an edict that allowed the Jewish people to return to their homeland. It was like a new exodus, an event comparable to the creation story in Genesis 1 and Psalm 147 praises God for the fulfilment of that prophecy: “Hallelujah. it is good to sing praises to our God” (Ps 147:1).
The fragment of the psalm that we hear today brings together history and creation. The Lord who “builds up Jerusalem” (Ps 147:2) and brings people from exile is also the one who “determines the number of the stars” and “gives to all of them their names” (Ps 147:4). The Lord who “heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” (Ps 147:3) is “abundant in power” and beyond understanding (Ps 147:5). The Catechism teaches that God’s power shines at its best in adopting us to be his sons and daughters, caring for our needs, and freely forgiving sins (see CCC, 270).
We proclaim that Jesus Christ is the Lord of history and the King of the universe. In Jesus’ ministry, we see evidence of his power in healing, forgiving sins, and raising the dead back to life. In today’s Gospel, Jesus shares this power with the Church. Early Christian hymns include the proclamation that Jesus Christ is the image of the invisible God and that through him all things were created. The one who gives name to the stars also knows us by name. The Lord who pays attention to the working of the entire universe also attends to the needs of his people.
Our fragment of Psalm 147 ends with a declaration that God lifts the poor and casts the wicked to the ground (Ps 147:6). We find a similar message in Mary’s Magnificat where we read that God brings down the mighty from their thrones and lifts up the lowly (Luke 1:52). In the historical context of the psalm, the poor could refer to the Jewish returnees from Babylon and the wicked cast down to the ground to the end of the Babylonia empire.
Today, as the Church, we give thanks to God the Father for giving us Jesus Christ, the Lord of history and the King of the universe. He builds up Jerusalem - the Church; he brings us from our exile in the land of sin back to our homeland; he heals our wounds and lifts us up. At the same time, he maintains order in the universe and guides the history of humanity to its fulfilment: the new heaven and new earth. And all the powerful empires that destroy and oppress others will be cast to the ground.