Praise the Lord
January 6, 2023 - Friday, Christmas Week
Psalm 147:12-13, 14-15, 19-20
In the year 586 BC, Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians. Then, in the year 539 BC, the king of Persia, Cyrus issued an edict that allowed the Jewish exiles to return from Babylon to their land. Some did and began to rebuild the city and the temple. The part of psalm 147 that we hear today celebrates that event.
The psalm gives the impression that it was the Lord who rebuilt Jerusalem. But in fact, God inspired certain people to do that and the process of rebuilding the city, and the temple was difficult and costly. The returnees faced many challenges, they were often discouraged and tempted to give up. The Lord sustained them through great leaders - like Ezra, Nehemiah, and Zerubbabel, and he also made the hearts of the Persian rulers open to provide financial assistance for those who returned to Israel. And so the psalmist was right to see the rebuilding of the city and the temple as God’s miracle worthy of praise.
Psalm 147 begins and ends with the word, “Hallelujah”, which means “praise the Lord”. The reason for that praise is not only the new beginning given to those Jews who returned from exile but also the power of God’s word. Contemporary physics tells us that four laws govern our universe. The Bible tells us that God created the universe and rules it. But, the psalmist reminds us that the Lord also issued his commands to the people of Israel - the Ten Commandments, in particular. The reason for tragedy of 586 BC was Israel’s disobedience to God’s commandments. The reason for their return from exile was God’s mercy and people’s repentance.
The psalmist makes an interesting point worth pondering: as nature follows God’s command, so should we. What happens if we do not? Disaster follows. We know that when comes to math and physics, but we pretend not to know it when comes to social sciences. And so, we can fly planes, send messages through space, and make tiny chips that power our computers, but we are unable to create a just and peaceful society. Why? The answer is disobedience.
A Jewish commentary on our psalm puts it this way: “just as the world is operated by God's command, so Israel should conduct itself by God’s commandments which are a special gift to Israel”. We can expand it by stating that we should all conduct ourselves by God’s commandments to avoid disaster and establish a just and peaceful society. But such a miracle can only happen with the help of the Lord who alone can mould our hearts for obedience. Then, we shall sing, “hallelujah”.