"Healing the Broken-hearted" (Psalm 147:1-6)

Psalm 147:1-6

Praise the Lord!
How good it is to sing praises to our God;
   for he is gracious, and a song of praise is fitting. 
² The Lord builds up Jerusalem;
   he gathers the outcasts of Israel. 
³ He heals the broken-hearted,
   and binds up their wounds. 
⁴ He determines the number of the stars;
   he gives to all of them their names. 
⁵ Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;
   his understanding is beyond measure. 
⁶ The Lord lifts up the downtrodden;
   he casts the wicked to the ground. 

Introduction

The first 6 verses of Psalm 147 very much deal with God’s special abiding care for and restoration of the needy ... within the larger context of God’s great creativity and understanding of the workings of the whole universe. This psalm then moves on to address God’s general provision for all (v.7-11) and then subsequently declares God’s good governance over all creation (v.12-20).

Beginning

Verse 1 is an eloquent expression of praise, engaging the participants in an understanding of the worth of acknowledging God’s graciousness – it is not such a strange thing to be singing praise to God, rather it is simply “fitting” (and thus it should be a natural thing to do). As well as being “fitting”, it is good for us to worship God because it frees us from an undue and unhelpful concentration on ourselves.

Psalm 147 verse 1 provides us with the very simple basis on which we worship God – God lavishes grace on us; this meaning that God is always seeking to connect with us, relate with us, and give us the most important things we need to excel in life. For this reason it is “fitting”, and we might also say healthy, to bring praise to God.

Context

Verse 2 suggests that this psalm dates from the post-exilic period, when the people of Israel were returning to their land and homes following their exile to the north (in Babylon). The Bible generally viewed these exiles at least partly responsible for their fate due to their rebellious activity in allowing oppression and injustice and being so easily influenced by the latest trendy small g ‘god’. Yet there were also political and environmental challenges coming from outside forces like the strong nation of Babylon.

There would come times of repentance, and there would power-shifts in the region, and the people of Israel’s time of exile in foreign hands would come to an end. God, the gracious and merciful God, is certainly prepared to re-gather his people and offer them a future once again. This re-gathering (in verse 2) begins the thoughts of this psalm directly concerning those whose lives are not going well for them.

God Sandwich

This is a great God. The statements of God’s magnificence in determining and naming the stars, and having complete understanding of all His creation (v.4-5) are sandwiched by two other statements concerning God’s concern for the “broken-hearted” and the “downtrodden” (v.3,6). And so here is a direct link between God’s wondrous creativity and God’s gracious mercy. In the midst of the greatness and vastness of creation, God does not miss any incidence of human misery.

God names the stars as God also knows each of our names. We might often scratch our heads about the things happening to us and to others and wonder whatever meaning there could be to this, but God knows and understands everything about what is happening – and in this way can bring exactly the right amount and type of help. God has understanding ... (v.5) ... “beyond measure”! This should reassure us during our times of trouble.

Cast to the Ground? (v.6b)

Whatever else we might say about the last part of verse 6, we can know that where we stick close to God, God will deal with those who oppress us and others. This might not happen according to our preferred timing, but it is God who has the “understanding” and the “abundant power” (refer verse 5) to orchestrate this in the right way at the right time. As God “lifts up” (or raises) the “downtrodden”, as part of the same process ... those who would cause such situations will be brought low. God will vindicate the weak whilst opposing the proud.

Broken-hearted & Downtrodden (v.3,6)

We might wonder how someone would become so “broken-hearted” or “downtrodden”? On the other hand we may well have experienced such feelings ourselves, and come to understand the cause. For the ancient exiles there was isolation – some exiles had been separated from their family and friends; all exiles had been separated from their culture and spiritual centre. So there was a sense of loss of home, or, homelessness. This, and the loneliness that it brings, leads to feelings of broken-heartedness and hopelessness. This is very much the experience of many of our indigenous peoples in Australia since white settlement.

We know, given our levels of depression and suicide in this country, that much has gone wrong in people’s lives. There are people trying to survive without good family structures, or having directly suffered from neglect or abuse of various kinds. Then there is those who have lacked for education and economic resources. Other people begin okay, but later, relationship difficulties or unemployment or illness strikes. Many try to quell the pain with a variety of addictive behaviours.

We might see the “broken-hearted” and “downtrodden” as ‘wounded souls’ who have had their spirits dented, and very much lack for the relationship with God they were designed to have. They may never have had the opportunity of embracing such a relationship. The question for us is: how does God in actual terms “heal the broken-hearted” and “lift up the downtrodden”?? If we believe and even quote this psalm, what are we meaning???

• ·       Jesus offers forgiveness and a new start – this first deals with any sense of guilt, but also with any sense of unworthiness or shame
• ·       God can also touch a person’s life miraculously, taking away heavy burdens and replacing them with a peace only God can give; but often the process takes longer than this, and there are many ups and downs along the way
• ·       Where wounds are bound up (v.3) ... this stops infection coming from the outside and helps the workings of the internal immune system to kick in; from this we can understand that there is often a partnership in healing between the healer (God) and the one whose heart is broken ... where they have to work together for any progress to be made
• ·       Yet for God to be lifting up the “downtrodden” (v.6), this gives a sense of such a person being carried, carried for awhile in the loving compassionate arms of God – it is God’s strength that engages with our weakness and lifts us up
• ·       Jesus brings the opportunity of a new family, a supportive community of like-minded travellers; and it is those who have started down the track of healing and salvation that are well-placed to assist those just at the fork of the road ... the earlier (v.2) concept of God “gathering” the exiles or outcasts seems to be instructive here – healing for the “broken-hearted” occurs as God gathers such sufferers together

So, Paul starts his second letter to the church in Corinth with these words:

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, ⁴ who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. (2 Corinthians 1:3-4, NIV).

• ·       Jesus offers hope through giving purpose to life – purpose that is based around helping others (thus taking the wounded person beyond themselves); there is the initial healing that comes through Divine forgiveness, but healing also comes as the gift of forgiveness is worked through in the context of relationships and community.

 Conclusion

We are surrounded by events and struggles that are beyond us, that are too big for us. In the midst of those challenges, it is valuable to know that the God of heaven knows and understands the burdens of life in a fallen world. God cares and is involved and God’s love for us is undiminished by the hardnesses of life.

(From the Preface to the RBC Ministries publication “Hope in Times of Trouble”, 2011).