Psalm 147 page 1

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In case we were in any doubt, the bombings of ten days ago in London make us aware that we are living in a broken world. It is a world crying out with all sorts of reactions: defiance, justice, revenge. And the need for healing.

Today I'd like us to think about the task of healing in a broken world. The Bible knows a lot about brokenness in the world as well as in individuals. Wars, slavery, natural disasters, plagues - all these and more feature in the biblical story. God's story of redemption is written in the middle of human brokenness, not just of individuals but of peoples and nations.

This psalm seems to come from a time when God's people had experienced the communal healing of restoration to their own land after their exile in Babylon. I believe it shows us something of God's heart for healing in the world.

It may be twenty verses in English, but they form three stanzas. Now disregarding the fact that that makes for a neat three points (which it does!) I want to draw attention to the way the Psalmist handles those three themes, because there is one amazing strand of good news that threads through all of them.

And it's this: each of the three stanzas (verses 1-6, 7-11, 12-20) contains two themes. They emphasise both God's amazing power as Creator and yet also his covenant commitment to his people in need. You might think that the mighty Creator whose mind imagined the universe and then translated that imagination into reality would be too powerful, too high and beyond his creatures, to care about their needs and hurts. Not so. The Creator God chooses to enter a covenant commitment of love with us. If nothing else sticks today, please remember that.

So let's explore the Psalm with that in mind and expect to meet the God who 'makes all things new'.

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Copyright © David D Faulkner, 2006 except where other sources are attributed or noted as inspiration.