Salmos 147

VBL · Chapter 147/150

1¡Alaben al Señor, porque es bueno cantar alabanzas a Dios! ¡Alabarle es bueno y maravilloso!

2El Señor reconstruirá Jerusalén y reunirá al pueblo que ha sido esparcido.

3Él sana a los de corazón quebrantado, y venda las heridas.

4Él sabe cuántas estrellas fueron hechas, y las llama a cada una por su nombre.

5¡Cuán grande es nuestro Señor! ¡Su poder es inmenso! ¡Su conocimiento es infinito!

6El Señor ayuda a levantar a los agobiados, pero a los malvados los derriba.

7¡Canten con agradecimiento al Señor! ¡Canten alabanzas a Dios con arpa!

8Él cubre el cielo con nubes para traer lluvia a la tierra, y hace crecer el pasto en las colinas.

9Él alimenta a los animales, y a los cuervos cuando lo piden.

10El Señor no se complace de la fuera de caballos de guerra ni del poder humano.

11En cambio el Señor se alegra con quienes lo siguen, aquellos que ponen su confianza en su amor y fidelidad.

12¡Alaba al Señor, Jerusalén! ¡Sión, alaba a tu Dios!

13Él fortalece las rejas de las puertas de la ciudad, y bendice a los hijos que habitan contigo.

14Él mantiene las fronteras de tu nación seguras contra los ataques, y te provee del mejor trigo.

15Él envía sus órdenes por todo el mundo y de inmediato su voluntad es ejecutada.

16Él envía la nieve tan blanca como la lana, y esparce la escarcha de hielo como cenizas.

17Él envía el granizo como piedras. ¿Quién pudiera soportar el frío que él envía?

18Entonces con su voz de mando la hace derretir. Él sopla y el agua fluye.

19Él proclama su palabra a Jacob; sus principios y leyes a Israel.

20Él no ha hecho estas cosas por ninguna otra nación, pues ellos no conocen sus leyes. ¡Alaben al Señor!

📖 Chapter study

Summary

A hymn that celebrates God both as healer of the brokenhearted and as creator who counts and names the stars, controlling the snow, ice, and wind, and revealing his word specifically to Israel.

Explanation

This psalm beautifully unites two aspects of God that might seem far apart: extremely personal care (healing broken hearts, v.3) and incomprehensible cosmic power (counting and naming every star, v.4 — something scientifically staggering, since there are billions of them). The mention of weather phenomena (snow, ice, wind) reflects careful observation of nature as evidence of God's control and wisdom. The application for today is that the same God who governs entire galaxies also cares deeply about the personal pain of each individual — greatness and intimacy are not contradictory.

Fun facts

  • The statement that God 'counts the number of the stars' and 'calls them all by their names' (v.4) is remarkable, since it is now estimated that there are more than 100 billion stars in the Milky Way alone, and trillions in the observable universe.
  • In some numbering traditions of the Greek Septuagint, this psalm is divided into two separate psalms, which explains small numbering differences between Bible translations from different traditions.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Salmos 147:1The opening stacks up three different reasons to praise — it is good, it is pleasant, it is fitting — as if one argument alone were not enough to make the case.
  2. Salmos 147:2The psalm’s setting shows up here: Jerusalem being rebuilt and the scattered people being gathered, a scene of restoration happening in the present, not a memory of the past.
  3. Salmos 147:3The focus moves from the national scene to the personal: broken hearts being healed, with the concrete image of wounds being bandaged one by one.
  4. Salmos 147:4This verse comes right after speaking of healing broken hearts, and that is no accident. The same God who knows every star by name also pays attention to the small, personal pains of each individual — cosmic greatness and intimate care side by side.
  5. Salmos 147:5It is unusual to attribute “infinite” specifically to God’s understanding, rather than just to His power — a mental quality, not only a physical one, described as having no limits.
  6. Salmos 147:6It repeats a common pattern in the psalms: lifting up the humble on one side, casting down the wicked on the other, a social reversal summed up in a single line.
  7. Salmos 147:7The call to sing with the harp introduces the psalm’s next section, which shifts subject and starts describing God’s control over the weather and nature.
  8. Salmos 147:8Rain is described as part of an organized chain: clouds covering the sky, then rain, then grass growing on the mountains — a system, not a coincidence.
  9. Salmos 147:9The detail of the young ravens crying for food stands out for what it chooses: a small, seemingly unimportant creature, yet still noticed and fed.
  10. Salmos 147:10The horse and the legs of a man here stand for military power — cavalry and soldiers able to run fast in battle. The verse says this kind of strength is not what impresses or wins God’s favor.
  11. Salmos 147:11It answers the idea from the previous verse about God taking no pleasure in the strength of the horse: what truly pleases Him is very different, it is the reverent fear and hope of those who trust in Him.
  12. Salmos 147:12The call is addressed directly to the city, as if Jerusalem and Zion were characters being personally summoned to praise.
  13. Salmos 147:13Two specific blessings are named: strengthened gates, which guarantee security, and blessed children living within the walls — protection and family side by side.
  14. Salmos 147:14Peace at the borders and abundance of the finest flour appear together, joining outward security and material abundance as two sides of the same care.
  15. Salmos 147:15God’s word is described almost like a swift messenger, running across the earth to carry out His command without delay.
  16. Salmos 147:16Comparing snow to wool and frost to ashes is a poetic way of describing how these rare things looked in that region. The soft whiteness of snow recalls sheep’s wool, and the thin coating of frost recalls scattered ashes, without any real transformation of one thing into the other.
  17. Salmos 147:17It continues the description of winter begun in the previous verse: ice cast down in pieces and the rhetorical question of who can withstand such cold.
  18. Salmos 147:18The same power that seemed to bring the cold now undoes it: God’s word melts the ice, and the wind returns to make the waters flow again — a full cycle of seasons.
  19. Salmos 147:19After describing His general control over nature, the psalm shifts to something more specific: the revealed word, the statutes and judgments given only to Jacob and Israel.
  20. Salmos 147:20The psalm closes by highlighting the exclusiveness of this revelation: no other nation received the same kind of law, marking this relationship as unique.

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