God’s understanding of everything, including us, is limitless. When we focus our minds on the Lord, we will think and act like He wants us to. Then, we will begin to understand ourselves, who we are, why we are here, and what to be doing with our lives. In this psalm, there is not a single word of complaint, nor is there any petition made to the Lord. In this Hallelujah psalm, He found hope and reasons for praise in his limited understanding of the Lord.
This psalm is like three hymns, with different emphases in each. When the Jews who had been carried away to Babylon returned to Jerusalem, the city had to be rebuilt. So, the outcasts were regathered by the Lord to start life over again in the place of His name. That is the theme of the first six verses. The second hymn starts at verse seven and is about the sustaining providence of God, not only in maintaining the creation He made, including the weather, but also in the provisions for creation and for us through it. From verse twelve to the end of the psalm, the hymn concerns how God has dealt with and will deal with His people, Israel, through His word.
The goodness of God to His people in every age is worthy of every song we can sing. We were in bondage to sin and, by His grace, have been brought to Him through no merits of our own. The outcasts are welcomed; the broken-hearted are healed; the wounded are restored by the One who knows how many stars there are and has named each one. His greatness in knowledge is without limits. All power in heaven and earth is His, from Him, and for Him. His understanding of every situation is absolutely complete.
He is able to sustain the humble in whatever situation and condition they are found. He is able and will humble the wicked. He is the Source of provision for every living thing. The whole world can see that nature is beyond man’s control and understanding. The seasons come and go, providing the moisture and light needed to grow food. Our abilities are God-given and are to be used in ways that will glorify Him. God is concerned not with what we can do, but with who we are and our attitude toward Him.
God’s favor is not based on the strength a man has or on the strength of the beast over which man has a measure of control. His pleasure in us is not based on what we can do with our physical strength. “My grace is sufficient for thee, and My strength is made perfect in weakness.” It is our spiritual strength that will bring pleasure to our Lord. Our respect for Him, our reverence for Him, and our trust in Him are what are important to God and are what He wants from us. There are not a lot of things we can do for God that He can not do for Himself, but there are some. Praise from redeemed people is one. Thanksgiving for every good and perfect gift He gives is another. Obedience from grateful hearts that submit to His sovereign will is yet another. Respect, reverence, honor, open-hearted gratitude, and child-like trust are in our capacity to give to our blessed Lord.
God will open ways to use whatever skills and strength with which He entrusts us. That will come when He has our hearts and minds. He cares for His people and has made provision for His people. The power of His word gives us all we need to understand ourselves and, to the degree we can handle it, our understanding of God and all He has created. Those who love and obey God will find what life is for and how to fulfill the divine purpose for us, even being here.
The prophetic fulfillment of this psalm, as it relates to His care for Jerusalem, will come after the tribulation is passed. The God of Zion will secure His people’s safety, peace, and prosperity, and will even use the weather as His messenger to them. The God who knows how many stars are in the heavens and has named them is not limited as to what He is able to do for His people. He will build Jerusalem. It was rebuilt in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, but has been destroyed and rebuilt several times since. When the Lord does it, He will maintain it and rule from that city in peace.
The “bars” will be strengthened, His people will be protected, and peace and prosperity will come. The Jews are a “chosen people” as a nation among the nations of the world. Those he saves today are chosen individuals who are predestined to live to the glory of His grace. God’s people today are “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people, that ye should show forth the praises of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” Through His word of redemption, God reveals the way of salvation and His holy will for us. His word is His messenger – His revelation of Himself to us as His heavenly people. It will be similar on a future day when He again takes up His dealings with Israel as a nation of chosen people on earth.