Fathers

Psalms 147

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Praise Yah, for it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant and fitting to praise him. Yahweh builds up Jerusalem. He gathers together the outcasts of Israel. He heals the broken in heart, and binds up their wounds. He counts the number of the stars. He calls them all by their names. Great is our Lord, and mighty in power. His understanding is infinite. Yahweh upholds the humble. He brings the wicked down to the ground. Sing to Yahweh with thanksgiving. Sing praises on the harp to our God, who covers the sky with clouds, who prepares rain for the earth, who makes grass grow on the mountains. He provides food for the livestock, and for the young ravens when they call. He doesn’t delight in the strength of the horse. He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man. Yahweh takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his loving kindness. Praise Yahweh, Jerusalem! Praise your God, Zion! For he has strengthened the bars of your gates. He has blessed your children within you. He makes peace in your borders. He fills you with the finest of the wheat. He sends out his commandment to the earth. His word runs very swiftly. He gives snow like wool, and scatters frost like ashes. He hurls down his hail like pebbles. Who can stand before his cold? He sends out his word, and melts them. He causes his wind to blow, and the waters flow. He shows his word to Jacob, his statutes and his ordinances to Israel. He has not done this for just any nation. They don’t know his ordinances. Praise Yah!

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What the Fathers say

Psalms 147:7

Western Saints

Augustine of Hippo

"Begin to the Lord in confession" [Psalm 147:7]. Begin with this, if you would arrive at a clear understanding of the truth. If you will be brought from the road of faith to the profession of the reality, "begin in confession." First accuse yourself: accuse yourself, praise God. What after confession? Let good works follow. "Sing unto our God upon the harp." What is, "Upon the harp"? As I have already explained, just like the Psalm upon the psaltery, so also is the "harp:" not with voice only, but with works.

Exposition on Psalm 147 ↗

Jerome

Sing to the Lord in confession. This David fulfilled: he who had offered us examples of righteousness, offered us also examples of penance. For he taught us how we ought to do penance, himself doing it. See, holy prophets, that not only their righteousness has profited us, but also their sin. Sing psalms to our God upon the harp. Let no string of the virtues be broken; let all the strings of the virtues sound together. Sing psalms to our God upon the harp. The harp has many strings: if one is broken, the sound cannot be produced. …

Homily 56, on Psalm 146 ↗