Psalm 147:2-5 The LORD does build up Jerusalem: he gathers together the outcasts of Israel.… : — The text reveals the constructive side of the Divine government. I. AS SHOWN IN THE BUILDING OF THE CHURCH. 1. "The Lord doth build up Jerusalem," etc. That He should do so shows — (1) That the Church is self-demolished. (2) That it is self-helpless. (3) That God is the Gatherer, the Redeemer, and the Builder of the Church. 2. It is not God's purpose to destroy. It is His very nature to preserve, extend, complete, and glorify. He does destroy, but never willingly. His arm does not become terrible until His heart has been grieved, until His patience has been exhausted, and until the vital interests of the universe have been put in peril. II. AS SEEN IN THE GENTLE CARE OF HUMAN HEARTS. "He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds." Still, you see how constructive and preservative is God. His work is edification, not destruction. Who cares for broken-hearted men? Who has patience with the weak and faint? The greater the nature, the greater the compassion. 1. The personality of God's knowledge. He knows every bruised reed. Hears suffer in secret; there is nothing hidden from God! 2. The infinite adaptations of Divine grace. Every heart, whatever its grief, may be healed. There is "a sovereign balm for every wound." 3. The perfectness of Divine healing. Other healers say, "Peace, peace, when there is no peace." Others "heal the hurt of the daughter of My people slightly." We are not healed until God heals us. God offers to heal us; our disease and our sorrow are challenges to prove His grace. What of the responsibility of refusal? III. AS SEEN IN THE ORDER, THE REGULARITY, AND THE STABILITY OF CREATION. 1. Creation is a volume open to all eyes. Read it, and see the might and gentleness, the wisdom and patience of God. Jesus Christ taught us to reason from the natural to the spiritual: "Consider the lilies," etc; "Behold the fowls of the air," etc. (1) God takes care of the great universe, may I not trust Him with my life? (2) Where God's will is unquestioned, the result is light, beauty, music: why should I oppose myself to its gracious dominion? 2. Let the Church be of good courage. "When the Lord shall build up Zion, He shall appear in His glory." "The gates of hell shall not prevail." (J. Parker, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: The LORD doth build up Jerusalem: he gathereth together the outcasts of Israel.WEB: Yahweh builds up Jerusalem. He gathers together the outcasts of Israel. |
    |