Psalms 147:20

He has not done this for just any nation. They don’t know his ordinances. Praise Yah!

World English Bible
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Other translations

WEBBE

He has not done this for just any nation. They don’t know his ordinances. Praise the LORD!

BSB

He has done this for no other nation; they do not know His judgments. Hallelujah!

KJV

He hath not dealt so with any nation: and as for his judgments, they have not known them. Praise ye the LORD.

ASV

He hath not dealt so with any nation; And as for his ordinances, they have not known them. Praise ye Jehovah.

BBE

He has not done these things for any other nation: and as for his laws, they have no knowledge of them. Let the Lord be praised.

Original Hebrew

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The early church

"He has not done so to the whole race" [Psalm 147:20]. Let none deceive you: it is not announced to any nation, this judgment of God; namely, how the righteous and the unrighteous suffer, how all suffer for their deserts, how the righteous themselves are freed by the grace of God, not in their own merits. This is not announced to the whole race, but only to Jacob, only to Israel. What then do we, if He has not announced it to the whole race, but only to Jacob, only to Israel? Where will we be? In Jacob. "He has not manifested His judgments to them." To whom? To all nations. How then are the "snows" called, when the crystal is melted? How are the nations called, now Paul is justified? How, save to be in Jacob? The wild olive is cut off from its stock, to be grafted into the olive: now they belong to the olive, no longer ought they to be called nations, but one nation in Christ, the nation of Jacob, the nation of Israel...What is Israel? "Seeing God." Where shall he see God? In peace. What peace? The peace of Jerusalem; for, says he, "He has set peace for your borders." There shall we praise: there shall we all be one, in One, unto One: for then, though many, we shall not be scattered.
Augustine of Hippo · d. 430Expositions on the Psalms

Commentary

Matthew Henry · Verses 12–20

The church, like Jerusalem of old, built up and preserved by the wisdom, power, and goodness of God, is exhorted to praise him for all the benefits and blessings vouchsafed to her; and these are represented by his favours in the course of nature. The thawing word may represent the gospel of Christ, and the thawing wind the Spirit of Christ; for the Spirit is compared to the wind, Joh 3:8. Converting grace softens the heart that was hard frozen, and melts it into tears of repentance, and makes good reflections to flow, which before were chilled and stopped up. The change which the thaw makes is very evident, yet how it is done no one can say. Such is the change wrought in the conversion of a soul, when God's word and Spirit are sent to melt it and restore it to itself.

Read Matthew Henry on Psalm 147 →

Spurgeon · Verse 20

He hath not dealt so with any nation. Israel had clear and exclusive knowledge of God, while others were left in ignorance. Election is the loudest call for grateful adoration. And as for his judgments, they have not known them; or, and judgments they had not known them, as if not knowing the laws of God, they might be looked upon as having no laws at all worth mentioning. The nations were covered with darkness, and only Israel sat in the light. This was sovereign grace in its fullest noontide of power. Praise ye the Lord. When we have mentioned electing, distinguishing love, our praise can rise no higher, and therefore we close with one more hallelujah.

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Cross-references

13

Topics

Cross-references: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. Hebrew and Greek data from STEPBible.org (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0. Library: sources.