Sunday Scripture

 

I've mentioned that I'm finishing up a One Chapter a Day study of Psalms 101-150 from Good Morning Girls.  Although I love working on more in-depth Bible studies, these simpler ones are also a blessing to do, and I think they are working out quite well for my Sunday Scripture posts.

 As I've noted before, I like to use the SOAP method of Bible study, and the journal from GMG uses a very similar method.  I find this method a real blessing especially when I am studying shorter passages, and I hope others will give it a try if you haven't ever done so. Just a reminder that the S is for Scripture -- just write it out -- and the O is for Observation, the A is for Application and the P is for prayer -- asking the Lord to help you apply this verse or praising Him for what it means to you.

This study also includes a reflection question for each passage.  Sometime I answer this in my study, and sometimes not.  Whenever I do answer it, I'll do so right after the SOAP part.

Today's study is from Psalm 147.  Verse 3 was the suggested verse to study, but I chose to look quite closely at verses 3-5.  These are some of my favorite verses from Psalms!

S= "He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.

"He appointeth the number of the stars; He calleth them all by their names.

"Great is our Lord, and of great power;  His understanding is infinite."  (Psalm 147:3-5)

O= C.I. Scofield has titled this psalm "God praised for regathering Israel" but there is much more to it than that.  Here just in these few verses are just a handful of amazing truths about our God:

🌿 He heals the brokenhearted
🌿 He binds up the wounds of the brokenhearted ["wounds" here literally means griefs"]
🌿 He appoints the number of stars
🌿 He calls all the stars by their names
🌿 He is great, and of great power
🌿 His understanding is infinite.

And, if we read on to the end of the psalm, we see much much more.

Cross-references for "healeth":

"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O LORD, Thou wilt not despise."  (Psalm 51:17) 

"The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, because the LORD hath anointed Me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound." (Isaiah 61:1)

And the similar verse in the New Testament:

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised."  (Luke 4:18)

Cross-references for "appointeth" or "telleth" (v.4) --

"And He brought [Abraham] forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and count the stars, if thou be able to number them."  (Genesis 15:5) 

"Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, who bringeth out their host by number; He calleth them all by names by the greatness of His might; for He is strong in power.  Not one faileth."  (Isaiah 40:26)

Regarding verses 3-4, M.P. Ferguson wrote the following lines: 

"With His healing hand on a broken heart,
And the other on a star,
Our wonderful God views the miles between
And they seem not very far.

"There is hope and help for our sighs and tears,
For the wound that stings and smarts;
Our God is at home with the rolling spheres,
And at home with broken hearts."

These thoughts have been a comfort and blessing to me for years!

"None but He can count the mighty host, but as He made them and sustains them He can number them.  To Jehovah stars are as mere coins, which the merchant tells as he puts them into his bag. He has an intimate acquaintance with each separate orb, so as to know its name or character ... Vast as these stars are, they are perfectly obedient to His bidding, even as soldiers to a captain who calls their names, and allots them to their stations.  Do they not rise, and set, and move, or stand, precisely according to His order?" -- Charles Spurgeon

William MacDonald writes, "He is the God of restoration ... In His gracious ministry of restoring, He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.  And since He numbers the stars and calls each of them by name, it must follow that He numbers His people and knows each one individually and intimately  ... the tender compassion of the Lord is placed beside His infinite knowledge in verses 3 and 4."

Spurgeon wrote, "what a change is here [in v.4] from the preceding verse!  Read the two without a break, and feel the full force of the contrast.  From stars to sighs is a deep descent!  From worlds to wounds is a distance which only infinite compassion can bridge.  Yet He who doth a surgeon's part with wounded hearts, marshals the heavenly host ... O Lord, it is good to praise Thee as ruling over the stars, but it is pleasant to adore Thee as ruling over the broken in heart!" 

Cross-reference for "great" (v. 5) -- 

"For the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised; He also is to be feared above all gods." (Psalm 96:4)

Cross-reference for "understanding" in verse 5 -- 

"Hast thou not known?  Hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary?  There is no searching of His understanding." (Isaiah 40:28)

 "There is no fathoming His wisdom, or measuring His knowledge.  He is infinite in existence, in poser, and in knowledge, as these three phrases plainly teach us.  And yet how condescending!  For this is He who so tenderly nurses the sick souls, and waits to be gracious to sinful men.  He brings His boundless power and infinite understanding to bear upon human distress for its assuagement and sanctification.  For all these let His praise be great; even could it be infinite, it would not exceed His due.  In the building of the church and the salvation of souls, His greatness, power and wisdom are all displayed."  -- Spurgeon

A= Praise, praise, praise!  There is so much in this psalm to praise God for, and it is such an example of how we should be praising Him.  As Spurgeon notes, even if our praise could be infinite, it would not exceed praise that is due to our amazing God.  And the fact that He "brings His boundless power and infinite understanding to bear upon human distress" ought to encourage us so much.  We can bring every heartbreak to Him, knowing that He cares and heals.

P= "Lord, how wonderful You are!  I am so thankful for Your Word and for the Psalms in particular.  They teach us so much about Your attributes and character and Your interactions with Your people.  I praise You for all that is revealed about You in this psalm and even in these few verses.  I am in awe of how the Holy Spirit put them together.  What an encouragement to Your people!  I praise You that I can bring every heartache to you, knowing that healing, help, and infinite power and understanding are available from You.  I praise You for all of this and for so much more, in Jesus' name, Amen."

The reflection question asks, "Are you hurting today? Has someone broken your heart or wounded you?  The Lord cares and He loves you so much.  He is near to you.  He wants to heal you.  Ask Him for healing today."

My response: This is one of my absolute favorite passages of Scripture.  I have turned to it countless times for comfort and encouragement when my heart has felt broken.  

Archibald G. Brown wrote these eloquent words: "O Holy Spirit, with lowly reverence we venture to say that never hast Thou collected and put side by side two more exquisite statements than these: 'He healeth the broken in heart, and knoweth the number of the stars."

One poet has written that "our God is at home with the rolling spheres, and at home with broken hearts."  

To me, the fact that this mighty, all-powerful, creative, all-knowing God cares about my heartbreaks and wants to mend them, is beyond comforting.

There is this week's Sunday Scripture!  I hope it was a blessing.