Psalms 147:12

12 Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion!

Psalms 147:12 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 147:12

Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem
The inhabitants of it, as Kimchi; not Jerusalem in a literal sense, for this respects future time, as Aben Ezra; the world to come, the times of the Messiah: and intends the spiritual Jerusalem, as Arama; that which is free, the mother of us all; the Gospel church, and the members of it; which have great reason to praise the Lord, for their special blessings and peculiar privileges; see ( Galatians 4:26 Galatians 4:27 ) ( Hebrews 12:22 Hebrews 12:23 ) ; praise thy God, O Zion;
not the house and family of David, as R. Obadiah; nor the priests and Levites in the temple, as others; but the same as before, the church and people of God; the Mount Zion God has loved and chose for his habitation; the city of our solemnities in Gospel times; the perfection of beauty and joy of the whole earth; whose God and King is Christ; and whom Zion and all her children should praise, being her incarnate God, Immanuel, God manifest in the flesh. With this verse, the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions, begin the psalm.

Psalms 147:12 In-Context

10 His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the speed of a runner;
11 but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.
12 Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion!
13 For he strengthens the bars of your gates; he blesses your children within you.
14 He grants peace within your borders; he fills you with the finest of wheat.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.