Psalms 147:5

5 1Great is our Lord and abundant in strength; His 2understanding is infinite *.

Psalms 147:5 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 147:5

Great [is] our Lord, and of great power
"Our Lord" is our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of the whole earth; the Lord of his own people by creation, by redemption, by marriage, and by the conquest of his grace, and their voluntary submission to him; he is "great" in his person, offices, and grace, and therefore greatly to be praised; see ( Psalms 145:3 ) ; and particularly his "power" is very "great", as appears in the creation of all things out of nothing by him; in the sustaining and support of the world and all things in it: in the redemption of his people from the hand of their powerful enemies; in beginning, carrying on, and perfecting a work of grace on their hearts by his Spirit and power; and in the preservation of them unto eternal life, through a thousand dangers and difficulties: at his resurrection all power in heaven and earth were given him as Mediator; and in the latter day he will take to himself his great power and reign; and in the last day will raise the dead out of their graves; his understanding [is] infinite;
it reaches to all things, not to the stars of heaven only, as in ( Psalms 147:4 ) , but to the fowls of the air, to the beasts of the field, and cattle upon a thousand hills; to all on the surface of the earth, or in the bowels of it; and to the fishes of the sea: it reaches to all men, and to all the thoughts of their hearts, the words of their mouths, and the actions of their lives; it reaches to all things past, that have been, to everything present, and to whatsoever is to come; it includes not only the knowledge of all things that are, or certainly will be, but of all things possible, or which he could bring into being if he would; it is concerned not only with the quality and nature of things it perfectly understands, but with the quantity of them; even all things in creation and providence, which are without number and past finding out by men; and so his understanding is without number, and cannot be declared, as the word signifies.

Psalms 147:5 In-Context

3 He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their wounds.
4 He counts the number of the stars; He gives names to all of them.
5 Great is our Lord and abundant in strength; His understanding is infinite .
6 The LORD supports the afflicted; He brings down the wicked to the ground.
7 Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; Sing praises to our God on the lyre,

Cross References 2

  • 1. Psalms 48:1; Psalms 145:3
  • 2. Isaiah 40:28

Footnotes 1

New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, California.  All rights reserved.