What Does Psalms 147:3 Mean?
Verse-by-verse commentary and theological analysis
Psalms 147:3 Commentary
"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." After the city-scale and community-scale acts of verses 2, verse 3 moves to the interior scale: the brokenhearted (nishbarei lev, those whose heart has been shattered, whose interior world has been broken by what they have suffered) are the ones the LORD heals. The healer of the broken heart is the same LORD who builds the city and gathers the outcasts — the scale shifts from national to personal, but the agent is unchanged. The binding of wounds (yechabesh le-atzbotam, he wraps their painful-places) is the field-medicine image: the one who stops the bleeding and wraps what has been torn.
The brokenhearted in the exile context are the community of Psalm 137 — the ones who sat by the rivers of Babylon and wept, whose lyres were hung on the willows because there was nothing to sing. The broken heart of exile, of loss, of the destroyed city and the scattered community — this is what the LORD who is building Jerusalem is simultaneously healing. The construction project and the healing project are going on at the same time, in the same people, by the same God.
Luke 4:18 gives Jesus's anointed-to-heal-the-brokenhearted: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me... to bind up the brokenhearted." The heals-the-brokenhearted of Psalm 147:3 is the first category in the Isaiah 61:1 programme that Jesus quotes at Nazareth as his own mission statement — and the bind-up (chabash) in both texts uses the same word, making the psalm and the prophet and the Jesus-mission explicitly continuous. The brokenhearted in every exile, every loss, every shattering of the interior world, are the ones the anointed healer came for.
Frequently Asked Questions: Psalms 147:3
Direct theological answers and biblical context for study, teaching, and AI search citations.
What is the primary theological meaning of Psalms 147:3?
"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. " After the city-scale and community-scale acts of verses 2, verse 3 moves to the interior scale: the brokenhearted (nishbarei lev, those whose heart has been shattered, whose interior world has been broken by what they have suffered) are the ones the LORD heals.
What is the historical and literary context of Psalms 147:3?
The brokenhearted in the exile context are the community of Psalm 137 , the ones who sat by the rivers of Babylon and wept, whose lyres were hung on the willows because there was nothing to sing. The broken heart of exile, of loss, of the destroyed city and the scattered community , this is what the LORD who is building Jerusalem is simultaneously healing.
How does Psalms 147:3 connect to Christ and the wider biblical narrative?
Luke 4:18 gives Jesus's anointed-to-heal-the-brokenhearted: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me... to bind up the brokenhearted. " The heals-the-brokenhearted of Psalm 147:3 is the first category in the Isaiah 61:1 programme that Jesus quotes at Nazareth as his own mission statement , and the bind-up (chabash) in both texts uses the same word, making the psalm and the prophet and the Jesus-mission explicitly continuous.
What doctrinal truth does Psalms 147:3 teach believers today?
" The heals-the-brokenhearted of Psalm 147:3 is the first category in the Isaiah 61:1 programme that Jesus quotes at Nazareth as his own mission statement , and the bind-up (chabash) in both texts uses the same word, making the psalm and the prophet and the Jesus-mission explicitly continuous.
Explore the Full Analysis of Psalms 147
The hundred and forty-seventh psalm is a beautiful synthesis of God's power in nature and His tenderness toward His people. The setting moves between the vast s...
Read Chapter 147 Study Guidearrow_forward
