1 Praise the Lord!
How good to sing praises to our God!
How delightful and how fitting!
2 The Lord is rebuilding Jerusalem
and bringing the exiles back to Israel.
3 He heals the brokenhearted
and bandages their wounds.
4 He counts the stars
and calls them all by name.
5 How great is our Lord! His power is absolute!
His understanding is beyond comprehension!
6 The Lord supports the humble,
but he brings the wicked down into the dust. NLT
Verse 1 begins with "Praise the Lord!" (or "Hallelujah!"). This is a command. Take some time to do what this verse says.
The background of this psalm refers to a time when people were returning to Israel after years of being dispersed by war and government decrees. How would it have felt to be an Israelite refugee to be allowed back home to participate in the rebuilding of your homeland?
Look at verse 3. What does God do?
How do verse 3 and verse 4 go together?
Take a moment to explore why verse 5 is true.
Look at verse 6. What does God do? How does this fit with the first five verses?
::::: APPLICATION CHALLENGE :::::
How does verse 6 fit you?