Psalm 147:1-11
Living in Debt

Praise Yah,
        for it is good to sing praises to our God;
        for it is pleasant and fitting to praise him.
Yahweh builds up Jerusalem.
        He gathers together the outcasts of Israel.
He heals the broken in heart,
        and binds up their wounds.
He counts the number of the stars.
        He calls them all by their names.
Great is our Lord, and mighty in power.
        His understanding is infinite.
Yahweh upholds the humble.
        He brings the wicked down to the ground.
Sing to Yahweh with thanksgiving.
        Sing praises on the harp to our God,
Who covers the sky with clouds,
        who prepares rain for the earth,
        who makes grass grow on the mountains.
He provides food for the livestock,
        and for the young ravens when they call.
He doesn't delight in the strength of the horse.
        He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man.
Yahweh takes pleasure in those who fear him,
        in those who hope in his loving kindness.

World English Bible

As with many Psalms, this one describes God as being so much greater than we are. God counts the innumerable stars and calls each one by name. God covers the sky with clouds to bring rain that sustains life. God has the power and desire to heal us emotionally and physically. God's knows everything. God is so good, and God is deserving of our praises. Praising God is what we should be doing: giving thanks, expressing our awe at who God is, and singing for joy.

But is that all that we should be doing—just praising, singing to, and thanking God? This answer is complicated enough to have generated serious debates over the centuries, and we can read the evidences of those debates in the words of Paul—"By grace are you saved through faith"—and the words of James—"Faith without works is dead". As we examine the lives of strong Christians we observe that both Paul and James were correct, truthfully conveying God's Way and giving us critical and holy guidance.

It is the question itself that is at the root of this debate. It is our intended meaning when we ask this question that provides us either with an pathway to grow in Christ or with a barrier to thwart the opportunity for Christ to change us. How are we considering the balance of this relationship, the exchange between what God has done for us and what we offer back to God? At one extreme, some consider that what the psalm requires is praises to God, so they quickly offer acts of worship to "pay up" their side of the bargain. Others consider the magnitude of God's sustenance and feel obliged to pay God back "in kind", even to the extreme of rejecting God's bounty if they feel they have not paid God back sufficiently for prior mercies. Anticipating this response, the psalmist reminded us that God is not impressed by human strength.

The psalmist gave us a different view of our relationship with God in the final verse in the selection above. What God wants from us is not merely to voice our praises but to depend on God. We are not thanking God for gifts but relying on God for the essentials of life. The idea of repaying God or demonstrating our worthiness to God is absurd in this context. Using the metaphor of an exchange, we live in impossible debt to God, and we rejoice that the payment demanded for this debt is to live enthusiastically in debt! Any other response is to deny the infinite glory of God.