Psalm 147:14

He maketh peace in thy borders, and filleth thee with the finest of the wheat.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(14) Maketh peace.—Or, placing as thy border peace.

Finest of the wheat.—Literally, fat of wheat. (See Psalm 81:16.)

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

147:12-20 The church, like Jerusalem of old, built up and preserved by the wisdom, power, and goodness of God, is exhorted to praise him for all the benefits and blessings vouchsafed to her; and these are represented by his favours in the course of nature. The thawing word may represent the gospel of Christ, and the thawing wind the Spirit of Christ; for the Spirit is compared to the wind, Joh 3:8. Converting grace softens the heart that was hard frozen, and melts it into tears of repentance, and makes good reflections to flow, which before were chilled and stopped up. The change which the thaw makes is very evident, yet how it is done no one can say. Such is the change wrought in the conversion of a soul, when God's word and Spirit are sent to melt it and restore it to itself.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

He maketh peace in thy borders - Margin, he maketh thy border peace. The word border here refers to a boundary, and stands for all the domain or territory included within the boundaries of a country. The idea is that peace prevailed throughout the land.

And filleth thee with the finest of the wheat - Margin, as in Hebrew, fat of wheat. Literally, "He satisfies thee with the fat of wheat." There is no want of wheat, and that of the best kind. Compare the notes at Psalm 132:15 : "I will satisfy her poor with bread."

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

14. maketh … borders—or, territories (Ge 23:17; Isa 54:12).

filleth thee, &c.—(Compare Margin).

Matthew Poole's Commentary

In thy borders; in all thy land, even to its utmost borders, which are most liable to the incursion of enemies.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

He maketh peace in thy borders,.... Which are usually most infested by enemies, It may denote the universality of peace throughout the land, in all the parts and borders of it; and be understood of the outward peace of the church with her enemies, and of the abundance and continuance of it in the latter day; and of that concord and harmony that shall be among the members of it; and also of that inward spiritual conscience peace each enjoy through believing; and which is in and from Christ, and flows from his blood and righteousness, applied for pardon and justification; and is another reason for praising the Lord;

and filleth thee with the finest of the wheat; or, "fat of the wheat" (s); the best of it; see Deuteronomy 32:14; which is the choicest of grain, and makes the best of bread, and especially the finest flour of it; and to be filled and satisfied with this, or to have enough of it, is a great temporal blessing. Here it may be understood spiritually of the Gospel, which may be compared to wheat, and the finest of it, for its excellency and purity, for its solidity and substantiality; with which the chaff of human doctrine is not to be mentioned, Jeremiah 23:28; and for its salutary nourishing and strengthening virtue; and especially of Christ, the sum and substance of it, sometimes compared to a corn of wheat, John 12:24; for his superior excellency to all others, and the purity of his nature; for his great fruitfulness, and for being suitable food to his people; the bread of life, for which he is prepared by his sufferings and death; which may be signified by the beating out of the corn, and grinding the wheat, and making it into bread, fit for use: and for this spiritual food believers are abundantly thankful, and have reason to praise the Lord.

(s) "adipe", Montanus, Pagninus, Tigurine version, Musculus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius, Gejerus, Michaelis.

Geneva Study Bible

He maketh peace in thy borders, and filleth thee with the finest of the wheat.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

14. satisfleth thee with the fat of wheat] Fulfilling His ancient promises. Cp. Psalm 81:16; Deuteronomy 32:14.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 14. - He maketh peace in thy borders. The completion of the walls and gates of Jerusalem brought to an end the troubles caused by Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem, and established general peace and tranquility in Israel. And filleth thee with the finest of the wheat; literally, with the fat of wheat; i.e. wheat in abundance and of good quality. The prosperity of Nehemiah's time appears in Nehemiah 10:28-39; Nehemiah 12:44-47; Nehemiah 13:12-15. Psalm 147:14

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

In the lxx this strophe is a Psalm (Lauda Jerusalem) of itself. The call goes forth to the church again on the soil of the land of promise assembled round about Jerusalem. The holy city has again risen out of its ruins; it now once more has gates which can stand open in the broad daylight, and can be closed and bolted when the darkness comes on for the security of the municipality that is only just growing into power (Nehemiah 7:1-4). The blessing of God again rests upon the children of the sacred metropolis. Its territory, which has experienced all the sufferings of war, and formerly resounded with the tumult of arms and cries of woe and destruction, God has now, from being an arena of conflict, made into peace (the accusative of the effect, and therefore different from Isaiah 60:17); and since the land can now again be cultivated in peace, the ancient promise (Psalm 81:17) is fulfilled, that God would feed His people, if they would only obey Him, with the fat of wheat. The God of Israel is the almighty Governor of nature. It is He who sends His fiat (אמרתו after the manner of the ויּאמר of the history of creation, cf. Psalm 33:9) earthwards (ארץ, the accusative of the direction). The word is His messenger (vid., on Psalm 107:20), עד־מהרה, i.e., it runs as swiftly as possible, viz., in order to execute the errand on which it is sent. He it is who sends down snow-flakes like flocks of wool, so that the fields are covered with snow as with a white-woollen warming covering.

(Note: Bochart in his Hierozoicon on this passage compares an observation of Eustathius on Dionysius Periegetes: τὴν χιόνα ἐριῶδες ὕδωρ ἀστείως οἱ παλαιοὶ ἐκάλουν.)

He scatters hoar-frost (כּפור from כּפר, to cover over with the fine frozen dew or mist as though they were powdered with ashes that the wind had blown about. Another time He casts His ice

(Note: lxx (Italic, Vulgate) κρύσταλλον, i.e., ice, from the root κρυ, to freeze, to congeal (Jerome glaciem). Quid est crystallum? asks Augustine, and replies: Nix est glacie durata per multos annos ita ut a sole vel igne acile dissolvi non possit.)

(קרחו from קרח; or according to another reading, קרחו from קרח) down like morsels, fragments, כפתּים, viz., as hail-stones, or as sleet. The question: before His cold - who can stand? is formed as in Nahum 1:6, cf. Psalm 130:3. It further comes to pass that God sends forth His word and causes them (snow, hoar-frost, and ice) to melt away: He makes His thawing wind blow, waters flow; i.e., as soon as the one comes about, the other also takes place forthwith. This God now, who rules all things by His word and moulds all things according to His will, is the God of the revelation pertaining to the history of salvation, which is come to Israel, and as the bearer of which Israel takes the place of honour among the nations, Deuteronomy 4:7., 32-34. Since the poet says מגּיד and not הגּיד, he is thinking not only of the Tra, but also of prophecy as the continuous self-attestation of God, the Lawgiver. The Ker דּבריו, occasioned by the plurals of the parallel member of the verse, gives an unlimited indistinct idea. We must keep to דברו, with the lxx, Aquila, Theodotion, the Quinta, Sexta, and Jerome. The word, which is the medium of God's cosmical rule, is gone forth as a word of salvation to Israel, and, unfolding itself in statutes and judgments, has raised Israel to a legal state founded upon a positive divine law or judgment such as no Gentile nation possesses. The Hallelujah does not exult over the fact that these other nations are not acquainted with any such positive divine law, but (cf. Deuteronomy 4:7., Baruch 4:4) over the fact that Israel is put into possession of such a law. It is frequently attested elsewhere that this possession of Israel is only meant to be a means of making salvation a common property of the world at large.