Sipi para sa Mga Awit 147:2

This is expressed by the Psalmist, who praises God because He bestows certain things, which show that He is wise, possessed of will and powerful, adding that God is gracious and gives of His own accord to Israel these three parts, words, statutes and judgments, which also show that He is wise, possessed of will and powerful. Hence he says, “For it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant and praise is comely,” i. e., it is pleasant and good and becoming to exalt and praise Him about all the things which come from His wisdom and His will and His power, and which show His providence. He begins therefore with, “The Lord doth build up Jerusalem, He gathereth together the dispersed of Israel.” This shows that He has will, like a king who builds a country according to his will and admits into it any people he likes, seeing that no one can prevent him, since he is greater than all those over whom he rules, and hence can do as he pleases. Then he says, “Who healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.” This indicates God’s power. If the heart is broken, that is, if its parts are severed, there is no natural cure for it, as we are told by medical writers. Any other members if broken can be cured. Therefore the Psalmist attributes to the Lord the cure of a broken heart, in which the parts are severed, though it can not be cured in the ord nary way. This shows His great power in delivering the oppressed from his oppressor, as David says, “The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, and saveth such as are of a contrite spirit.”The meaning is that just as God cures the broken hearted, who could not recover if left to nature, so He saves those of a crushed spirit, who can not be saved in a natural way, as Solomon says: “The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a broken spirit who can bear?” The meaning is, if a man is sick and the animal spirit is strong, he can sustain the infirmity, but if the spirit is sick and broken, who can bear it? That is, who can sustain it? For by nature it can not get well. Then he says: “He counteth the number of the stars; He giveth them all their names.” This shows God’s wisdom. Then he adds: “Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite,” alluding to all three attributes. “Great is our Lord,” refers to will, meaning that God is great enough to do what He wills, without any one preventing Him, corresponding to “The Lord doth build up Jerusalem.” “Mighty in power,” refers to His ability to heal the broken hearted, corresponding to “Who healeth the broken in heart.” “His understanding is infinite,” alludes to His wisdom, in that He knows the number of the stars, and the powers of each, as well as the composition of their powers with one another, corresponding to “He counteth the number of the stars.” The meaning is, since His wisdom is infinite, He can embrace the infinite, much more so the number of the stars, which is necessarily finite, as there can not be an infinite number of bodies. But by reason of the immense quantity of their powers when they are combined together, he attributes the knowledge of their number and of the immense quantity of their powers when combined to infinite wisdom.