“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”
(Psalm 147:3 ESV)

He Heals the Brokenhearted

Psalm 147 starts with joy. “Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting” (Psalm 147:1 ESV). Wow, this psalmist is so excited over the Lord, his praise is turning into song. What about God stirs up such joy in him?

We might expect God’s grandeur or vastness to call forth such praise, but instead, it is the tenderness of the Lord that moves him so deeply.

We know that the Lord sees the brokenhearted (Genesis 16:13). We know the Lord listens to the cries of the hurting and counts their tears (Psalm 56:8). We know the Lord weeps with his hurting children (John 11:35). In fact, the Lord draws near to the brokenhearted (Psalm 34:18).

These are loving services that any compassionate friend might extend to us in our time of grief. We want to be remembered, we want our pain to have some significance, we want someone to join in our pain and to hold us close. But the Lord goes further than any friend, for he can do what no one else can.

Psalm 147 tells us that he heals the brokenhearted (Psalm 147:3).

It is not in God’s nature to leave us as we are—not him whose reflex is mercy and compassion (Exodus 34:6). He heals. He makes the broken whole again. For he is a Redeemer at heart.

He Binds Up Their Wounds

Wouldn’t that be enough!? To know and experience the Lord’s healing?

Notice the testimony of the psalmist continues, though. The Lord heals the brokenhearted, yes. But what else? He binds up the wounds of the brokenhearted.

He whose Word creates, whose power has no limit, who does all that he pleases, could heal at a distance. We know that the Lord could “just say the word” and we would be healed (Matthew 8:8). But he is more tender than we expect.

To bind up a wound you have to get close. You have to touch the hurting, and gently work to restore—to stop the bleeding, to protect the wound, to set the broken bone. The Lord heals, but he also restores with his tender touch. He deals with the wounds of your heart with gentle care. He is determined to bring comfort to your hurting soul.

Bring Your Broken Heart to the Lord

This is who he is. This is why the psalmist rejoices. What kind of God would care about the hearts of his people? What kind of God would draw near to the broken? What kind of God would gently attend to the wounds of my heart?

The same God who would be wounded for us, who would make a way for sinful people to be whole again at a cost to himself (Isaiah 53:4-6; 1 Peter 2:24). This is the God of the Bible.

Is your heart broken? Are you wounded? Take yourself to the Lord today. He can heal you, and he can bind up your wounds. For this reason, he is worthy of our praise.