12 Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!
Praise your God, O Zion!
13 For He has strengthened the bars of your gates;
He has blessed your sons within you.
14 He makes [i]peace in your borders;
He satisfies you with the [j]finest of the wheat.
15 He sends forth His command to the earth;
His word runs very swiftly.
16 He gives snow like wool;
He scatters the frost like ashes.
17 He casts forth His ice as fragments;
Who can stand before His cold?
18 He sends forth His word and melts them;
He causes His wind to blow and the waters to flow.
19 He declares His words to Jacob,
His statutes and His ordinances to Israel.
20 He has not dealt thus with any nation;
And as for His ordinances, they have not known them.
[k]Praise [l]the Lord!
As the psalmist continues to speak of the restoration and blessing of Jerusalem (after their long captivity), he takes a little detour. He reminds us that God commands the snow, frost, and ice and then at His command they all melt and the the waters flow once more. Why does that matter?
It reminds us that God is in control, no one alters the weather in His despite. And even if we could alter the weather (as some have claimed), it isn’t catching God by surprise. But there is something else here that is illustrated in our world today, which was not the case when this psalm was written.
In v. 20, the psalmist states that God had spoken to Jacob/Israel, and given them His law and rules for living. No other nation could claim that, and it was a blessing to them–when they remembered to live by God’s instruction. Yet God declared to Abraham that His offspring would also be a bless to the whole world, so what then?
Well, just like God speaks to the earth and the clouds, and commands the wind and rain, God speaks to the whole earth through His Word. It is not hidden, or confined to a single nation any longer. When Jesus came to this earth, the barriers were broken down, and He commissioned His disciples not just to Jerusalem and Judea, but to the whole world.
And just like no one can stop His command of the weather, no one can stop His Word either. It finds it’s way into the darkest corners, and God tells us His word will not return void. That is, unless we harden our hearts and remain insistent in our stubborn pride. If you’re reading this, His word has found you. Will you be like ice, cold and hard. Or will you let Him melt your heart, and break down the barriers that have kept Him out?
It’s not a one time thing either. Even if you accept Him now, your task has just begun. The goal is to keep your heart soft and pliable, like clay in the hand of the master Potter. Let God do a new work in you, just like the coming of Spring to a cold and barren land.