Lord of Frost and Flour

When a child says, “I love you,” there is a definite tug on the heart strings. And when we express our love to God, it is equally appreciated.

Kids have cute ways of saying, “I love you.” Maybe it’s a handmade card covered with stickers, a whispered bedtime confession, or a clumsy but heartfelt hug. Parents have their own ways, too. Writer Katie McLaughlin, on her parenting website, PickAnyTwo.net, lists 36 ways parents can say “I love you” to their children. Words are always a good thing, but when you also give them your time, care for them, or give them physical touches like hugs, pats and kisses, children are going to feel that they are safe and loved.

As important as parental affirmation is for children, it is the children’s “I luv you’s” that tug on the heartstrings. Somehow, the attempts of a 3-year-old to express love can be more endearing and meaningful to the parent than vice versa. But, when a child says, “I love you, daddy,” or “I love you, mommy,” the heart is warmed. No doubt about it.

One way a child expresses love is to help in the kitchen. They often want to help with the baking. The fact that they are motivated solely by the opportunity to lick the remnants of the batter from a spatula, spoon or bowl is beside the point. A child in the kitchen with a parent evokes images of frosting and flour all over the floor, counter and faces. Sifting flour is one of the love languages of children, as is frosting the cake. But, like love, it is often messy!

Frost and flour. Two words that connect to today’s psalm reading. They represent two striking realms of God’s providence described in the passage:

Frost represents God’s control over the natural world. The psalmist says, “He gives snow like wool; he scatters frost like ashes” (v. 16), highlighting God’s sovereignty over weather, seasons and the elements.

Flour (a poetic stand-in for the finest wheat, v. 14) symbolizes God’s provision. God commands the forces of nature, no question. But God also satisfies human needs by feeding and caring for the children of God with the best of what the earth yields.

Together, frost and flour express a full-spectrum image of God’s character: majestic in power yet intimately concerned with daily sustenance.

The God who commands the snow and hail is the same God who blesses children, fortifies cities and fills pantries.

 

I Love You

Keep in mind that it is the psalmist, a child of God, who is describing the Creator Parent, and who is essentially saying, “I love you.” If the psalm were a blog post, it might be titled, “36 Ways to Say God Is Amazing.” But what makes this psalm stand out is the way it moves beyond the personal to the cosmic. The writer not only thanks God for individual blessings; he praises God for being a powerful, just, attentive and sovereign God. The writer is standing on a mountaintop, scanning the vastness of creation and history, and taking a moment to marvel — basically saying, “I love you!”

“Extol the Lord, O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion!” (v. 12) the psalmist begins. It is a command, not a suggestion. And it is addressed not to an individual, but to a community. This is not a private act of devotion. This is a public celebration, a call for all of God’s people to look up and pay attention. The psalmist is leading worship, pointing to the world and saying, “Look what God has done.”

You could argue that he is the Elizabeth Barrett Browning of the Old Testament, a bard who extolled the Creator just as Elizabeth mooned over Robert in “Sonnet 43”:

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.

She continues for 10 more lines and there you have it: Substitute the psalmist for Elizabeth Browning and God for Bob Browning and the comparison works perfectly. This is worship.

 

Thank You for the Presents

The opening of the psalm contains a catalog of divine deeds. You might think of them as beautiful, decorative, glitzy presents. In verse 3, the writer notes a gift that promises healing and the binding of wounds: “He heals the brokenhearted, and binds up their wounds” (v. 3). Can you imagine the joy of a child opening the gift of healing?

Think of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which has made the hopes, dreams and desires of thousands of children come true. Take Bo, for example, a young boy in Wisconsin who wished for a Goldendoodle puppy. The Make-A-Wish Foundation made it happen. His wish came true when Goldendoodle Charlie arrived, bringing smiles and laughter to Bo and his family — smiles they deeply needed. Bo’s family shared, “He’s said a million times that he can’t believe it’s true that we got Charlie.” Charlie became Bo’s constant companion, offering comfort, joy, and a sense of normalcy even on hard days. The puppy didn’t erase Bo’s challenges but brought daily moments of delight and companionship that lifted his spirit.

Here’s a dog who made God’s healing touch something real, a reminder that God sees our wounds, hears our longings, and meets us with grace, even if it comes most improbably through the gift of a furry friend.

Make-A-Wish Foundation is an awesome organization. But it pales in comparison to the kingdom of God, where God has a program we might call the Make-A-Prayer Foundation.

But the psalmist is not done. “He strengthens the bars of your gates” (v. 13), which is to say, God protects us. Not just figuratively, but literally. “God surrounds you with safety.”

The psalmist continues. “He blesses your children within you” (v. 13). This is legacy, generational grace. It is not only about the present moment but about God’s intention to bless the future through those we love.

“He grants peace within your borders” (v. 14). For Israel, borders were important, and they are still a hot-button topic today. Not only do we want secure borders, but nations are picky about who crosses these borders. Even the location of borders can be murky. When borders were constantly threatened, for the Lord to offer “peace within your borders” was the ultimate blessing. Peace is the soil where joy can grow. And not only peace: “He fills you with the finest of wheat” (v. 14). God satisfies.

 

You Can Do Anything

“For he strengthens the bars of your gates” (v. 13). Here’s another way a child says, “I love you.” She lets the parent know that she believes there is nothing impossible for a parent. “I’ll bet you’re the best doctor [or, the strongest person, the best lawyer, etc.] in the whole town. The whole city! The whole state! The whole country! You are the best in the whole world, aren’t you?”

This is essentially what the psalmist is saying about God. “You’re the best, the greatest, most awesome God.” Like a child’s perception of a parent who can fix anything, anytime, anywhere, we, too, have confidence that God is present in our personal stories and can fix things on an “as needed” basis.

Then comes a shift. The psalmist moves from describing God’s work among people to God’s dominion over nature. “He sends out his command to the earth … He gives snow like wool … He scatters frost like ashes … He hurls down hail like crumbs” (vv. 15-17). God doesn’t just care about the city gates and family life; God is Lord of the atmosphere, climate and cosmos.

The most stunning part comes at the end: “He declares his word to Jacob, his statutes and ordinances to Israel” (v. 19). The God who commands the frost, snow and flour also speaks to his people. He governs galaxies, but he also gives guidance to communities. This is not a distant, cold Creator. This is a relational, covenantal God. Israel is uniquely blessed, not because of superiority, but because God has spoken.

The psalm ends with this: “He has not dealt thus with any other nation; they do not know his ordinances. Praise the Lord!” (v. 20). In other words, there’s something intimate and sacred about being entrusted with God’s word.

 

I’ll Do Better, I Promise

What does this mean for us today? Think of the child who is learning to color within the lines, or drops the cake on the floor, or comes home from first grade with an “Unsatisfactory.” In healthy relationships, children seek and need the approval of their parents. So, what steps might we take to improve our relationship with our Creator Parent?

First, we might worship from a wider perspective. Too often we only worship when something goes our way. We thank God for a good test result, a safe trip, a job offer. And we should. But Psalm 147 invites us to worship God not just for what has been done for us, but for who God is in God’s divine selfness. God’s power. God’s mercy. God’s creation. God’s wisdom. Even if our personal lives are filled with chaos, God is still worthy of praise because God remains sovereign, Lord of all.

Second, we might be grateful for a revised sense of scale. This God is big, but also governs snowflakes and city gates. This God blesses children and their “snips and snails and puppy-dog tails … sugar and spice and everything nice.” This God sends hail, but is just as concerned with atmospheric currents as with your Tuesday afternoon. If we can trust God with the cosmos, we can trust God with our concerns.

Third, we might revere or honor the word of God. Verse 19 highlights the supreme gift of Scripture. God’s commands and promises are not distant thunder; they are personal gifts. This blog-infested world of ours is saturated with opinions, but the word of God remains a trustworthy foundation.

Finally, the psalm ends with a simple invitation: “Praise the Lord.” No matter where you are, what your week has held, or how distant God may feel, this is your call to worship. Step onto the scenic turnout. Take in the view. Let your soul marvel at the sweep of God’s power, presence and provision.

Because sometimes the best response to grace is to stop, wipe the flour off your face, hold up your spatula dripping with chocolate frosting and look up into the face of God and say, “I love you!”

And God will answer as any smitten parent would: “I love you more!”

Amen.

—Timothy Merrill and Carl Wilton contributed to this material.

 

Sources:

Browning, Elizabeth Barrett. “Sonnet 43.” Sonnets from the Portuguese.

Make-A-Wish Wisconsin’s Post. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/make-a-wish-wisconsin_bos-wish-to-have-a-golden-doodle-puppy-recently-activity-7313220517929308160-H3bG. Retrieved June 30, 2025.

The Other Texts

What Is One Possible Approach to the Text?

And Now for the Good News. This text reads like the second half of a terrible joke. “What do you want? The good news or the bad news?” Jeremiah has already delivered the bad news. In this text, however, Jeremiah springs the good news. And it is good news indeed! It’s totally amazing! Almost unbelievable. So, as a pastor/preacher, you are thinking of the people in the congregation who have weathered through bad news, difficult years and hard times. They need good news. The good news is that there is always hope. We may need to work with the Lord a little bit to make the good times roll again, but there is always hope. That is one emphasis to pound home for a while. The second suggestion is to encourage people to be the hope and good news that other people need right now in their lives. People need hope. They need love. They need good news. Why don’t we give it to them? Hope is the greatest gift we can give.

What Does the Text Say?

Jeremiah was prophet to a nation on the edge of a cataclysmic change, a nation that stood on the brink of an abyss. At the bottom lay the end of their history as an independent nation. All they could do was stand on the walls of Jerusalem and look to the horizon for the conquering armies that stood poised to sweep them off their land and into exile. Our text is the one bright spot in an otherwise depressing book. Jeremiah 30:1−31:40 is called the “Book of Consolations” because within these chapters, the prophet holds out the eternal hope that no matter how bad things get for Israel and Judah, God will keep the covenant. God will turn back to the people with compassion, and the people can and will be restored to God’s good graces. The passage speaks of restoration — salvation brought by the Lord, the return of exiles from the farthest corner of the Earth, even the most fragile and helpless of society sheltered and protected — all at the hands of a loving and forgiving God. Everyone shall be forgiven and brought home again. Verses 10-14 speak of total restoration of the people. Their reputation among the nations will be restored, and God will be their “shepherd” once again (v. 10).

What Is One Possible Approach to the Text?

What Happened on Christmas Day. Of the four gospel writers, Matthew and Luke offer the most detailed accounts of the birth of the Christ child. These accounts have given us what we call “the Christmas story,” which itself is full of cultural mythologies (including the date for Jesus’ birth) and cultural observances. Mark ignores the birth of Jesus completely. It is John who tells us what really happened — the back story. And so, on the second Sunday after Christmas, and just before Epiphany, the preacher has an opportunity to explain. “Okay, the tree is probably down by now. If not, it will surely come down next weekend. The presents have been unwrapped, returned or set aside for re-gifting next year. Let’s talk about what really was going on December 25. What happened was that God — the ineffable, transcendent deity — robed himself in human flesh and materialized before our very eyes. God entered the human dimension. Oddly, he was rejected by the very cultural and ethnic tribe through which he chose to reveal himself. How, then, will we respond to the good news that we are the children of God?”

What Does the Text Say?

Verses 10-18 form the second half of the prologue for the gospel of John and highlight two key realities. First, the One who was the Word and created the world didn’t remain distant from his creation. On the contrary, “He was in the world” so people could become “children of God.” Even though “the world came into being through him,” inexplicably, “the world did not know him” (v. 10). This paradox concerning the world’s ignorance is further magnified given that “he came to what was his own [eiV ta idia hlqen], and his own people did not accept him [oi idioi auton ou parelabon]” (v. 11). After describing the relationship between the Word and the world in verses 10-13, the final portion of John’s prologue considers a second decisive reality. The narrative recounts specifically how the Word was present in the world: “And the Word became flesh [sarx] and lived among us [eskhnwsen en hmin; more literally, ‘pitched his tent with us’].” Not only that, John also passes on the collective testimony of the community when he states, “And we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth” (v. 14). Having examined the relationship between the Word and the world and enumerated three attributes of Jesus Christ — glory, grace and truth — John closes the prologue with a most profound and magisterial assertion: “No one has ever seen God” (not even Moses, as great as he was). But Jesus Christ, who “is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart [o wn eiV ton klopon tou patroV] … has made him known” (v. 18).

What Is One Possible Approach to the Text?

Build the Perfect Child. “Advances in human genetic engineering may one day make it possible to design a newborn — from what he or she (your choice) will look like, to how athletic the child will be.” So begins a program on NPR that aired years ago (“Genetically engineering a ‘perfect’ baby,” June 15, 2008). What has happened since 2008 in this field? The point is that today’s text, a veritable cafeteria of homiletical entrees, can be approached by considering what the apostle says about God knowing us and “choosing” us “before the creation of the world” (v. 4, NIV). Verse 11 says we are “predestined.” It appears that God is building the perfect child even before God builds what would become an imperfect world. Which is perhaps the point. God has made us perfectly suited both for God’s purposes and to live in this world so that we might live to “the praise of his glory” (v. 12).

What Does the Text Say?

The letter to the Ephesians opens with the lengthy prayer of thanksgiving. In Greek, these 13 verses are one long, continuous statement — as though the author simply could not stop for breath. Consider all the theological issues covered in this prayer: God’s work through Christ, the plan of salvation effected, a repeated emphasis on God’s sovereignty in this plan, the re-creation of humanity as a result of Christ’s redemptive death, the forgiveness of sins, our adoption as God’s children, and the confirming seal of the Holy Spirit. So daunting are these lines of text that even biblical scholars notorious for their convoluted long-windedness dare to call Ephesians 1:3-14 the most garish grammatical goulash to be found in Greek! This text has obvious liturgical roots. In fact, it lyrically encapsulates a whole gamut of Pauline theology so well that it has been dubbed a “doxology” of the divine plan for salvation. The glorious language and almost run-on nature of the thoughts perhaps reflect the spiritual joy and excitement the writer feels at relating what he has discovered “in the heavenly places” (v. 3). These “heavenly places” are referred to four other times (1:20; 2:6; 3:10; 6:12), but the phrase is found nowhere else in the NT. The exalted tone and vocabulary have led commentators to designate Ephesians “an epistle of ascension.” Ephesians reflects mature Pauline theology, focusing pointedly and poignantly on what is most central, most crucial for new Christians to understand as the divine plan for salvation and as overwhelming evidence of the continuing power of divine love. It is hard to read this prayer of praise and not feel the special grace of being human. Again and again, this text manages to emphasize God’s unique love and concern for us.

Worship Resources

God of creation, with trumpets of blessing, we praise you for the gift of our world. You caused water to run in deep rivers and oceans to gracefully lap the shore. You made the earth’s warm seeds into fragrant roses and delicate orchids. You sent invisible winds to bounce the leaves, cool the nights and carry birds to soaring heights. You gave fire to light our way, to fuel our labors and to dazzle our eyes.

And in your great joy, you delighted to make us in your own image and breathed life into us so that we might notice the miracle that we are, see the wonder of another person, take pleasure in the fact of life itself, taste the glory of sun-blessed food, thrill at a dazzling sunset, and marvel at each new dawn.

God of Creation, we praise you. Again and again. Amen.

To the God of all creation be glory. To Jesus Christ be praise. To the Holy Spirit be worship and adoration. This day has been for you, our great God and King. We leave now with hearts restored, refreshed and renewed because we have been in your presence. We walk from this place with joy and hope, knowing that you go with us. Amen.

Leader: Praise the Lord!

People: How good it is to sing praises to our God!

Leader: How great is our God! His power is absolute! His understanding is beyond our comprehension.

People: How good it is to sing praises to our God!

Leader: The Lord delights in those who honor him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.

People: How good it is to sing praises to our God!

All: Praise the Lord!

—Based on Psalm 147

Hymns
Now Praise the Lord
We Plough the Fields and Scatter
Now Thank We All Our God

Worship and Praise*
God of Wonders (Byrd, Hindalong)
What an Awesome God (Mullins, Wickham, Smith)
10,000 Reasons (Redman)

*For licensing and permission to reprint or display these songs on screen, go to ccli.com. The worship and praise songs suggested by Homiletics can be found in most cases on Google by using the title as the search term.

COMMENTARY

on Psalm 147:12-20