1. Praise the Lord–His People Have Been Restored (vv. 1-6). The Medes and Persians captured Babylon in 539 BC, and in 537 BC Cyrus issued a decree permitting the Jews to return to their land. Led by Zerubbabel, a large band of exiles went back to Judah the next year and the temple was rebuilt. Nehemiah came in 444 BC to restore the walls and gates of Jerusalem. Both Isaiah and Jeremiah had predicted the captivity of the Jews as well as their release and return, and God’s prophetic Word proved true, as it always does. But the psalmist did not simply notice the event; he also noticed the way the Lord tenderly cared for His people. Many lost loved ones in the invasion and during the time in Babylon, and all returned to a devastated land and ruined houses. No wonder they were brokenhearted (34:18; Isa. 61:1). The “wounds” (v. 3; “sorrows”) were in their hearts, not their bodies, for many had repented and confessed their sins to the Lord, and through the Word, the Lord gave them the comfort they needed (107:20; Isa. 40). Our God is so great that He knew each person and each need (John 10:14, 27-28). The God of the galaxies, who knows the name of every star, is also the God who heals the broken hearts of His people (Luke 4:16-21). He builds up Jerusalem and lifts up His people, for nothing is too hard for Him. (See 20:8; 146:9; Isa. 40:26-29.)