Psalm 148

 ¹Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens;

Praise Him in the heights!

²Praise Him, all His angels;

Praise Him, all His hosts!

³Praise Him, sun and moon;

Praise Him, all you stars of light!

⁴Praise Him, you heavens of heavens,

And you waters above the heavens!

⁵Let them praise the name of the Lord,

For He commanded and they were created.

⁶He also established them forever and ever;

He made a decree which shall not pass away.

⁷Praise the Lord from the earth,

You great sea creatures and all the depths;

⁸Fire and hail, snow and clouds;

Stormy wind, fulfilling His word;

⁹Mountains and all hills;

Fruitful trees and all cedars;

¹⁰Beasts and all cattle;

Creeping things and flying fowl;

¹¹Kings of the earth and all peoples;

Princes and all judges of the earth;

¹²Both young men and maidens;

Old men and children.

¹³Let them praise the name of the Lord,

For His name alone is exalted;

His glory is above the earth and heaven.

¹⁴And He has exalted the horn of His people,

The praise of all His saints—

Of the children of Israel,

A people near to Him. Praise the Lord!

Preamble: This Psalm might be titled, “the Anthem of all of Creation.” For this is the only Psalm that calls upon all of God’s creation and all of His created beings to worship Him. To sing His praise and declare His glory to the exclusion of none. This then is heavens Psalm.

Commentary

Vs. 1 ¹Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens;

Praise Him in the heights!

²Praise Him, all His angels;

Praise Him, all His hosts!

³Praise Him, sun and moon;

Praise Him, all you stars of light!

⁴Praise Him, you heavens of heavens,

And you waters above the heavens!

⁵Let them praise the name of the Lord,

For He commanded and they were created.

⁶He also established them forever and ever;

He made a decree which shall not pass away.

The call to praise the Lord goes out not just to us on earth, but all of God's creation, to all things in heaven and all things on earth. Now the Lord’s praise originates in the heavens and reaches to its highest heights, where God’s angels are charged with leading the heavenly choir and God’s stars declare His light (Vs. 1-2, see Luke 2:14). For all of God’s creation is given a voice to declare His praise and reveal His glory. Therefore, the command also goes out to the sun and moon, and all the stars of light, to praise Him (vs. 3); then extends down to skies above and all the waters in them to Praise Him (vs. 4). For He commanded it and they were created, He brought them into their being from the very Word of His mouth, and by His Word He has established them forever and ever, for our Lord God made a decree which shall not pass away (vs. 5-6). Therefore when we lift our own heads and hands upward and praise to the Lord know for certain that we are not alone in singing the Lord's praises, for all of creation sings along with us! 

Vs. 7 ⁷Praise the Lord from the earth,

You great sea creatures and all the depths;

From the highest heights of heaven and all its hosts, to now all the expanse of the earth beneath; with all its great seas and oceans depths, and the great sea creatures in them, all are commanded to praise the Lord!

Vs. 8 ⁸Fire and hail, snow and clouds;

Stormy wind, fulfilling His word;

The command even goes out to all the “forces of nature”; “Fire and hail, snow and clouds, stormy wind…” for all of it the Lord created, and all of it He directs according to His own Will.

Vs. 9 ⁹Mountains and all hills;

Fruitful trees and all cedars;

All the immense and majestic mountains on earth and all the hills will also render their praise to the Lord, just as all the fruitful trees which brings forth their abundance on earth, and the cedars whose heights excel, whose wood is the most useful and fragrant will join in praising the Lord!

Vs. 10 ¹⁰Beasts and all cattle;

Creeping things and flying fowl;

From the beasts of the field to all the domesticated livestock; including every creeping thing; nothing on earth can contain itself, for all must join in this massive choir of praise! For even if mankind should somehow cease to be, (which will never be), all of God's creation would continue to declare His praise! 

Vs. 11-13 ¹¹Kings of the earth and all peoples;

Princes and all judges of the earth;

¹²Both young men and maidens;

Old men and children.

¹³Let them praise the name of the Lord,

For His name alone is exalted;

His glory is above the earth and heaven.

The call to praise the Lord now moves to all of mankind, from the kings of the earth (i.e. all the nations rulers and leaders), to all the people under them, to their princes and all their judges, to all praise the Lord, (vs. 11). For He created the thrones and seats of power from which they reign. And so from the seats of earthly power, now to the young men and women, old men and children, all peoples no matter their stature in this life let them all praise the Name of the Lord, for His Name, the Son of God’s Name, the Lord Jesus Christ is His Name by which we are saved, (Acts 4:12). Therefore, His Name alone is exalted, and His glory is above the earth and heaven. This Psalm then is a foretelling of the universal praise that will be heard in His Kingdom.

Vs. 14 ¹⁴And He has exalted the horn of His people,

The praise of all His saints—

Of the children of Israel,

A people near to Him. Praise the Lord!

Therefore it will be in the Millenia that the Lord Jesus Christ will have exalted the strength of His people Israel; they then will lead all of His saints (everyone who believes in Him) in singing His praises, for then they will be a people near to Him, (as they were always meant to be), Praise the Lord!

Scripture Quotations

New King James (1982): Thomas Nelson.