#DailyDevotion Everything In Heaven Above & Earth Below Are Called To Praise The LORD
Psalm 148 Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens; praise Him from the heights! 2Praise Him, all you His angels; praise Him all His heavenly army! 3Praise Him, sun and moon; praise Him, all you shining stars! 4Praise Him, you highest heavens, and waters above the sky! 5They should all praise the LORD’s name — He ordered and they were created; 6He put them in their places forever, and gave a law that none can break.
The psalm begins with praise Yah and closes with Yah. In between, it is Yahweh that is the name of God. Scholars believe that Yah is not a nickname of Yahweh but a distinct name of Yahweh; so much for the structure of the psalm.
The praise of the LORD in the psalm begins with the heavens. The psalmist starts from the heavens, then the heights, Calling upon them to praise the LORD. Then he calls the contents of the heavens to praise the LORD. First His heavenly army, then the inanimate objects of the heavens: the sun, moon, stars. He calls upon the highest heavens and the waters of the sky to praise the name of the LORD.
Finally he gives a reason for them to praise the Lord, He ordered and they were created. He put them in their place and established the laws of nature that conduct what they do. Here the science of astronomy, of astrophysics, and physics helps us look at what the LORD has created above us of awe, wonder, and praise. While we may not be able to understand college textbooks PhD dissertations on these things, we can read articles on those who study these things and their discoveries, and praise the LORD for all He has done. Certainly the heavens and all that is within them understand these things even better than us and praise to the LORD.
7Praise the LORD from the earth, you sea monsters and all ocean depths, 8fire and hail, snow and fog, stormy wind doing what He tells you, 9mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, 10wild animals and all that are tame, crawling things and winged birds, 11kings of the world and all peoples, officials and all judges in the world, 12young men and also girls, old men and boys. 13They should all praise the LORD’s name because it alone is exalted. His glory is above the earth and heaven, 14and He has raised a horn for His people, something praise-worthy for those devoted to Him, for the sons of Israel, the people who are close to Him. Praise the LORD!
Having now called upon the heavens and all that is above to praise the LORD, here in verse 7 we descend and call upon things that are below to praise the LORD. The earth, the sea monsters, the ocean depths, fire, hail, snow, fog ,stormy wind, and the like are all called to praise the LORD. The vegetation of the earth, the animals of the earth called upon to praise the LORD. Then the peoples of the earth from the greatest of them to the least are called to praise the LORD. They’re called to prais the LORD’s name which is Yahweh. This name alone is exalted above all things, all people, all places, and all creation, for He created it all.
His people are called to praise Him for He has raised a horn for them. That horn is our LORD Jesus Christ. A horn is that which is powerful. Jesus and His gospel is the power of God for salvation we’re all who believe in Him. He is the God of salvation first to Israel and then to the nations, whom He has drawn close to Himself. Jesus of Nazareth, His innocent suffering, death, resurrection and ascension is praiseworthy, for it is our salvation. Jesus shares the name of the LORD with the Father. His name is highly exalted.
Gracious and loving Father, we give you thanks and praise for all creation, but most of all thank You for sending Your Son Jesus Christ be our salvation, and for revealing You to us so we may call upon you as our Father. In Jesus’s name we pray. Amen.