Psalm 148

Praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
    praise him in the heights above.
Praise him, all his angels;
    praise him, all his heavenly hosts.
Praise him, sun and moon;
    praise him, all you shining stars.
Praise him, you highest heavens
    and you waters above the skies.
Let them praise the name of the Lord,
    for at his command they were created,
and he established them for ever and ever—
    he issued a decree that will never pass away.
Praise the Lord from the earth,
    you great sea creatures and all ocean depths,
lightning and hail, snow and clouds,
    stormy winds that do his bidding,
you mountains and all hills,
    fruit trees and all cedars,
wild animals and all cattle,
    small creatures and flying birds,
kings of the earth and all nations,
    you princes and all rulers on earth,
young men and women,
    old men and children.
Let them praise the name of the Lord,
    for his name alone is exalted;
    his splendor is above the earth and the heavens.
And he has raised up for his people a horn,
    the praise of all his faithful servants,
    of Israel, the people close to his heart.
Praise the Lord.

• Psalm 148:1-14

Type of Psalm

Psalms of praise: Exactly as stated.  God is being praised.

Matthew Henry’s Summary

“This psalm is a most solemn and earnest call to all the creatures, according to their capacity, to praise their Creator, and to show forth his eternal power and Godhead, the invisible things of which are manifested in the things that are seen. Thereby the psalmist designs to express his great affection to the duty of praise; he is highly satisfied that God is praised, is very desirous that he may be more praised, and therefore does all he can to engage all about him in this pleasant work, yea, and all who shall come after him, whose hearts must be very dead and cold if they be not raised and enlarged, in praising God, by the lofty flights of divine poetry which we find in this psalm. I. He calls upon the higher house, the creatures that are placed in the upper world, to praise the Lord, both those that are intellectual beings, and are capable of doing it actively (Ps. 148:1, 2), and those that are not, and are therefore capable of doing it only objectively, Ps. 148:3-6. II. He calls upon the lower house, the creatures of this lower world, both those that can only minister matter of praise (Ps. 148:7-10) and those that, being endued with reason, are capable of offering up this sacrifice (Ps. 148:11-13), especially his own people, who have more cause to do it, and are more concerned to do it, than any other, Ps. 148:14.”

• Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary

Noted Biblical Scholars, Teachers, and Preachers Comments

Psalm 148:3 “There is a perpetual adoration of the Lord in the skies: it varies with night and day, but it ever continues while sun and moon endure. There is ever a lamp burning before the high altar of the Lord. Nor are the greater luminaries allowed to drown with their floods of light the glory of the lesser brilliants, for all the stars are bidden to the banquet of praise. Stars are many, so many that no one can count the host included under the words ‘all you stars,’ yet not one of them refuses to praise its Maker. From their extreme brilliance they are fitly named “stars of light,” and this light is praise in a visible form twinkling to true music. Light is song glittering before the eye instead of resounding in the ear. Stars without light would render no praise, and Christians without light rob the Lord of His glory. However small our beam, we must not hide it; if we cannot be sun or moon, we must aim to be one of the ‘stars of light,’ and our every twinkling must be to the honor of our Lord.”

• Charles H. Spurgeon, Spurgeon and the Psalms

My Thoughts

This psalm is not attributed to any author.

The psalmist praises God for the highest heaven, and all that is in it.

Then the psalmist moves down to the stars, then the sky, then the earth, and everything in them.

God created all of this.

The psalmist then goes to humans.  Again starting with the kings, then the princes, then young men and women, then the old and the children.  Again, with some logic, fair or unfair, from the seemingly greater to the lesser.

But then, praise God for all God’s faithful servants.

Amen.

Psalm 149

Praise the Lord.
Sing to the Lord a new song,
    his praise in the assembly of his faithful people.
Let Israel rejoice in their Maker;
    let the people of Zion be glad in their King.
Let them praise his name with dancing
    and make music to him with timbrel and harp.
For the Lord takes delight in his people;
    he crowns the humble with victory.
Let his faithful people rejoice in this honor
    and sing for joy on their beds.
May the praise of God be in their mouths
    and a double-edged sword in their hands,
to inflict vengeance on the nations
    and punishment on the peoples,
to bind their kings with fetters,
    their nobles with shackles of iron,
to carry out the sentence written against them—
    this is the glory of all his faithful people.
Praise the Lord.

• Psalm 149:1-9

Type of Psalm

Psalms of thanksgiving for God’s goodness to Israel:  Giving God thanks as noted.

Matthew Henry’s Summary

“The foregoing psalm was a hymn of praise to the Creator; this is a hymn of praise to the Redeemer. It is a psalm of triumph in the God of Israel, and over the enemies of Israel. Probably it was penned upon occasion of some victory which Israel was blessed and honoured with. Some conjecture that it was penned when David had taken the strong-hold of Zion, and settled his government there. But it looks further, to the kingdom of the Messiah, who, in the chariot of the everlasting gospel, goes forth conquering and to conquer. To him, and his graces and glories, we must have an eye, in singing this psalm, which proclaims, I. Abundance of joy to all the people of God, Ps. 149:1-5. II. Abundance of terror to the proudest of their enemies, Ps. 149:6-9.”

• Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary

Noted Biblical Scholars, Teachers, and Preachers Comments

Psalm 149:4 “If our joy is pleasing to Him, let us make it full. What condescension is this on Jehovah’s part to notice, to love, and to delight in His chosen! Surely there is nothing in our persons or our actions that could cause pleasure to the ever-blessed One were it not that He condescends to people of low estate. The thought of the Lord’s taking pleasure in us is a mine of joy never to be exhausted. ‘He will beautify the humble with salvation.’ They are humble and feel their need of salvation; He is gracious and bestows it on them. They lament their deformity, and He puts a beauty upon them of the choicest sort. He saves them by sanctifying them, and thus they wear the beauty of holiness and the beauty of a joy that spring from full salvation. He makes His people meek and then makes the meek beautiful. Herein is grand argument for worshiping the Lord with the utmost exultation: He who takes such a pleasure in us must be approached with every token of exceeding joy.”

• Charles H. Spurgeon, Spurgeon and the Psalms

My Thoughts

This psalm is not attributed to any author.

This psalm speaks of God as our maker, but then speaks of how we should praise Him, with music.

Why?  Because God truly loves it when we praise Him.  Our praises make a joyful noise before Him.

Then what today may seem like two mutually exclusive concepts.  The psalmist says to praise God, and have those praises on our lips while holding a double-edged sword in our hands to exact vengeance on the nations.

Have a court trial and carry out the sentencing.

This sounds strange in this peace-loving world (but peace only on the terms of the peace lover – without making the peace).

But in the End Times, God will stand in judgment over all nations that are still on the earth.

Praise the Lord for His justice is Pure and Holy.

Psalm 150

Praise the Lord.
Praise God in his sanctuary;
    praise him in his mighty heavens.
Praise him for his acts of power;
    praise him for his surpassing greatness.
Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,
    praise him with the harp and lyre,
praise him with timbrel and dancing,
    praise him with the strings and pipe,
praise him with the clash of cymbals,
    praise him with resounding cymbals.
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord.

• Psalm 150:1-6

Type of Psalm

Psalms of praise: Exactly as stated.  God is being praised.

Matthew Henry’s Summary

“The first and last of the psalms have both the same number of verses, are both short, and very memorable. But the scope of them is very different: the first psalm is an elaborate instruction in our duty, to prepare us for the comforts of our devotion; this is all rapture and transport, and perhaps was penned on purpose to be the conclusion of these sacred songs, to show what is the design of them all, and that is to assist us in praising God. The psalmist had been himself full of the praises of God, and here he would fain fill all the world with them: again and again he calls, ‘Praise the Lord, praise him, praise him,’ no less than thirteen times in these six short verses. He shows, I. For what, and upon what account, God is to be praised (Ps. 150:1, 2), II. How, and with what expressions of joy, God is to be praised, Ps. 150:3-5. III. Who must praise the Lord; it is every one’s business, Ps. 150:6. In singing this psalm we should endeavour to get our hearts much affected with the perfections of God and the praises with which he is and shall be for ever attended, throughout all ages, world without end.”

• Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary

Noted Biblical Scholars, Teachers, and Preachers Comments

Psalm 150 “The holy place should be filled with praise, even as of old the high priest filled the sanctum sanctorum with the smoke of sweet-smelling incense. In His church below and in His courts above hallelujahs should be continually presented. In the Person of Jesus, God finds a holy dwelling or sanctuary, and there He is greatly to be praised. He may also be said to dwell in holiness, for all His ways are right and good. For this we ought to extol Him with heart and with voice. Whenever we assemble for holy purposes, our main work should be to present praises unto the Lord our God. “Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in His mighty firmament!” It is a blessed thing that in our God, holiness and power are united. Power without righteousness would be oppression, and righteousness without power would be too weak for usefulness, but put the two together in an infinite degree and we have God. What an expanse we have in the boundless firmament of divine power! Let it all be filled with praise. Let the heavens, so great and strong, echo with the praise of the thrice-holy Jehovah while the sanctuaries of earth magnify the Almighty One.”

• Charles H. Spurgeon, Spurgeon and the Psalms

My Thoughts

This psalm is not attributed to any author.

A very simple, but powerful psalm.

Praise God and the highest heavens.  Praise God for His power.

Praise God with every musical instrument that you can think of.

Simply.

Praise God.

Some Serendipitous Reflections

Psalm 148

“1. It is taken for granted in the psalm that creation knows ‘how to’ praise God. How do inanimate objects praise God? Animals and plants? How do you praise God?
“2. What songs, liturgy or activity has helped you praise God in the past? How could your church or explore new and different avenues of worship?
“3. Do you enjoy nature? What is your response to man’s slow destruction of it? Do you feel this is a problem for God to solve?”

• Lyman Coleman, et al, The NIV Serendipity Bible for Study Groups

Psalm 149

“1. In your church’s worship, can you see God joining in with delight and spontaneity or nodding off in boredom? How about you? What kind of celebration does God delight in?
“2. What ‘double-edged sword’ to you wield against the ‘kings’ of this world? Are you binding the evil in the world or are you bound yourself?”

• Lyman Coleman, et al, The NIV Serendipity Bible for Study Groups

Psalm 150

“1. Is your worship mostly mental appreciation? Emotion?
“2. Spend some time praising God aloud for each other.”

• Lyman Coleman, et al, The NIV Serendipity Bible for Study Groups

There is one set of questions for each of these psalms.

Substitute whatever group for any reference to a small group or ask who could come to your aid.

Author’s Note:  Two weeks from now, there will be the start of a chronological trip through all four Gospels.  The exact format has not yet been determined.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.