Who Deserves Our PRAISE?
Psalm 148:1-6, praises to God from
the heavens; and Psalm 148:7-14, praises to God from the earth. The Psalmist
very emphatically reveals that everyone and everything should give praise to
God. David begins with the realm of God - the heavens. The angels of God, all
the hosts of heaven should declare the greatness of God and extol His name in
praise. Bless the LORD, you His angels, who excel in strength, who do His word,
heeding the voice of His word. Bless the LORD, all you His hosts, you ministers
of His, who do His pleasure. (Psalm 103:20-21).It is right that the angels of
heaven exalt the LORD in praise. They were made at His command and for the purpose
of fulfilling His will. He made the angels as ministers to serve before Him,
to do His will.
Not all the angels did so. Some left their God-given abode, and thus are now
subject to the wrath of God to come in eternity (Jude 5). Peter says that God
did not spare them, but cast them out because of their sin (2 Peter 2:4). They
did not give praise to God, as was right for them to do.
The Psalmist goes on to speak of the sun, moon, stars and the firmament above.
The vastness of the heavens on a clear night declares the glory of God! The
radiant sun beaming down from a clear blue sky shows forth His wonderful work.
The awesome flash of a lightning bolt, answered by the booming sound of thunder
is just a small display of God's great power. Over and over, the creation praises
God by its very existence. The writer declares of the elements of creation,
"Let them praise the name of the LORD, for He commanded and they were created".
(Psalm 148:5)
Having spoken of the praise which is due to God from the heavenly beings and
bodies, the Psalmist then goes on to speak about praises to God from the earth.
He begins with the creatures and the elements of the earth. David speaks of
the sea creatures (Psalm 148:7) as well as the beasts and cattle, creeping things
and flying fowl (Psalm 148:10). How do these give praise to God? Not in a worship
assembly as you and I do, but in the very same way the sun, moon, stars and
other elements of the creation give praise to God. They do the very thing they
were created to do, and in so doing, God is praised.
Further, the writers says fire, hail, snow, clouds and wind all praise the LORD,
"fulfilling His word," that is, doing as God established them to do.
The mountains and hills, and the trees upon them also give praise to the Creator
who made them. They accomplish the very thing for which they were created, and
in so doing, God is praised by His creation.
Finally, the Psalmist turns our attention to mankind. Every human on the face
of the earth ought to give praise to God. He wrote:
Kings of the earth an all peoples; prices and all judges of the earth; both
young men and maidens; old men and children. (Psalm 148:11-12)
All people should give praise to God. Not only is He our Creator, as is also
true of the heavenly beings and bodies, the beasts of the field, the creatures
of the sea, the birds of the air, and other things found in the world; He is
also our Saviour! Of all the things which God made, we are distinct, for we
are in the image of God. Time and again, the LORD spoke of His works in creation
as being good, but when He made man and woman, He said it was very good. Friend,
if all of creation gives praise to God, as is fitting, shall we not also lift
our voices in praise to the Creator?
And truly, we have so much to praise God for. He gives to us life, breath and
the blessings of each day. James tells us that every good and perfect gift comes
from God (James 1:17). Beyond the physical blessings of life, there are spiritual
blessings available in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 1:3). We have the forgiveness
of our sins, direction to walk a good and godly lifestyle, and the hope of heaven
as our eternal home! Indeed, "Let them praise the name of the LORD, for
His name alone is exalted; His glory is above the earth and heaven". (Psalm
148:13)
God has established us as His people, and has preserved us by His awesome power.
We are called to be saints (Psalm 148:14; Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:2), that
is, called to a life of holiness in Christ Jesus! David speaks of Israel, a
people who were near to God, but now, Paul speaks of you and I, once Gentiles
and strangers to the promises of God as being "brought near by the blood
of Christ" (Ephesians 2:12-13).
Let them praises give Jehovah, for His name alone is high!
By Penny Mae
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