Psalm 148 - Enduring Word Commentary vs Calvin John

Psalm 148

Psalm 148 – Let Heaven and Earth Praise the LORD

Psalm 148 calls upon all creation to praise Yahweh. “What a wonderful song this is! Look over it again, and note the fact that there is no reference in it, from first to last, to the mercy, or pity, or compassion of God. But that is because there is no reference to evil in any form.” (G. Campbell Morgan)

Alexander Maclaren wrote that Psalm 148 continues “…a line of thought which runs through Scripture from its first page to its last – namely, that, as man’s sin subjected the creatures to ‘vanity,’ so his redemption shall be their glorifying.”

This call to all creation to praise Yahweh is not an empty wish. Revelation 5:11-13 tells us specifically that it will be fulfilled. “O what a hymn of praise is here! It is a universal chorus! All created nature have a share, and all perform their respective parts.” (Adam Clarke)

A. Praise from the heavens.

1. (1-4) Calling upon heavenly things to praise the LORD.

Praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD from the heavens;
Praise Him in the heights!
Praise Him, all His angels;
Praise Him, all His hosts!
Praise Him, sun and moon;
Praise Him, all you stars of light!
Praise Him, you heavens of heavens,
And you waters above the heavens!

a. Praise the LORD: Like each of the last five psalms in the Book of Psalms, Psalm 148 begins and ends with hallelujah, which is both an exclamation of praise to Yahweh and an encouragement to praise Him.

b. Praise the LORD from the heavens: The psalmist considered that all heavenly beings and bodies should give praise to Yahweh. The God of Israel was not a local deity who only expected honor from Israel. He was and is God over all, and as such deserves such praise in the heights.

i. Psalm 19 told us that the heavens declare the glory of God by their very nature and being. Here the psalmist speaks to the heavens that they continue this praise.

ii. “As God in framing the world began above and wrought downward, so doth the psalmist in this his exhortation to all creatures to praise the Lord.” (Trapp)

iii. In the heights: “The very ‘heights above,’ where God rules…together with outer space and the atmosphere of the earth, are invoked to join in Israel’s praise.” (VanGemeren)

c. Praise Him, all His angels: The psalmist called upon all angelic beings to give God praise. This is the constant occupation of the living creatures surrounding God’s throne (Revelation 4:8). The company of faithful angels is like a great army (all His hosts).

i. Other angelic beings fell because they would not properly honor God (Isaiah 14:12-15).

ii. “Not only in Old Testament times but in the Christian era, men have been tempted to worship angels (Col. 2:18), who are our fellow servants (Rev. 22:8f.), and to treat the stars as arbiters of destiny. The psalm sweeps away such folly.” (Kidner)

d. Praise Him, sun and moon…all you stars of light: Heavenly bodies should also praise God, shining in their radiance for His honor and moving according to His plan.

i. The idea of creation praising God is found in many places in the Scriptures (such as Psalm 98:7-8 and Isaiah 55:12). This is the only place where specifically it is said that the sun and moon and the stars should praise Him.

ii. “Though they have neither speech nor language, and [lack] the tongue of men, yet by their splendor and magnificence, their motions and their influences, all regulated and exerted according to the ordinance of their Maker, do, in a very intelligible and striking manner, declare the glory of God.” (Horne)

iii. “In these starry depths obedience reigns; it is only on earth that a being lives who can and will break the merciful barriers of Jehovah’s law.” (Maclaren)

iv. You stars of light: “…the brightest and most luminous stars: probably the planets may be especially intended.” (Clarke)

e. Praise Him, you heavens of heavens: In the mind of an ancient Hebrew, the blue sky, the night sky, and God’s dwelling place could all be thought of as an aspect of the heavens. The singer here looks to the ultimate of heaven, and all the heavens, to praise God, including the clouds with their waters.

i. Heavens of heavens: “Ye highest and most glorious heavens, the place of God’s throne and glorious presence, as this phrase is used, Deuteronomy 10:14,1 Kings 8:27,Nehemiah 9:6,Psalm 115:16. Or, ye starry heavens, which also may well be so called, because they are above the air, which is often called heaven in Scripture.” (Poole)

ii. Adam Clarke speculated that these heavens of heavens were of them being other planets or solar systems. “Heavens exceeding heavens. Systems of systems extending as far beyond the solar system.”

iii. “The waters above the heavens are a poetic or popular term for the rain clouds.” (Kidner)

2. (5-6) Reasons why the heavens should praise the LORD.

Let them praise the name of the LORD,
For He commanded and they were created.
He also established them forever and ever;
He made a decree which shall not pass away.

a. For He commanded and they were created: All creatures or creations owe honor and praise to their Creator, especially things created by the simple command of their Creator. Such a mighty maker deserves praise.

i. “Evolution may be atheistic; but the doctrine of creation logically demands worship; and hence, as the tree is known by its fruit, it proves itself to be true. Those who were created by command are under command to adore their Creator.” (Spurgeon)

b. He also established them forever and ever: These heavenly things – angels, the sun, the moon, the stars, the sky itself – were not only made by God, but they also continue because of His word (a decree). Their continued establishment gives them reason to praise the God who decreed it.

i. “Therefore ought the Lord to be praised because he is Preserver as well as Creator, Ruler as well as Maker.” (Spurgeon)

B. Praise from the earth.

1. (7-12) Calling upon earthly things to praise the LORD.

Praise the LORD from the earth,
You great sea creatures and all the depths;
Fire and hail, snow and clouds;
Stormy wind, fulfilling His word;
Mountains and all hills;
Fruitful trees and all cedars;
Beasts and all cattle;
Creeping things and flying fowl;
Kings of the earth and all peoples;
Princes and all judges of the earth;
Both young men and maidens;
Old men and children.

a. Praise the LORD from the earth: The first part of this psalm called upon things in the heavens to give praise to Yahweh. Earth should also not fail to give its praise to God, and all the earth should join in this praise.

i. Modern men and women make the mistake of worshipping the creation rather than the Creator. “We worship it [nature] in place of God, attributing creative powers to nature and virtually deifying the dynamic within living things. In opposition to this sad pagan error, the psalmist reminds us that the animals themselves worship God.” (Boice)

b. You great sea creatures: All things in the sea and all the phenomenon of weather (fire and hail, snow, clouds, wind) should praise God, fulfilling His word.

i. Great sea creatures: “…either, 1. Dragons and serpents, which abide in the deep caverns and holes of the earth; or, 2. Whales or other sea-monsters, which dwell in the depths of the sea, which are oft called by this name, as Job 7:12, Ezekiel 29:3, and elsewhere, as the word here rendered.” (Poole)

ii. “Its enormous inhabitants, which are under the command of Jehovah, and of none but him.” (Horne)

c. Mountains and all hills: Everything on the land, both fixed and moving – including all the animals of the land – should give praise to the LORD.

i. Beasts: “Those are worse than beasts who do not praise our God. More than brutish are those who are wilfully silent concerning their Maker.” (Spurgeon)

ii. Creeping things and flying fowl: “The lowest worm that crawls and the light-winged bird that soars, these all have voices to praise God.” (Maclaren)

d. Kings of the earth and all peoples: Yahweh’s praise should be proclaimed by all who are made in His image. All humanity – kings, princes, judges, young and old – all owe praise to the God who made them and sustains them.

i. “After the whole creation hath been called upon to praise Jehovah; man, for whom the whole was made; man, the last and more perfect work of God; man, that hath been since redeemed by the blood of the Son of God incarnate, is exhorted to join and fill up the universal chorus of heaven and earth.” (Horne)

ii. “The young man’s strong bass, the maiden’s clear alto, the old man’s quavering notes, the child’s fresh treble, should blend in the song.” (Maclaren)

iii. That all men and women will one day praise the LORD is certain: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:10-11)

2. (13-14) Reasons why the earth should praise the LORD.

Let them praise the name of the LORD,
For His name alone is exalted;
His glory is above the earth and heaven.
And 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!

a. For His name alone is exalted: Yahweh deserves such praise from all things on earth because He alone is God. There is no other being that deserves the worship, honor, and praise that God deserves.

i. Let them praise: VanGemeren points out that this is in the form of a command. “By the use of the jussive [command], the psalmist restates the universal obligation of all of God’s creation to demonstrate their allegiance by praising him.”

b. His glory is above the earth and heaven: Yahweh deserves such praise from all things on earth because He is immeasurably greater and more glorious than anything on earth. We should reserve our praise for only that which is truly greater and more glorious, not for the lesser things (such as the idols of men’s hands).

i. “He is himself the crown of all things, the excellency of the creation. There is more glory in him personally than in all his works united. It is not possible for us to exceed and become extravagant in the Lord’s praise: his own natural glory is infinitely greater than any glory which we can render to him.” (Spurgeon)

c. He has exalted the horn of His people: Yahweh deserves such praise from all things on earth because He has rescued and established His people. Those who find their power (the horn of His people) established because of Yahweh owe Him praise.

i. “God loves and cares for all his creation, but he has a special affinity for ‘his people,’ ‘his saints’.” (VanGemeren)

ii. Of the children of Israel: “It is a nation of priests, having the privilege of access to His presence; and, in the consciousness of this dignity, ‘comes forward in this psalm as the leader of all the creatures in their praise of God, and strikes up a hallelujah that is to be joined in by heaven and earth’ (Delitzsch).” (Maclaren)

iii. “His goodness to all his creatures does not prevent his having a special favour to his chosen nation: he is good to all, but he is God to his people.” (Spurgeon)

d. A people near to Him: Yahweh deserves such praise from all things on earth because He has drawn near to His people. He is with and for His people, a blessing and a benefit greater than any other.

i. A people near to Him: “And in that respect happy above all people on the earth, Deuteronomy 4:7; Deuteronomy 33:29, because in covenant with him and near allied to him, as the word here importeth.” (Trapp)

e. Praise the LORD: The composer of Psalm 148 has persuaded us to do what we and all creation should do – give to Yahweh the praise due to Him. Hallelujah!

Psalm 148

1. Praise Jehovah from the heavens He seems here to include the stars as well as the angels, and, therefore, heaven itself, the air, and all that is gendered in it; for afterwards a division is made when he first calls upon angels, then upon the stars, and the waters of the firmament. With regard to the angels, created as they were for this very end — that they might be instant in this religious service, we need not wonder that they should be placed first in order when the praises of God are spoken of. Accordingly, in that remarkable vision which Isaiah describes, (Isa 6:3,) the cherubim cry out — “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Hosts.” And in several other places of Scripture the angels are represented as praising God by such ascription’s. How, then, can zeal like theirs stand in need of exhortations? Or, if they require to be incited, what can be more unseemly than that we, who are so sluggish in the service, should assume the part of exhorting them to their duty? David, then, who did not equal the angels in zeal, but came far behind them, was not qualified to be an exhorter to them. But neither did this enter into his purpose; he would simply testify that it was the height of his happiness and desire to join in sacred concert with elect angels in praising God. And there is nothing unreasonable that, in order to stir himself up in the praises of God, he should call as companions upon the angels, although these run spontaneously in the service, and are fitter to lead the way. He calls them, in the second part of the verse — the armies of God; for they stand always ready to receive his orders. “Ten thousand times ten thousand surround his throne,” as Daniel says, (Dan 7:10.) The same name is applied also to the stars, both because they are remarkable for the order which maintains among them, and because they execute with inconceivable quickness the orders of God. But the angels are here called armies, upon the same account as elsewhere principalities and powers, inasmuch as God exerts his power by their hands.



3. Praise him, ye sun and moon This passage gives no countenance to the dream of Plato, that the stars excel in sense and intelligence. Nor does the Psalmist give them the same place as he had just assigned to angels, but merely intimates that the glory of God is everywhere to be seen, as if they sang his praises with an audible voice. And here he tacitly reproves the ingratitude of man; for all would hear this symphony, were they at all attent upon considering the works of God. For doth not the sun by his light, and heat, and other marvelous effects, praise his Maker? The stars when they run their course, and at once adorn the heavens and give light to the earth, do they not sound the praises of God? but as we are deaf and insensible, the Psalmist calls upon them as witnesses to reprove our indolence. By the heavens of heavens he no doubt means the spheres. Eclipses, and other things which we observe, plainly show both that the fixed stars are above the planets, and that the planets themselves are placed in different orbits. (297) The excellency of this contrivance the Psalmist justly commends, speaking expressly of the heavens of heavens; not as if there were really more heavens than one, but to extol the matchless wisdom which God has shown in creating the heavens; for the sun, moon, and stars are not confusedly mixed together, but each has its own position and station assigned to it, and their manifold courses are all regulated. As under the name of the heavens he comprehends the air, or at least all the space from the middle region of the air upwards, he calls rains, the waters above the heavens There is no foundation for the conjecture which some have made, that there are waters deposited above the four elements; and when the Psalmist speaks of these waters as being above, he clearly points at the descent of the rain. It is adhering too strictly to the letter of the words employed, to conceive as if there were some sea up in the heavens, where the waters were permanently deposited; for we know that Moses and the Prophets ordinarily speak in a popular style, suited to the lowest apprehension. It would be absurd, then, to seek to reduce what they say to the rules of philosophy; as, for example, in the passage before us, the Psalmist notes the marvelous fact that God holds the waters suspended in the air, because it seems contrary to nature that they should mount aloft, and also, that though fluid they should hang in vacant space. Accordingly it is said elsewhere, that they are held there as enclosed in bottles. (Psa 33:7.) The Psalmist has borrowed the form of expression from Moses, who says — “that the waters were divided from the waters.” (Gen 1:6.)



(297) “Que les estoilles sont plus haut que les planetes, et qu’icelles planetes sont situees en divers cercles ou spheres.” — Fr.



5. Let them praise the name, etc. As he speaks of things wanting intelligence, he passes to the third person, from which we infer that his reason for having spoken in the second person hitherto, was to make a deeper impression upon men. And he asks no other praise than that which may teach us that the stars did not make themselves, nor the rains spring from chance; for notwithstanding the signal proofs we constantly have before our eyes of the divine power, we with shameful carelessness overlook the great author. He says emphatically — for He Himself created, intimating that the world is not eternal, as wicked men conjecture, nor made by a concourse of atoms, but that this fair order of things which we see, suddenly sprang forth upon the commandment of God. And, speaking of the creation, he adds what is even more worthy of observation, that he gave that law to them which remains inviolable. For many, while they grant that the world was made by God, lapse from this into the senseless notion that now the order of nature stands of itself, and that God sits idle in the heavens. The Psalmist very properly insists, therefore, that the works of God above us in the heavens were not only made by him, but even now move forward at his disposal; and that not only was a secret power communicated to them at first, but while they go through their assigned parts, their operation and ministry to their various ends is dependent upon God.



7. Praise Jehovah, etc. He now comes to the lower parts of the world; although deviating at the same time from the exact order, he mixes up such things as are produced in the air — lightning’s, snow, ice, and storms. These should rather have been placed among the former class, but he has respect to the common apprehension of men. The scope of the whole is, that wherever we turn our eyes we meet with evidences of the power of God. He speaks first of the whales; for, as he mentions the abysses or deeps immediately afterwards, I have no doubt that by תנינים, tanninim, he means fishes of the sea, such as whales. It is only reasonable to think that matter for praising God should be taken from the sea, which is fraught with so many wonders. He then ascends to hail, snows, and storms, which he says fulfill the word of God; for it is not by an effect of chance that the heavens are clouded, or that a single drop of rain falls from the clouds, or that the thunders rage, but one and all of these changes depend upon the secret will of God, whether he will show his goodness to the children of men in irrigating the earth, or punish their sins by tempest, hail, or other calamities. The passage contains instruction of various kinds, as, for example, that when dearth impends, however parched the earth may be by long continued heat, God can promptly send rain which will remove the drought at his pleasure. If from incessant rains, on the other hand, the seed rot in the ground, or the crops do not come to maturity, we should pray for fair weather. If we are alarmed by thunder, we are taught to pray to God, for as it is he who sends it in his anger, so he can still all the troubled elements. And we are not to take up the narrow view of this truth which irreligious men advocate, that things in nature merely move according to the laws impressed upon them from the beginning, while God stands by idle, but are to hold firmly that God watches over his creatures, and that nothing can take place without his present disposal, as we have seen, Psa 104:4. that

“he maketh the winds his messengers,

and his ministers a flaming fire.”



11. Kings of the earth, etc. He now turns his address to men, with a respect to whom it was that he called for a declaration of God’s praises from creatures, both above and from beneath. As kings and princes are blinded by the dazzling influence of their station, so as to think the world was made for them, and to despise God in the pride of their hearts, he particularly calls them to this duty; and, by mentioning them first, he reproves their ingratitude in withholding their tribute of praise when they are under greater obligations than others. As all men originally stand upon a level as to condition, the higher persons have risen, and the nearer they have been brought to God, the more sacredly are they bound to proclaim his goodness. The more intolerable is the wickedness of kings and princes who claim exemption from the common rule, when they ought rather to inculcate it upon others and lead the way. He could have addressed his exhortation at once summarily to all men, as indeed he mentions peoples in general terms; but by thrice specifying princes he suggests that they are slow to discharge the duty, and need to be urged do it. Then follows a division according to age and sex, to show that all without exception are created for this end, and should unitedly devote their energies to it. As to old men, the more God has lengthened out their lives the more should they be exercised in singing his praises; but he joins young men with them, for though they have less experience from continued habit, it will be inexcusable if they do not acknowledge the great mercy of God in the vigor of their lives. In speaking of girls or virgins, the particle גם, gam, also, is not merely expletive, but added to make the words more emphatical, conveying the truth that even the young women who are not so liberally educated as the male sex, being considered as born for domestic offices, will omit their duty if they do not join with the rest of the Church in praising God. It follows that all from the least to the greatest are bound by this common rule.



14. And hath exalted the horn, etc. As we saw in the former Psalm, that the perfections of God are to be seen more conspicuously in the Church than in the constitution of the world at large, the Psalmist has added this sentence, as to the Church being protected by the divine hand, and armed with a power against all enemies which secures its safety in every danger. By the horn, as is well known, is meant strength or dignity. Accordingly the Psalmist means that God’s blessing is apparent in his Church and among his chosen people, inasmuch as it only flourishes and is powerful through his strength. There is a tacit comparison implied between the Church of God and other hostile powers, for it needs divine guardianship as being exposed on all sides to attack. Hence the Psalmist infers that praise is to all the merciful ones of God, for they have ground given them in the singular goodness of his condescension both for self-congratulation and praise. In calling the children of Israel a people near unto God, he reminds them of the gracious covenant which God made with Abraham. For how came the nearness, except in the way of God’s preferring an unknown despised stranger to all nations? Nor are we to seek the cause of the distinction elsewhere than in the mere love of God. Though all the world equally belongs to God, he graciously discovered himself to the children of Israel, and brought them near to him, strangers as they were from God, even as are the whole race of Adam. Hence the words of Moses —

“When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, and distributed the peoples, he stretched forth his line to Jacob.” (Deu 32:8.)

He is to be considered, therefore, as pointing out the cause why God hath extended such signal blessings to a single people, and a people poor and despised — his adoption of them to himself.