Psalms 148:1-14

This is the psalm of the whole creation. It has two movements indicated by the words “From the havens” (v. Psa 148:1), and “From the Earth” (v. Psa 148:7). In the first the scale is a descending one. “In the heights” to “His angels,” “Sun and moon.” Of all of them it is true that He created and established them. In the second the scale is an ascending one, from the deeps and the dragons, through the elements and Nature, to the sentient life, and onward through kings and princes and all human beings. From the heights and depths and all that lies between, praise is to be offered to Jehovah, for “His glory is above the earth and heave.”

This praise however, in the mind of the singer is to be perfectly expressed through Israel, a people near unto Him. This is an all encompassing note of adoration, which one of our more recent singers has perfectly expressed in the lines:

“The whole creation joins in one

To bless the sacred Name

Of Him Who sits upon the Throne, And to adore the Lamb.”