Israel, rejoicing in the restoration of its national existence, calls heaven and earth to join in a diapason of praise. Let every heavenly being and every heavenly body unite to praise Him Who created them and sustains them (Psalms 148:1-6). Let earth with all its phenomena and all its inhabitants p... [ Continue Reading ]
_from the heavens_ The anthem of praise is to ring out from heaven above, and to be answered from the earth below (Psalms 148:7). _in the heights_ Of heaven (Job 16:19; Job 25:2).... [ Continue Reading ]
Let the heavens and all that is in them praise Jehovah their Creator.... [ Continue Reading ]
Cp. Psalms 103:20 _a_, Psalms 103:21 _a. Hosts_may include both heavenly beings and heavenly bodies, and in Job 38:7 angels and stars join in praise: but here as in Psalms 103:21 the angels only seem to be meant (cp. 1 Kings 22:19; Nehemiah 9:6); the heavenly bodies follow in Psalms 148:3. The _Q'rç... [ Continue Reading ]
_all ye stars of light_ So the Heb. text. P.B.V. _stars and light_follows the LXX (Vulg.).... [ Continue Reading ]
_heavens of heavens_ i.e. the highest heavens. Cp. Psalms 68:33; Deuteronomy 10:14; 1 Kings 8:27 (2 Chronicles 6:18); 1 Chronicles 2:6; Nehemiah 9:6; Sir 16:18. It is doubtful whether the idea of a plurality of heavens, three (2 Corinthians 12:2) or seven, which is prominent in later Jewish literatu... [ Continue Reading ]
_for HE commanded HE_is emphatically expressed. Cp. Psalms 33:9, whence also comes the addition of the LXX, which is retained in P.B.V., _HE spake the word, and they were made_.... [ Continue Reading ]
And he hath made them stand fast] To Him they owe not only their original creation but their perpetual maintenance. Cp. Sir 43:26; Colossians 1:17. _he hath made a decree which shall not pass_ This rendering, which is that of the LXX (παρελεύσεται) and Jer. (praeteribit) may be defended by Esther 1:... [ Continue Reading ]
_dragons, and all deeps_ The sea-monsters of Genesis 1:21, and the depths of ocean which they were supposed to inhabit [90]. [90] Robertson Smith (_Rel. of the Semites_, p. 161) suggests that the _tannîn_is a personification of the waterspout.... [ Continue Reading ]
Let earth and all that is therein praise Jehovah for the revelation of His majesty.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Fire, and hail_ Lightning and hail are naturally coupled, as hail most commonly falls in thunderstorms. Cp. Psalms 18:12 ff. _vapour_ The word elsewhere means _smoke_(Genesis 19:28; Psalms 119:83); but must here mean the _mists_, which drift like smoke over the mountains.... [ Continue Reading ]
Cp. Psalms 104:16.... [ Continue Reading ]
All kinds of living creatures: animals, wild and tame; reptiles and birds. Cp. Genesis 1:24-25; Genesis 1:21.... [ Continue Reading ]
Last of all man, as the crown of creation (Genesis 1:26), is summoned to join the chorus, without distinction of rank or age or sex. _all people_ Peoples, naturally coupled with _kings_.... [ Continue Reading ]
is _excellent_ Is exalted, as in Isaiah 12:4. On _excellent, excellency_, in A.V. and P.B.V., see note in Driver's _Daniel_, p. 32. _his glory_ His majesty. Cp. Psalms 8:1; Psalms 104:1; Psalms 145:5; Habakkuk 3:3.... [ Continue Reading ]
Israel's special ground for praise. And he nath lifted up a horn for his people] He has once more given to Israel dignity and power. For the metaphor cp. Psalms 75:4; Psalms 89:17; Psalms 89:24; Psalms 92:10, note. The rendering of P.B.V., _he shall exalt_, is that of the LXX, ὑψώσει, and is adopt... [ Continue Reading ]