Psalms 148 - Introduction

The author of this psalm is unknown. The occasion on which it was composed was probably the same as that on which the two previous psalms and the two following were written - each commencing and closing with a Hallelujah. That occasion was, most probably, as before remarked, the rebuilding of Jerusalem after the captivity, and the dedication of the temple.

The psalm is, in general, a call on all parts of the universe to praise the Lord. It is properly divided into two portions. In the first Psalms 148:1, the call is addressed to the heavens - to all that is above the earth - to praise Yahweh; in the second Psalms 148:7, the call is addressed to all the dwellers on the earth to unite in that praise. The psalm is most animated and triumphant. The language accords with the sentiment. It is adapted to the most animating and spirit-stirring music; and these psalms - this and the two preceding and the two following - in style, in sentiment, in poetic beauty, in sublimity, in their adaptedness to fill the soul with lofty emotions - are eminently suited to close the whole collection - the entire Book of Psalms. Little can be needed, or can be added, in illustration of the sentiments of the psalm.