Psalm for Today =
148:1, 7-10
1 Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens…
7 Praise
the Lord from the earth,
you great sea creatures and all deeps,
8 fire and hail, snow and mist,
stormy wind fulfilling his word!
Does anyone remember that song that was used so well by Coca-Cola
in commercials during the Christmas season decades ago? Well, this psalm really
is saying the same thing (without the product placement)…with an even larger
target audience. The psalmist calls not
only on the whole world (people) to learn to sing in perfect harmony but calls for
all creation to sing praises to Yahweh—the covenant-keeping God—both from heaven
and from earth! In fact, the
psalmist calls for praise 12 times in 13 verses. Can you hear them
singing? I know I need to regularly pause and listen to the greatness and glory
of God reverberating through his creation…as Psalm 19:1 says,
Nature glorifies God by being what God created it to be and doing what it is supposed to do. Only man deviated from the plan. I wrote a poem year ago that contained the lines,
Is our song as wholehearted as the whale or the apple tree? Do we fulfill his Word as well as the weather? Or are we even more "fickle?" I think we are (more fickle that is). It is all the more reason to praise Yahweh the Unchanging One who is our shield and fortress!
1 Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens…
you great sea creatures and all deeps,
8 fire and hail, snow and mist,
stormy wind fulfilling his word!
9 Mountains
and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars!
10 Beasts and all livestock,
creeping things and flying birds!
fruit trees and all cedars!
10 Beasts and all livestock,
creeping things and flying birds!
Comments:
“I’d like to teach the
world to sing in perfect harmony…”
Does anyone remember that song that was used so well by Coca-Cola
in commercials during the Christmas season decades ago? Well, this psalm really
is saying the same thing (without the product placement)…with an even larger
target audience. The psalmist calls not
only on the whole world (people) to learn to sing in perfect harmony but calls for
all creation to sing praises to Yahweh—the covenant-keeping God—both from heaven
and from earth! In fact, the
psalmist calls for praise 12 times in 13 verses. Can you hear them
singing? I know I need to regularly pause and listen to the greatness and glory
of God reverberating through his creation…as Psalm 19:1 says,
“The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.”
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.”
We are almost at the end of the Psalms. In fact we are in the final five psalms, which
are traditionally called "The Great Hallel" because they focus on praising God. The
Hebrew word for “praise” is Hallel; and
so “Praise Yahweh" is Hallelujah. In
this psalm all the angelic hosts and the masses of humanity alike are exhorted
to praise—high and low, great and small, flesh and spirit, organic and
inorganic—no matter who or what we are, somewhere in there it speaks to us!
Did you notice
the sub-theme in this psalm regarding heaven and earth? Those whom God has made
are to praise God from heaven (v. 1)
and from earth (v. 6) because “his majesty is above earth and heaven” (v. 13c).
No one and nothing is in God’s league!
Last year I said that if I wrote an article on this verse I would call it
"Whale Songs & Windstorms" (v.7-8), but I could just as easily
call it “Apple Trees & Honeybees” (v. 9-10) and it would line up perfectly
with the song! I love the call to all of nature to praise the Lord, the
Creator, Sustainer, and Redeemer! But I am convicted as well.
Vanity Fair races the
trees
And loses,
For trees play by the
rules.
Is our song as wholehearted as the whale or the apple tree? Do we fulfill his Word as well as the weather? Or are we even more "fickle?" I think we are (more fickle that is). It is all the more reason to praise Yahweh the Unchanging One who is our shield and fortress!
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