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Psalms 148

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Call to the Heavenly Hosts 1–6

1
Praise ye Jehovah. Praise ye Jehovah from the heavens: Praise him in the heights. ​
2
Praise ye him, all his angels: Praise ye him, all his host.
3
Praise ye him, sun and moon: Praise him, all ye stars of light.
4
Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, And ye waters that are above the heavens.
5
Let them praise the name of Jehovah; For he commanded, and they were created. ​
6
He hath also established them for ever and ever: He hath made a decree which shall not pass away. ​

Call to the Earth and Nature 7–10

7
Praise Jehovah from the earth, Ye sea-monsters, and all deeps; ​
8
Fire and hail, snow and vapor; Stormy wind, fulfilling his word; ​
9
Mountains and all hills; Fruitful trees and all cedars;
10
Beasts and all cattle; Creeping things and flying birds;

Call to All Humanity 11–14

11
Kings of the earth and all peoples; Princes and all judges of the earth; ​
12
Both young men and virgins; Old men and children:
13
Let them praise the name of Jehovah; For his name alone is exalted; His glory is above the earth and the heavens. ​
14
And he hath lifted up the horn of his people, The praise of all his saints; Even of the children of Israel, a people near unto him. Praise ye Jehovah. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Psalms 148

Verse 1

from the heavens — The psalm calls first on the heavens (vv.1–6), then on the earth (vv.7–13). Marom, 'the heights', is the place above. Ps 89:5 gives the same call, 'the heavens shall praise thy wonders', and John hears it in heaven: 'Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power' (Rev 19:1).

Verse 5

he commanded, and they were created — Tsavah, to command, and bara, to create, the verb of Gen 1:1. The verse is Ps 33:9 in another form: 'he commanded, and it stood fast'. The elders in heaven sing it: 'thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created' (Rev 4:11).

Verse 6

he hath made a decree which shall not pass — Choq, a fixed appointment, is the word of Jer 31:36, 'If those ordinances depart from before me', and its kin chuqqah is 'the ordinances of heaven' (Job 38:33; Jer 33:25). Only then, he says, would Israel cease.

Verse 7

ye dragons, and all deeps — Tannin is the word rendered 'great whales' in Gen 1:21 and 'the dragons in the waters' in Ps 74:13. 'Deeps' is tehom, the 'deep' over which darkness lay at the beginning (Gen 1:2). Both the great creatures of the sea and the sea itself are called to praise.

Verse 8

stormy wind fulfilling his word — The storm is 'doing' (asah) his davar. Ps 107:25 gives the order behind it: 'he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind'. The disciples saw the same authority in Christ: 'What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?' (Mark 4:41).

Verse 11

Kings of the earth, and all people — Le'om, a nation or people. 'Judges of the earth' are the rulers of Ps 2:10, 'be instructed, ye judges of the earth'. Ps 138:4 says 'All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O LORD'; Wisdom says 'By me kings reign, and princes decree justice' (Prov 8:15).

Verse 13

his name alone is excellent — Sagab, to be set on high out of reach. The word is used of the LORD in Isa 2:11, 'the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day', and Isa 12:4, 'his name is exalted'. His 'glory' (hod) is 'above the earth and heaven'; so Ps 113:4, 'his glory above the heavens'.

Verse 14

He also exalteth the horn of his people — The horn (qeren) is strength lifted up, as in Hannah's 'mine horn is exalted in the LORD' (1 Sam 2:1) and Ps 75:10. Zacharias says that God 'hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David' (Luke 1:69). 'Near' is qarov, as in Deut 4:7.