Psalm 148

Another anonymous psalm stresses the importance of praising God. This one calls the heavens to praise Him for establishing them and the earth to bless Him for exalting Israel.

 1. Praise for establishing the heavens 148:1-6

148:1-4 The psalmist summoned everything above the earth to praise God. This included the angels as well as the stars, planets, sun, moon, and clouds to which the writer attributed the ability to praise by personification.

148:5-6 These heavenly entities should praise Yahweh because He created them all by His command. Furthermore they continue to exist as they do because God made a decree that they should endure as long as He wills. The Canaanites worshipped the heavenly host, so this psalm would have been a polemic against their idolatry.

 2. Praise for exalting Israel 148:7-14

148:7-12 Parallel to the heavenly host the psalmist next called on all the earthly host to praise Yahweh. Again he personified inanimate objects and listed various representative groups. Some merisms express the totality of the group such as "old men and children"(v. 12), an expression that represents people of all ages. The pagans also worshipped creatures and natural formations, which this psalm shows are Yahweh's creations.

148:13-14 These earthly entities should praise Yahweh because He is greater than anything in heaven and on earth. Only His name is worthy of exaltation. In particular, God had raised up a king (strong one, horn) for His chosen people Israel. This person had become the praise of all His saints in Israel, the nation close to His heart.

The whole creation should praise God because He is the Creator and Sustainer of all. Furthermore He has blessed Israel by giving His chosen people worthy leadership. The horn God raised up who is worthy of all praise is Jesus Christ, the descendent of David.