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Sunday School Lesson
All And Everything Called To
Praise And Worship God (Psalm 148)
The last few psalms beck- ons all creation to give praise to God. In fact, Psalms 146–150 all begin and end the same way: Praise the Lord. The Hebrew word for praise is “halal.” It means to glorify, boast, or even shine. The theme of Psalm 148— and really Psalms 146– 150—is that humankind
should join the chorus of the rest of creation in giving praise to the Lord.
The Heavens Psalm 148:1-6
The anonymous psalmist first takes us to the heavens . The heavens are the sky, the place of the stars, the clouds, the atmosphere, and even the abode of God.
In verse 1 the psalmist calls for praise to the Lord from the heavens and adds to that line by saying in the heights above. Verse 2 calls angels to praise the Lord and adds all his heavenly hosts (maybe stars or angelic armies). Verse 3 calls sun and moon to praise the Lord and adds shining stars. Verse 4 calls for the highest heavens to praise the Lord and adds wa- ters above the skies (rain or atmosphere).
Verses 5 and 6 give the rea- sons why the heavens are summoned to praise the Lord. The first reason is that God created (commanded, bode, or gave orders to) them. Can they do anything else? Praise for the Lord is embedded in their nature.
The second reason is that God established them for ever and ever. In fact God is-
sued a decree as to their eter-
nality.
The Earth Psalm 148:7-13
Next the psalmist takes us to earth. The earth takes its cue from heaven in giving praise to the Lord. We start in the ocean. In verse 7 the large sea creatures (serpents, sea monsters, or dragon-type animals) are called to start the praise. In verse 8 the weather systems are beck- oned. Lightning, hail, snow, clouds, and winds all do God’s bidding (accomplish or fulfill his word).
In verse 9 mountains and hills are called to praise the Lord. On those hills grow fruit trees and all cedars. In verse 10 wild and domestic animals are beckoned to praise the Lord. To these larger animals are added small animals such as small
creatures and flying birds. In verses 11 and 12 people who live on earth are called to praise the Lord. Kings and royalty, politicians and deci- sion makers along with young and old, male and fe- male are all called to join the animal kingdom in giving
praise to God. Identical to the first section
of the psalm, the psalmist closes this section with rea- sons for why earth should so praise the Lord.
First is that God’s name alone is exalted (set exceed- ingly high). God’s name stands for his character or person.
The second reason why earth should praise the Lord is because his splendor (glory or majesty) is above the earth and the heavens. Both earth and heaven are drawn to- gether here.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 27, 2017 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 5-B