1481 Give praise to the Lord. Let the Lord be praised from the heavens: give him praise in the skies. 2 Give praise to him, all you his angels: give praise to him, all his armies. 3 Give praise to him, you sun and moon: give praise to him, all you stars of light. 4 Give praise to him, you highest heavens, and you waters which are over the heavens. 5 Let them give praise to the name of the Lord: for he gave the order, and they were made. 6 He has put them in their places for ever; he has given them their limits which may not be broken.
7 Give praise to the Lord from the earth, you great sea-beasts, and deep places: 8 Fire and rain of ice, snow and mists; storm-wind, doing his word: 9 Mountains and all hills; fruit-trees and all trees of the mountains: 10 Beasts and all cattle; insects and winged birds: 11 Kings of the earth, and all peoples; rulers and all judges of the earth: 12 Young men and virgins; old men and children:
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Psalm 148:1-12
Commentary on Psalm 148:1-6
(Read Psalm 148:1-6)
We, in this dark and sinful world, know little of the heavenly world of light. But we know that there is above us a world of blessed angels. They are always praising God, therefore the psalmist shows his desire that God may be praised in the best manner; also we show that we have communion with spirits above, who are still praising him. The heavens, with all contained in them, declare the glory of God. They call on us, that both by word and deed, we glorify with them the Creator and Redeemer of the universe.
Commentary on Psalm 148:7-14
(Read Psalm 148:7-14)
Even in this world, dark and bad as it is, God is praised. The powers of nature, be they ever so strong, so stormy, do what God appoints them, and no more. Those that rebel against God's word, show themselves to be more violent than even the stormy winds, yet they fulfil it. View the surface of the earth, mountains and all hills; from the barren tops of some, and the fruitful tops of others, we may fetch matter for praise. And assuredly creatures which have the powers of reason, ought to employ themselves in praising God. Let all manner of persons praise God. Those of every rank, high and low. Let us show that we are his saints by praising his name continually. He is not only our Creator, but our Redeemer; who made us a people near unto him. We may by "the Horn of his people" understand Christ, whom God has exalted to be a Prince and a Saviour, who is indeed the defence and the praise of all his saints, and will be so for ever. In redemption, that unspeakable glory is displayed, which forms the source of all our hopes and joys. May the Lord pardon us, and teach our hearts to love him more and praise him better.