All Creation Praise the Lord

Good evening. I am glad we can gather together this evening. Tonight I want us to begin looking at the Psalms together. Over the next several weeks we will be jumping around the entire book but it should be an interesting study as we seek to gain a better understanding of what the Psalms can teach us.

What is a Psalm?

I think we need to begin by answering this question.

The Easiest explanation that i can provide is that psalms are poetry. Poetry is a complex topic though. There are all kinds of directions that we could take this idea of poetry right now. However, i want to present to you a rather simple approach.

Poetry is Beauty

Poetry over the centuries has inspired beauty and passion. The use of language to symbolically and metaphorically explain or attempt to explain the things of the universe and world in poetry through imagery and word play is an amazing thing.

In many ways this openness in the inspired word of God to the beauty of poetry is a testament to God’s love of beautiful things and a creative nature withing both his nature and humanities.

This is our inspiration today than to look to these passages to inspire us to fill us with the beauty and wonder that is worship of God.

Let us begin with Pslams 148

Psalm 148 NIV

1 Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights above. 2 Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his heavenly hosts. 3 Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars. 4 Praise him, you highest heavens and you waters above the skies. 5 Let them praise the name of the Lord, for at his command they were created, 6 and he established them for ever and ever— he issued a decree that will never pass away. 7 Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all ocean depths, 8 lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds that do his bidding, 9 you mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, 10 wild animals and all cattle, small creatures and flying birds, 11 kings of the earth and all nations, you princes and all rulers on earth, 12 young men and women, old men and children. 13 Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his splendor is above the earth and the heavens. 14 And he has raised up for his people a horn, the praise of all his faithful servants, of Israel, the people close to his heart. Praise the Lord.

Psalm of Praise

If you haven’t figured it out this is a Psalm of praise. The main focus on this passage is about Praising God. The Psalmist does a great job of showing the different aspects of the created universe and that they all answer to God. Let’s look at the first five verses again.

Psalm 148:1–5 NIV

1 Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights above. 2 Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his heavenly hosts. 3 Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars. 4 Praise him, you highest heavens and you waters above the skies. 5 Let them praise the name of the Lord, for at his command they were created,

Praises of Heaven

These five verses show us that all the heavens will praise God. Now some people may look to this passage and say this talks about multiple layers of heavens. It is important to remember and to put this passage in the context of the author.

The Psalmist was doing his best to explain in humans terms heavenly things. We are familiar with angels and heavenly hosts but to say that we have a complete understanding of how the things of heaven work we would be mistaken.

One important note is in verse three when the author mentions the sun and the moon. These Celestial bodies were often the source of worship for others in the world. The Psalmist is make a clear distinction that they were created and under the authority of God. This places God in a high position than other beliefs systems.

Praises of Earth

The Psalmist moves on to examples of the earth and more familiar concepts for us in our understanding of praising God in verse 6-10

Psalm 148:6–10 NIV

6 and he established them for ever and ever— he issued a decree that will never pass away. 7 Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all ocean depths, 8 lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds that do his bidding, 9 you mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, 10 wild animals and all cattle, small creatures and flying birds,

Have you ever had that moment where you were just awe inspired and amazed at the wonders of the universe. I think of times that i have bene hiking or camping and seeing the beauty of nature and being awestruck and can’t help but praise God for what he has put before me. It is likewise that the Psalmist draws us to these images with the Sea, the weather, the mountains, the anaimals and all creatures of this earth.

All of these things bear witness to the testimony of the creator and we can’t help but look around us and be in awe of what he has made for us. It is truly a moment to step back and be amazed.

Praise of Man

The Psalmist finally draws us to the truth that even man is to praise God.

Psalm 148:11–12 NIV

11 kings of the earth and all nations, you princes and all rulers on earth, 12 young men and women, old men and children.

We sometimes forget that all people no matter their postion are to praise God. This is something that is lost in our world today and was often lost in the time of the Psalmist. It is a stark reminder that we are called to live our lives as acts of worship to praise God no matter if we are young or old, rich or poor. Leaders or common folk.

What does this Psalms tell us?

In a world that we so often like to take credit for all the things we have accomplished as a society this is a reminder that at the end of the day it is God who is the creator of all things. We will all stand before him someday and will have to answer for who we are.

It is a reminder that god is worship of praise because of the the things that he has done for us. It doesn’t matter what position we have all things need to recognize the authority that God has over creation and praise him for it. He is worthy of that because he is the creator.