Sermon for Sept. 6, 2020 17 Minutes

This morning I'll be reading Psalm 148 verses 1 through 14.

I'll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible.

Psalm 148

In this psalm that we look at this morning,,, it's one of the last 5 psalms that are called the Hallelujah psalms. They are called that because they begin and end with the Hebrew word "Hallelujah". In the King James Version it begins and ends with "Praise ye the Lord" which is our English translation of that same word.

Psalm 148

1 Hallelujah! Praise the LORD from the heavens; praise Him in the heights. 2 Praise Him, all His angels; praise Him, all His hosts. 3 Praise Him, sun and moon; praise Him, all you shining stars. 4 Praise Him, highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens. 5 Let them praise the name of Yahweh, for He commanded, and they were created. 6 He set them in position forever and ever; He gave an order that will never pass away. 7 Praise the LORD from the earth, all sea monsters and ocean depths, 8 lightning and hail, snow and cloud, powerful wind that executes His command, 9 mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, 10 wild animals and all cattle, creatures that crawl and flying birds, 11 kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all judges of the earth, 12 young men as well as young women, old and young together. 13 Let them praise the name of Yahweh, for His name alone is exalted. His majesty covers heaven and earth. 14 He has raised up a horn for His people, resulting in praise to all His godly ones, to the Israelites, the people close to Him. Hallelujah!

God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this morning.

Let us pray:

Dear Lord,,, as we begin this morning,,, with everyone here today and all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen.

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The scripture for this morning has taken on a more personal meaning for me as I've studied this week.

This is our first service together in several weeks and before all of this time spent apart,,, we might have had a tendency to take our worship time for granted.

But even though I believe that we aren't thinking this way,,, we can always try to improve or at least check ourselves and be sure that we are worshipping the right way and for the right reasons.

So lets look at these verses and see how they can help us in our walk with God this week.

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Verses 1 and 2 say: 1 Hallelujah! Praise the LORD from the heavens; praise Him in the heights. 2 Praise Him, all His angels; praise Him, all His hosts.

The writer of this psalm is beginning his psalm of praise by talking about the praise that began in the heavens.

We always read of the angels praising God in the heavens,,, which is what we should be doing also!

There is never any reports of arguing or fussing about anything.

They are around God and know that He is worthy of their praise and devotion.

If we spent our time in devotion to God as we should,,, how much easier it would be for everyone to get along because that would keep us focused on what really matters!

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Verses 3 and 4 say: 3 Praise Him, sun and moon; praise Him, all you shining stars. 4 Praise Him, highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens.

The psalmist summoned all creation above the earth to praise the LORD.

John Wesley wrote,,, that the meaning of these scriptures and many others that are written about inanimate nature, is this: "Every work of God’s hand shows so much of his perfections,,, that it requires only to be studied and known,,, in order to show forth the manifold wisdom, power, and goodness of the Creator”.

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Verses 5 and 6 say: 5 Let them praise the name of Yahweh, for He commanded, and they were created. 6 He set them in position forever and ever; He gave an order that will never pass away.

My Believer's Bible Commentary says,,, all are honoring God as their Creator,,, the One who spoke and brought the worlds into being.

It is He who gave permanence and stability to His creation,,, and who built into it certain laws and principles which will never change.

All Creation should praise the LORD,,, because He created it all by His command and has established it all by His decree.

His word is powerful,,, sure,,, and,,, abiding.

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Verses 7 through 10 say: 7 Praise the LORD from the earth, all sea monsters and ocean depths, 8 lightning and hail, snow and cloud, powerful wind that executes His command, 9 mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, 10 wild animals and all cattle, creatures that crawl and flying birds,

Next in descending order are the great sea creatures and all the swarming life of the oceans.

They too testify that the Hand that made them is divine.

Fire, hail, snow, clouds, and the stormy gale, quick to obey His orders,,, remind us that Jehovah controls the seasons and the weather and harnesses them to do His will.

Then there are the mountains and all the hills,,, lifting their heads in adoration.

All the trees are there,,, those that bear fruit and those that yield lumber; they are lifting up their branches to His name.

Wild beasts and domestic animals,,, creeping things and birds—all are chanting the wisdom and power of the Lord.

Spend some time outdoors,,, before the sun rises,,, watch the world come alive and see it all as the day gradually begins,,, and you will appreciate the way that God has formed everything and the way that it all seamlessly comes together each new day.

That's one of the greatest highlights of hunting,,, you get to see each day as it unfolds,,, and the way that it is the same,,, yet,,, different each day!

And the greatest wonder of all,,, is God made it that way!

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Verses 11 and 12 say: 11 kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all judges of the earth, 12 young men as well as young women, old and young together.

The psalmist calls all foreign people—both the powerful and the humble—to praise God.

He includes everyone in his call to praise God—both the vigorous and the weak.

The list begins at what is considered the top of the social ladder and comes all the way down to the lowest rungs of the ladder.

This way it includes everyone,,, from the kings and rulers of the lands all the way down to the poorest and weakest people.

That's still true today!

We are “all” called to "Praise God".

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Verse 13 says: 13 Let them praise the name of Yahweh, for His name alone is exalted. His majesty covers heaven and earth.

The psalmist repeats the call to praise the name of Yahweh,,, combining his focus on heaven and earth and emphasizing the fact that His name stands above,,, all of God’s creatures.

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Verse 14 says: 14 He has raised up a horn for His people, resulting in praise to all His godly ones, to the Israelites, the people close to Him. Hallelujah!

In the Believer's Bible Commentary,,, it compares the words of this psalm to a choir and it says,,, "The massed choir is praising the name of the LORD as the name above every name and as the One whose glory is unsurpassable.

And there is a particular theme in the song of the choir—they are magnifying the Lord for what He has done for Israel.

He has raised up a horn for His people, that is, the Messiah.

In the Second Advent of the Lord Jesus,,, He has given special occasion for His saints to praise Him.

The children of Israel,,, there at the front of the choir,,, stand in a place of special nearness to Him.

Through the restored nation,,, blessing flows out to all the world.

That is why the choir is joining in one grand Hallelujah—“Praise the LORD!”

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Then John Wesley says,,, The creatures of earth, especially men, are not to praise God simply because they exist, but because God is who He is.

There is none other than the one God which can be identified as deity, hence to Him alone belongs all praise.

He alone has granted power to his people to become a distinct community among nations and to survive all setbacks in history.

This grant is described as the act of lifting up the horn, a symbol of power; and its immediate application would seem to be to the return from the exile.

This was an adequate basis for Israel to praise their God.

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We spent last week looking at the way that we need to search ourselves and be sure that we are giving God the respect and admiration that He truly deserves.

Not only in our daily lives,,, but in our prayer time,,, and our worship.

God deserves our respect and admiration,,, not only because of what He's done for us,,, which is everything,,, but mostly because He is God,,, our Creator and the reason that we and all of creation are even here.

Henry Morris says in his paper the Days of Praise,,, these last 5 psalms,,, 146 - 150,,, are called the "Hallelujah Psalms" because each 5 psalm group begins and ends with the phrase - "Hallelujah".

This word occurs 22 times in the book of Psalms.

This is significant in that the Hebrew language has just 22 letters,,, suggesting to us that the very purpose of language is for God to reveal His Word to man and for man then to respond with thanksgiving and praise to God.

He says,,, that it's further significant that the letters of the Greek language in the New Testament begin with “alpha” and end with “omega,” and that Jesus Christ, the living Word of God,,, has reminded us that “I am the Alpha and the Omega”,,, the Beginning and the End (Revelation 22:13).

He says the Greek word “Alleluia” occurs just four times in the New Testament,,, all at the great congregation in heaven that will assemble at the “marriage supper of the Lamb” and you will find that in the King James Version in Revelations 19:1-6.

This may also well be what is called “the general assembly and church of the firstborn,,, which are written in heaven” found in Hebrews 12:23.

There,,, along with “an innumerable company of angels,” all the redeemed saints of all the ages will gather to rejoice and give thanks and “praise our God, all ye his servants” found in the King James Version in Revelation 19:5).

It seems possible—even probable—that these five Hallelujah psalms will constitute the testimonies of praise and thanksgiving that will be sung by this great congregation in the presence of the Lamb.

The book of Psalms then closes with great joy and communication: “Let every thing that breathes praise the LORD. Hallelujah” (Psalm 150:6).

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What greater reason can we have for wanting to praise God,,, all throughout our lives.

This shouldn't be something that we just do on Sunday,,, but done all day,,, every day of our life!

When we are praising God,,, it's almost impossible to concentrate on our sorrow or pain,,, and if we praise Him long enough during our trials and struggles,,, they won't be around for very long!

Try this the next time that you are feeling down,,, and watch your feelings improve!

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That's what we want to remember about these scriptures.

Our praise to God can lift our Spirit so much and that's what God deserves,,, especially since everything that we know about was created by Him,,, and without Him,,, we would be lost today!

Without the plan that God had in place from the beginning,,, of bringing Jesus Christ as our Savior,,, His birth,,, life,,, death on the cross,,, resurrection,,, and the fact that He lives in heaven,,, interceding for us today,,, without that plan,,, we would not stand a chance of making it to heaven on our own!

But,,, "Hallelujah" "Praise the Lord" we have this plan in effect today!

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