35. Tribute to Our Maker, Psalm 148

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Hymns: RHC 3 Love Divine, 474a O Perfect Love, 143 O Holy Night

Psalm 148

1 Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the LORD from the heavens: praise him in the heights. 2 Praise ye him, all his angels: praise ye him, all his hosts. 3 Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light. 4 Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens. 5 Let them praise the name of the LORD: for he commanded, and they were created. 6 He hath also stablished them for ever and ever: he hath made a decree which shall not pass. 7 Praise the LORD from the earth, ye dragons, and all deeps: 8 Fire, and hail; snow, and vapour; stormy wind fulfilling his word: 9 Mountains, and all hills; fruitful trees, and all cedars: 10 Beasts, and all cattle; creeping things, and flying fowl: 11 Kings of the earth, and all people; princes, and all judges of the earth: 12 Both young men, and maidens; old men, and children: 13 Let them praise the name of the LORD: for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven. 14 He also exalteth the horn of his people, the praise of all his saints; even of the children of Israel, a people near unto him. Praise ye the LORD.

TRIBUTE TO OUR MAKER

OUTLINE

  • From the Heavens Above (v1-6)
  • From the Earth Below (v7-13)
  • From God’s people (v14)

 

INTRODUCTION

This is a psalm of grateful acknowledgement to God. Our Creator, Who is the Source of our being, deserves our utmost praise and worship. He is the source of life. Without Him, nothing was created that was created.

As we look at the vast universe in perspective, there is an order of priority in God’s creation. When God created the universe, the priority was the earth, in it He gave life. When God created the earth, the priority was man for man was made in the image of God.

Genesis 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

Genesis 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

 And after creation, the angels fell and man fell. Only for man did God provide a redemption plan. This is the development of this psalm, it concludes in verse 14 with God’s people who has the most reason for praise. Is the praise and worship of your Maker a priority for you?

For the psalmist, it is. He teaches us this good lesson of paying utmost tribute to our Maker as much as we have life moment by moment.

(1) From Heavens Above (v1-6)

1 Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the LORD from the heavens: praise him in the heights. 2 Praise ye him, all his angels: praise ye him, all his hosts. 3 Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light. 4 Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens. 5 Let them praise the name of the LORD: for he commanded, and they were created. 6 He hath also stablished them for ever and ever: he hath made a decree which shall not pass.

 In the beginning God created. This is the most neglected truth in the world today. We are reminded to rehearse that this universe did not come by itself, but there is a Creator God.

 John 1:1-3 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

God existed before the beginning of time. He is eternal – without beginning nor ending so the phrase “in the beginning” set God apart from everything He created. Because He existed before anyone or anything else, He depends on no one. Unlike mankind, who must depend on God for existence, God does not depend on anyone or anything to sustain Him.

So, the psalmist exults God as Creator, he is impressing upon our hearts God’s authority and power. God called matter into existence out of nothing (ex nihilo), the Hebrew word bara (create) describes God’s instantaneous power; when He spoke, it happened. Bara also means God brought into existence something entirely new.[1] God created in 6 literal 24 hours day. We marvel as a careful student of God’s creation. God created the angels. The angels give glory and praise to God.

As the psalmist would declare in psalm 19 which we are reminded to acknowledge:

Psalm 19:1-4a To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. 2 Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. 3 There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. 4 Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world…

(2) From Earth Below (v7-13)

7 Praise the LORD from the earth, ye dragons, and all deeps: 8 Fire, and hail; snow, and vapour; stormy wind fulfilling his word: 9 Mountains, and all hills; fruitful trees, and all cedars: 10 Beasts, and all cattle; creeping things, and flying fowl: 11 Kings of the earth, and all people; princes, and all judges of the earth: 12 Both young men, and maidens; old men, and children: 13 Let them praise the name of the LORD: for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven.

 The psalmist looked upward toward the heavenly hosts to praise God and he now turned to look downward at the earth beneath.

He highlighted the animal creation beginning with the creatures in the depths of the ocean to the land creatures and the flying creatures of the air.

He saw the rulers of this world, its princes and judges. Any man of any importance is exhorted to acknowledge that they are who they are because God has placed them there.

(3) From God’s People (v14)

14 He also exalteth the horn of his people, the praise of all his saints; even of the children of Israel, a people near unto him. Praise ye the LORD.

The most privileged of all God’s creation is the redeemed man whom God recreated in His image to dwell in Him by His Spirit and will dwell forever.

God’s creating work climaxed on the sixth day when He created man. God formed man and breathed into him the breath o life. That breath gave to the human soul – life, personality and immortality.

God created man with personality – intellect, emotion, communication and a will. Human, unlike other created creatures can reason through a problem rather than simply react to stimuli.[2]

 God also created man in His moral image. Humans can understand the difference between obedience and disobedience and are responsible to choose to obey God.

Genesis 2:16-17 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

 God also fashioned man with the spiritual ability to fellowship with Him on an intimate, spiritual level. They are His special people.

 Because mankind is made in the image of God, human life is uniquely valuable to God. But sin marred that image.

This image is re-created through the righteousness of His Son, the seed of a woman, Jesus Christ.

 All who are connected with God’s Son is connected or has spiritual fellowship with the Father through the Son. This is our privilege.

CONCLSION

How well are you connected with your Creator? We can do so in our worship of Him. May the Lord bless our worship of Him! Amen.

[1] The Beginning: The Book Of Genesis, Regular Baptist Press, 8.

[2] Ibid., 15.