START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Psalm 148
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OBSERVE:
On this first Sunday in the liturgical Christmas season, the proper response to the birth of our Lord is celebration. Psalm 148 certainly fills the bill!
The Psalmist uses the imperative praise! thirteen times, calling upon all the heavens and the earth, all the creatures therein, and all generations to praise the Lord in this litany of praise.
There is a kind of hierarchy that the Psalmist follows:
- He begins with the angelic realm at the highest level.
- He then descends to the next rung — the celestial bodies of sun, moon and stars.
- Then all of the forces of nature that contribute to the chaos of nature — sea monsters from the deeps, the fire and hail, snow and frost, stormy wind.
- He moves on to the grandeur of the mountains of the earth, and the trees and animal life that are sustained on the earth.
The Psalmist concludes his hierarchy of praise with the human voices that should worship the Lord, including the political powers of the day — kings and princes — as well as people of all generations, both men and women.
This pattern seems to parallel the pattern of Genesis 1, which moves from the creation of the fundamental elements of nature, to the water and the dry land, all the vegetative and animal life, and then the climax of creation with human beings who are made in the image of God.
The first section of the Psalm, from verses 1 to 4, is a kind of cosmic call to praise. He summons first the heavenly, spiritual beings that inhabit the courts of the Lord:
Praise Yahweh from the heavens!
Praise him in the heights!
Praise him, all his angels!
Praise him, all his army!
This is a reminder to the Christian reader of the heavenly announcement in the Gospel of Luke 2:8-14, when the angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds in the pastures and brought the good news — the evangel — of the birth of the Messiah in Bethlehem, and the subsequent heavenly chorus:
Suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army praising God, and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest,
on earth peace, good will toward men.” (Luke 2:13-14).
The Psalmist then unapologetically refers to non-human aspects of creation in anthropomorphic terms, calling upon sun and moon, shining stars, waters above the heavens to praise God.
In verses 5-6, he explains the reason that these should praise the Lord. All the celestial cosmos owes its existence to the Lord:
Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for he commanded and they were created.
The Psalmist continues to summon praise from the chaotic, unpredictable aspects of nature:
Praise Yahweh from the earth,
you great sea creatures, and all depths!
Lightning and hail, snow and clouds;
stormy wind….
Though they are chaotic, these natural forces are still subject to the control of the Lord,
fulfilling his word.
Praises are to ring forth from:
Mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars!
Wild animals and all livestock,
small creatures and flying birds!
And finally, of course, with the human kingdoms, all generations and genders:
Kings of the earth and all peoples,
princes and all judges of the earth;
both young men and maidens;
old and children.
Again, this seems to echo the climax of Genesis 1:26-27. God announces his intent to make humankind in his own image. What this means is that they would have dominion over all creation as God’s representatives on earth; and that both male and female are required to fully reflect the image of God:
God created man in his own image. In God’s image he created him; male and female he created them.
This is a fascinating parallel with Psalm 148. To be made in God’s image is to have the responsibility of rule in God’s name, and for men and women to reflect God’s nature. And so people — rulers and men and women, old and young — are to praise God.
The Psalmist sums up this call to praise by acknowledging that the Lord is to be worshiped exclusively:
let them praise Yahweh’s name,
for his name alone is exalted.
His glory is above the earth and the heavens.
And at last the Psalmist returns to an ancient symbol, reflecting God’s blessing to Israel:
He has lifted up the horn of his people,
the praise of all his saints;
even of the children of Israel, a people near to him.
The horn hearkens back to a symbol of the bull, denoting strength in ancient Israel. Interestingly, as the focus of the Psalmist has narrowed from its height among the angels, it has finally come to rest on the saints who are defined as:
the children of Israel, a people near to him.
Praise, it seems, brings God’s people closer to him.
Clearly, all that exists is called upon to praise God, who is the source of all benefits and blessings.
APPLY:
In this Christmas season, how appropriate that all creation, from the angels to the stars to the oceans and the mountains and the beasts and kings and all people everywhere, should praise God!
I would venture to say that the angels and the natural order do fulfill their calling to praise God. They do so in part by simply fulfilling their purpose as part of God’s creation:
For he commanded, and they were created.
With kings, rulers, men and women, this may be a bit more difficult to compel. Because of human free will, people don’t seem to be joined in one voice today for the purpose of praising God.
This is the ongoing task of the church — to continue to proclaim and praise God by word and deed until the rest of the world catches on!
RESPOND:
The Scriptures provide definitive guidance to my faith and practice. Without them I’d be lost.
However, there are moments in my life when the mental fog rolls in and I find myself in a “gray night of the soul.” So many different views of the Christian faith and the Bible can create confusion even after a lifetime in the Christian church, and more than 40 years as a committed Christian.
On occasions like these, I find the Psalmist’s summons to praise very helpful. To go outside on a clear night and look at the stars and the moon; or to stand on a mountainside and consider the distances of the valley below; or to stand at the edge of the ocean and watch the wild surf — these can be powerful reminders of the creative power of God.
As just one example of the power of nature to enkindle faith, I quote Eric Metaxas, a Christian writer:
There are more than 200 known parameters necessary for a planet to support life — every single one of which must be perfectly met, or the whole thing falls apart . . . Can every one of those many parameters have been perfect by accident?
Lord, I join the angels and the archangels, the stars and the planets, and all the creatures of the earth, in praising you. May my praise join with the praise of all who live and move and have their being in you. And may my praise bring others closer to you. Amen.
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