Psalms 148:7 - Meaning and Application

Considering that this earth and the air around it are like the lowest part of the universe, we should look for reasons to be content with our place in it. None is more moving than this, apart from the time when the Son of God visited it, that even in this dark and sinful world God is praised: “Praise the Lord from the earth” (Psalm 148:7). As sunlight sent straight from heaven is reflected, though more weakly, by the earth, so God’s praise should rise from this cold and polluted world.

First, even creatures that do not have reason are called into this great chorus, because God can be glorified in them (Psalm 148:7-10). Let the dragons or whales, which play in the deep waters (Psalm 104:26), praise the Lord, who shows his power by ruling the leviathan, or whale (Job 41:1). The depths and all their creatures praise God, both the sea and the animals in it, and even the depths of the earth and what lives there. God can be praised from the depths as truly as he can be prayed to from them.

If we look up into the sky, we see many strange sights, and these especially show the power of the great Creator. There are fiery signs, like lightning. There are watery signs, like hail and snow, and the vapors from which they come. There are windy signs, like storm winds. We do not know where they come from or where they go, or where their great force comes from or how it ends. Yet we do know this, they fulfill God’s word and do only what he appoints. Christ showed his divine power when he commanded even the winds and the sea, and they obeyed him. People who refuse to obey God’s word and rise against it show themselves more stubborn than the storm winds, because even those winds obey him.

Look at the earth itself (Psalm 148:9), and you see high places, mountains and hills. Some of them are barren, and some are fruitful, but both can give us reason to praise. You also see tall plants, some honored for their usefulness, like fruitful trees of many kinds, and others for their majesty, like all cedars, those trees of the Lord (Psalm 104:16). Cedars are not the fruit trees, yet they still had a place in God’s temple.

Now look at the animal world, and there God is glorified even by wild beasts and by all cattle that serve mankind (Psalm 148:10). Even creeping things have not sunk so low, and flying birds do not soar so high, as to be left out of the call to praise the Lord. Much of the wisdom, power, and goodness of the Creator appears in the different abilities and instincts of his creatures, in the way he provides for them and uses them. When everything is so strange and yet so good, we can only acknowledge God with wonder and gratitude.

Second, those who have reason should all the more use it in praising God: kings of the earth and all people (Psalm 148:11, Psalm 148:12). God is to be glorified in them and for them, just as in the lower creatures, because their hearts are in the Lord’s hand and he uses them as he pleases. He is praised in the structure of kingdoms, in those who rule and those who are ruled. Kings reign because of him, and people are subject to them because of him. Princes and judges receive their wisdom and authority from him, and we should bless God for them, since they are gifts to us.

God is also to be praised for families, because he founded them. For all the comfort that parents and children, brothers and sisters, give one another, God deserves praise. So let every kind of person praise God. Those of every rank, high and low, are called to do it. Kings, princes, and judges are especially asked to praise him, because those whom God has honored should honor him with their honor. Their power and public standing give them a greater ability to bring God glory and serve him well.

Yet the people are also expected to praise him, and God gladly accepts their praise. Christ did not despise the hosannas of the crowd. Those of both sexes, young men and maidens, who often gather in joy, should turn their joy into praise. Let their happiness become holy, so that it may stay pure. Those of every age should praise him too. Old men must still bear this fruit in old age, and neither age nor weakness should excuse them. Children also must begin early to praise God, for even out of the mouths of babies and nursing infants this good work is made complete.

A strong reason is given for all this in (Psalm 148:13): his name alone is excellent and worthy to be praised. His name is above every name. No name and no being has all excellence except his. His glory is above both earth and heaven, and yet all who live in earth and heaven should praise him, while still confessing that his name is far above all blessing and praise.

Third, above all, God’s own people, who have special privileges, must give him special honor (Psalm 148:14). God has lifted up the horn of his people, which means their honor, strength, plenty, and power. Israel was honored above other nations in many ways, for to them belonged adoption, glory, and the covenants (Romans 9:4). Their own honor was that they were a people near to God, his special treasure. They could enter his courts, while a stranger who came near was to be put to death.

They had God near them whenever they called on him for help. Through Christ, this blessing has come to the Gentiles too, because those who were once far away have been brought near by his blood (Ephesians 2:13). The greatest honor a person can have is to be brought near to God, and the nearer the better. It will be best of all when we are nearest to him in the kingdom of glory.

Since God honors his people in this way, he expects them to honor him in return: “Praise the Lord.” Let him be the praise of all his saints, the one they praise, for he is a praise to them. “He is your praise, and he is your God” (Deuteronomy 10:21).

Some take “the horn of his people” to mean David, as a picture of Christ. God has raised Christ up to be a prince and Savior, and he is truly the praise of all his saints, now and forever. It is through him that they become a people near to God.