PSALM
148 – HALLELUJAH #3
Our
study of the Book of psalm concludes with the last three of the five
Hallelujah Psalms (Psalms 146-150). Like Psalm 146 and 147, each of
these psalms are pure praise that begin and end with “Hallelujah”!
VERSES
1-6: PRAISE THE LORD FROM THE HEAVENS
["Praise the Lord" is repeated nine times in the first five
verses.]
Vs. 1-4
– The command to praise is given to the heavens. It is a choir
made up of angels, heavenly hosts, sun, moon, stars and waters above
the heavens.
“The 'waters above the heavens' are a poetic or popular term for the rain clouds.” (Kidner)
Vs. 5-6
– Three reasons the heavens should praise the LORD:
- He created them with a command. (God made His own choir!)
- He established them forever and ever. (Creation is renewed, but not recreated.)
- He made a decree which shall not pass away. (His word endures forever.)
💛NUGGET:
God created everything out of nothing with a command.
“If
all that is not God came into being at the word of God, then it
follows that every second of our existence is owing to the word of
God.” (John Piper)
VERSES
7-14: PRAISE THE LORD FROM THE EARTH
Vs. 7-12
– Now, the praise descends to the earth. And the chorus becomes
HUGE! There are sea creatures, the sea, fire, hail,
snow, clouds, wind, mountains, hills, fruit trees, cedars, beasts,
livestock, creepy creeping things, flying birds, kings, peoples, princes,
judges, young men and maidens, old men and children.
Vs. 13a
– “Let them praise”: This phrase is in imperative
(jussive) form: It's a command. Praising God isn't optional, y'all.
It is one of our highest callings and purposes.
Vs. 13b
– ALL creation is commanded to strike up a HALLELUJAH from heaven
to earth in praise of the Creator, who is exalted above ALL. (“All”
is used ten times in this psalm; the writer wanted to make sure
nothing or no one was left out of the universal chorus!)
Vs. 14 –
God's people should praise Him in a special way because:
- He has exalted their horn. (rescued and established them in power)
- He has made them His saints.
- They are His children.
- They are near to Him.
💛NUGGET:
This psalm paints a pretty picture which seems totally unrealistic
until you read Revelation 5:13 and realize that One Day, it's gonna happen... “every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the
earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them” will
join voices together in joyous harmony to sing praises of “blessing
and honor and glory and power“
to “Him who sits on
the throne, and to the Lamb”.
I can only imagine...
Songwriter
William J. Kirkpatrick imagined it. He put Psalm 148 to music in
1899 in an eloquent and powerful way. This is a well-known and
favorite hymn that has withstood the test of time:
💛💛💛💛💛💛
PSALM
149 – HALLELUJAH #4
Vs. 1 –
“Sing to the LORD a new song”: As we have noted before, a
“new song” may be sung when God has blessed or delivered
His people in a new way. We are not given the historical details that inspired the psalmist to look forward in a new way and with renewed hope.
Vs. 2 –
“Rejoice... be joyful”: We started this Study of Psalms
with a wonderful quote from C.S. Lewis, which – 37 days later
– we can hopefully appreciate even more:
“The most valuable thing the Psalms do for me is to express the same delight in God which made David dance.”
💛NUGGET:
Joy is an inescapable side effect to the goodness of God.
Vs. 4 –
How does it make you feel to know that God takes pleasure in you? It
speaks of His immeasurable mercy and love that God can look into our
heaped up hearts, sift past all the sinfulness and strife... and
still find something of worth within us that gives Him pleasure.
“What is there in us in which the Lord can take pleasure? Nothing, unless he has put it there. If he sees any beauty in us, it must be the reflection of his own face. Yet still the text says so, and therefore it must be true: ‘The Lord taketh pleasure in his people.’” (Spurgeon)
Vs.
6 – “Let the high
praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their
hand”: In other words: “Praise the Lord and pass
the ammunition!”
Vs. 9 –
“To execute on them the written judgment”:
Many scholars view this verse as a prophetic reference to the Lord's
final victory:
“Then
I saw heaven opened, and there was a white horse! Its rider is called
Faithful and True, and in righteousness He JUDGES and makes war.”
(Revelation 19:11)
💛💛💛💛💛💛
PSALM
150 – HALLELUJAH #5
And
here we are: the Grand Finale... the Final Hallelujah. Psalm 150 is
an eloquent hymn that brings the Book of Psalms to a triumphant end.
In just six short verses, we are commanded to praise God thirteen
times. This psalm gives us the where, why, how and who
of praising God.
▶WHERE?
Vs. 1 –
“Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty firmament!”:
From His earthly temple to Heaven of Heavens, God is to be praised everywhere.
▶WHY?
Vs.
2 – “Praise Him for His
mighty acts; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness!”:
We should praise God because of what He has done and who He is. He is
exactly who His word reveals Him to be. He is worthy of our
praise...
VIDEO:
“Names of God” - https://youtu.be/oP25kCPocwg
💛NUGGET:
We should never reach the end of our awe over the greatness of God.
▶HOW?
Vs. 3-5
– Tune the orchestra. Cue the choir. Dust off the dancing shoes.
These verses tell us to pull out the trumpets, the lute and harp, the
banjos (?) and flutes. Get on your feet! Shake your tambourines!
Clang your cymbals! He is MIGHTY! He is WORTHY! He is GREAT!
Praise Him with everything you've got... don't hold back!
▶WHO?
Vs. 6 –
“Let everything that has
breath praise the Lord.”:
That's it. That's all it takes. The only qualification for praising God is the breath He gave you.
Psalm
150 serves as a doxology not only for Book V, but for the entire Book
of Psalms. It is only fitting that we end with one last song of
praise: “The Doxology”.
VIDEO: https://youtu.be/tQUTvMtUhw4
💛💛💛💛💛💛
💛FINAL NUGGET: May the psalms inspire us all to be a
walking hallelujah.
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