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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "//www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="//www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"><title>Psalm 148 Pulpit Commentary</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/5001com.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 4800px), only screen and (max-device-width: 4800px)" href="/4801.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1550px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1550px)" href="/1551.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1250px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1250px)" href="/1251.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1050px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1050px)" href="/1051.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 900px), only screen and (max-device-width: 900px)" href="/901.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 800px), only screen and (max-device-width: 800px)" href="/801.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 575px), only screen and (max-device-width: 575px)" href="/501.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-height: 450px), only screen and (max-device-height: 450px)" href="/h451.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /><script type="application/javascript" src="https://scripts.webcontentassessor.com/scripts/8a2459b64f9cac8122fc7f2eac4409c8555fac9383016db59c4c26e3d5b8b157"></script><script src='https://qd.admetricspro.com/js/biblehub/biblehub-layout-loader-revcatch.js'></script><script id='HyDgbd_1s' src='https://prebidads.revcatch.com/ads.js' type='text/javascript' async></script><script>(function(w,d,b,s,i){var cts=d.createElement(s);cts.async=true;cts.id='catchscript'; cts.dataset.appid=i;cts.src='https://app.protectsubrev.com/catch_rp.js?cb='+Math.random(); document.head.appendChild(cts); }) (window,document,'head','script','rc-anksrH');</script></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/psalms/148.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="//biblehu.com/bmcom/psalms/148-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="//biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">Pulpit Commentary</a> > Psalm 148</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../psalms/147.htm" title="Psalm 147">◄</a> Psalm 148 <a href="../psalms/149.htm" title="Psalm 149">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading">Pulpit Commentary</div><div class="chap"><div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/148-1.htm">Psalm 148:1</a></div><div class="verse">Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the LORD from the heavens: praise him in the heights.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 1.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">Praise ye the Lord. Praise ye the Lord from the heavens</span>; <span class="accented">i</span>.<span class="accented">e</span>. beginning at the heavens, making them the primary source from which the praises are to be drawn (comp. ver. 7). <span class="cmt_word">Praise him in the heights</span>; <span class="accented">in excelsis</span> (Vulgate). In the upper tenons, or the most exalted regions of his creation. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/148-2.htm">Psalm 148:2</a></div><div class="verse">Praise ye him, all his angels: praise ye him, all his hosts.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 2.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">Praise ye him, all his angels</span> (comp. <a href="/psalms/103-20.htm">Psalm 103:20, 21</a>). As the angels occupy the first rank in creation, and have the most to praise God for, they are fitly called upon to commence the song of jubilation. The praises of God must form their chief occupation through all eternity. <span class="cmt_word">Praise ye him, all his hosts</span>; rather, <span class="accented">all his host</span>. In the "host of God" are included beings of inferior rank to angels - "ministers of his that do his pleasure" (<a href="/psalms/103-21.htm">Psalm 103:21</a>). </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/148-3.htm">Psalm 148:3</a></div><div class="verse">Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 3.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">Praise ye him, sun and moon</span>. Objects of worship to most heathen nations, but here called upon to join in the chorus of praise to God. <span class="cmt_word">Praise him, all ye stars of light</span>; <span class="accented">i</span>.<span class="accented">e</span>. ye brilliant stars, that light up the heaven at night. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/148-4.htm">Psalm 148:4</a></div><div class="verse">Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that <i>be</i> above the heavens.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 4.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">Praise him, ye heavens of heavens</span>; <span class="accented">i</span>.<span class="accented">e</span>. "ye highest heavens" (comp. <a href="/deuteronomy/10-14.htm">Deuteronomy 10:14</a>; <a href="/1_kings/8-27.htm">1 Kings 8:27</a>; <a href="/psalms/68-33.htm">Psalm 68:33</a>). <span class="cmt_word">And ye waters that be above the heavens</span> (comp. <a href="/genesis/1-7.htm">Genesis 1:7</a>). The clouds are probably intended. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/148-5.htm">Psalm 148:5</a></div><div class="verse">Let them praise the name of the LORD: for he commanded, and they were created.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 5.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">Let them praise the Name of the Lord</span>. Frequent changes of person, when no doubt can arise as to the meaning, are a sort of Hebrew idiom. They give liveliness and variety. <span class="cmt_word">For he commanded, and they were created</span> (<a href="/genesis/1-3.htm">Genesis 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 15</a>, etc.). All creation sprang into being at the word of God (<a href="/psalms/33-8.htm">Psalm 33:8</a>). </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/148-6.htm">Psalm 148:6</a></div><div class="verse">He hath also stablished them for ever and ever: he hath made a decree which shall not pass.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 6.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">He hath also established them forever and ever</span> (comp. <a href="/psalms/89-37.htm">Psalm 89:37</a>). The expression, "forever and ever," must not be pressed. It means "for all time" - while heaven and earth endure - but does not imply an absolute perpetuity. <span class="cmt_word">He</span> <span class="cmt_word">hath made a decree which shall not pass</span>; rather, <span class="accented">which shall not pass away</span> (see the Revised Version; and comp <a href="/genesis/8-22.htm">Genesis 8:22</a>; <a href="/jeremiah/31-35.htm">Jeremiah 31:35, 36</a>; <a href="/jeremiah/33-25.htm">Jeremiah 33:25</a>). </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/148-7.htm">Psalm 148:7</a></div><div class="verse">Praise the LORD from the earth, ye dragons, and all deeps:</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 7.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">Praise the Lord from the earth</span>. The counterpart of the clause in ver. 1, "Praise ye the Lord from the heavens." Earth must join with heaven in the praise of God. <span class="cmt_word">Ye dragons</span>; or, "ye sea-monsters" (comp. <a href="/psalms/74-13.htm">Psalm 74:13</a>, where the same word is used). Hengstenberg translates by "whales;" but all the greater sea-animals are probably included. <span class="cmt_word">And all deeps</span>. The extreme "ocean depths" are meant - "lower deeps," in certain parts of what was commonly known as "the great deep" (<a href="/psalms/36-6.htm">Psalm 36:6</a>). </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/148-8.htm">Psalm 148:8</a></div><div class="verse">Fire, and hail; snow, and vapour; stormy wind fulfilling his word:</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 8.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">Fire and hail.</span> By "fire," in this combination, we must understand "lightning," or rather the various electrical phenomena accompanying storms in the East, which are sometimes very strange and terrible. <span class="cmt_word">Snow and vapors</span>; rather, <span class="accented">vapor</span>. The mist so often accompanying snowstorms is probably the "vapor" intended. <span class="cmt_word">Stormy wind fulfilling his word</span> (comp. <a href="/psalms/107-25.htm">Psalm 107:25</a>). </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/148-9.htm">Psalm 148:9</a></div><div class="verse">Mountains, and all hills; fruitful trees, and all cedars:</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 9.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">Mountains, and all hills</span>. The later psalmists are great admirers of" mountains." Perhaps the fiat and monotonous Babylonian plains led them to appreciate the beauties of a landscape like that of Palestine (comp. <a href="/psalms/83-14.htm">Psalm 83:14</a>; <a href="/psalms/114-4.htm">Psalm 114:4, 6</a>; <a href="/psalms/144-5.htm">Psalm 144:5</a>; <a href="/psalms/147-8.htm">Psalm 147:8</a>). <span class="cmt_word">Fruitful trees</span>; rather, <span class="accented">fruit trees</span>; literally, <span class="accented">trees of fruit</span>. The Babylonian palms may have swept across the writer's remembrance; but probably the vine, the olive, and the fig, which were among the chief glories of Palestine, were in his mind principally. <span class="cmt_word">And all cedars</span>. Babylonia had had no "cedars." When the exiles returned, the beauty of the cedar broke upon them as a sort of new revelation. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/148-10.htm">Psalm 148:10</a></div><div class="verse">Beasts, and all cattle; creeping things, and flying fowl:</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 10.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">Beasts, and all cattle</span>. There is a gradual ascent - from inanimate to animate things, from the "beasts" of the field to domesticated animals; from such animals to man (vers. 11, 12). <span class="cmt_word">Creeping things</span> (comp. <a href="/genesis/1-24.htm">Genesis 1:24, 25, 30</a>; <a href="/psalms/104-25.htm">Psalm 104:25</a>). <span class="cmt_word">And flying fowl</span>; literally, <span class="accented">bird of wing</span>. The intention is to include, under a few heads, all animate creation. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/148-11.htm">Psalm 148:11</a></div><div class="verse">Kings of the earth, and all people; princes, and all judges of the earth:</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 11.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">Kings of the earth, and all people</span>; rather, <span class="accented">all peoples</span>; or, <span class="accented">all nations</span>. <span class="accented"><span class="cmt_word"></span>Princes, and all judges of the earth</span>. "Kings," "princes," and "judges" represent the upper classes of society; "peoples," or "nations," all the remainder. Together, they include the whole race of mankind. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/148-12.htm">Psalm 148:12</a></div><div class="verse">Both young men, and maidens; old men, and children:</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 12.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">Both young men, and maidens</span>; <span class="cmt_word">old men, and children</span>. All mar. bind, <span class="accented">i</span>.<span class="accented">e</span>., of each sex and of every age. The obligation to praise God lies upon all. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/148-13.htm">Psalm 148:13</a></div><div class="verse">Let them praise the name of the LORD: for his name alone is excellent; his glory <i>is</i> above the earth and heaven.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 13.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">Let them praise the Name of the Lord</span>. This is the burden of the entire psalm (see especially ver. 5, and comp. vers. 1-4, 7, and 14). <span class="cmt_word">For his Name alone is excellent</span>; or, "exalted" (comp. <a href="/psalms/8-1.htm">Psalm 8:1</a>; <a href="/isaiah/12-4.htm">Isaiah 12:4</a>). The exaltation of God's Name is effected mainly by the praises which his rational creatures render to him. <span class="cmt_word">His glory is above the earth and heaven</span>. (On God's "glory," see <a href="/psalms/8-1.htm">Psalm 8:1</a>; <a href="/psalms/19-1.htm">Psalm 19:1</a>; <a href="/psalms/57-5.htm">Psalm 57:5, 11</a>; <a href="/psalms/63-2.htm">Psalm 63:2</a>; <a href="/psalms/89-17.htm">Psalm 89:17</a>, etc.) "Earth and heaven" is an unusual phrase; the terms are commonly inverted. Here, perhaps, the order may be accounted for by the law of climax. "His glory is not only above the earth, but even above the heavens." </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/148-14.htm">Psalm 148:14</a></div><div class="verse">He also exalteth the horn of his people, the praise of all his saints; <i>even</i> of the children of Israel, a people near unto him. Praise ye the LORD.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 14.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">He also exalteth the horn of his people</span>. Great as God is, his greatness does not separate him from his human creatures. On the contrary, it makes the union between himself and them closer. His might enables him to confer benefits on his people - to "exalt their horn;" <span class="accented">i</span>.<span class="accented">e</span>. to increase their glory and their strength, and set them up above their enemies. <span class="cmt_word">The praise of all his saints.</span> The construction is doubtful. Some regard "praise" as in apposition with "horn," and understand that God, by exalting the "horn" (power) of his saints, exalts also their "praise" or "renown." Others imagine an ellipse, and translate, "Praise belongs to all his saints" (Kay); or, "Seemly is praise for all his saints" (Cheyne). <span class="cmt_word">Even of the children of Israel, a people near unto him.</span> The "children of Israel" are nearer to God than others, since he has taken them to himself as his own peculiar people, and both "draws nigh" to them (<a href="/psalms/69-11.htm">Psalm 69:11</a>), and draws them near to him (<a href="/jeremiah/30-21.htm">Jeremiah 30:21</a>). <span class="cmt_word">Praise ye the Lord</span> (comp. ver. 1). <span class="p"><br /><br /></span> <span class="p"><br /><br /></span> </div></div></div><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center">The Pulpit Commentary, Electronic Database. 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