No place is too high for the praises of the Most High.
All creatures on earth should also speak the Lord’s praise, for He is Creator and Preserver; Maker and Ruler.
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.
Psalm 148 – J. Vernon McGee
Psalm 148 – Creation’s Song of Praise
The “Benedicite” in the Book of Common Prayer is based on this psalm. The sacred minstrel is not content that he or his people should have a monopoly of praise. He calls to nature, with her myriad voices, to take up the strain. It is interesting to turn these words from the imperative to the indicative mood, for already the heights and depths around us are vocal. The sun leads the chorus, and the moon plays upon her silver harp. The stars “quire to the young-eyed cherubim.” The deeps praise for depths of love, the mountains for its height, the fruit trees for its sweetness, while the great forest monarchs, their branches swaying in the wind, “clap their hands.” Surely the children of God should awake from their lethargy! Can we be redeemed and dumb? Saved and silent? Delivered and made “near,” and no word of gratitude? Let us, as we read this psalm, remember also that there is a praise note for the fire of tribulation and the hail of abusive scorn. The saints have long ago praised God in the fires. The stormy wind or adversity, no less than the zephyrs of prosperity, fulfills His purpose and deserves our trust. —Through the Bible Day by Day
Psalm 148:8—Stormy wind fulfilling his word.
As it rushes through the forest, the hurricane tears down the rotten branches, and makes way for the new shoots of the spring; and as it searches out the intricacies of the crowded alleys and courts it bears away the fever germs, and changes the atmosphere. Do not dread it, if you meet it rushing across the ocean and churning up the mighty billows on its way; know it to be your Fathers strong servant, intent on fulfilling some errand on which it has been sent.
Stormy winds not unseldom invade our lives. All had been so fair and blessed with us. The south wind, blowing softly, had led us to suppose that we might make for another harbor. But not long afterwards the tempestuous Euroclydon beat down on us, bearing us far out of our course, and threatening us with destruction. But even under those circumstances, dare to trust. That stormy wind cannot separate you from God; for through its mad fury his angels will visit you, his care will surround you, his purpose will be fulfilled of bearing you onward, am the Apostle was borne toward Rome, with its opportunities of witness-bearing (Acts 27).
The great matter to remember is to run before the wind. Let its course be yours. Yield your will to God’s will; and even though it bears you far out of your course, dare to believe that it is the quickest and beat way of attaining the harbor which God has prepared. There is nothing terrible in fire, or hail, or stormy wind, when we see God behind them.
“O man! hold thee on in courage of soul
Through the stormy shades of thy worldly way,
And the billows of aloud that around thee roll
Shall sleep in the light of a wondrous day!” —Our Daily Homily