PRAISE WITHOUT LIMITS
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Opening Prayer
Great Creator and King of All the Ages, you deserve all honor and praise. Thank you for sustaining the world with love and power and reigning with grace and mercy.
Read PSALM 148
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
Psalm 148
1 Praise the Lord.[a]
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
praise him in the heights above.
2 Praise him, all his angels;
praise him, all his heavenly hosts.
3 Praise him, sun and moon;
praise him, all you shining stars.
4 Praise him, you highest heavens
and you waters above the skies.
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for at his command they were created,
6 and he established them for ever and ever—
he issued a decree that will never pass away.
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
you great sea creatures and all ocean depths,
8 lightning and hail, snow and clouds,
stormy winds that do his bidding,
9 you mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars,
10 wild animals and all cattle,
small creatures and flying birds,
11 kings of the earth and all nations,
you princes and all rulers on earth,
12 young men and women,
old men and children.
13 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for his name alone is exalted;
his splendor is above the earth and the heavens.
14 And he has raised up for his people a horn,[b]
the praise of all his faithful servants,
of Israel, the people close to his heart.
Praise the Lord.
Footnotes
- Psalm 148:1 Hebrew Hallelu Yah; also in verse 14
- Psalm 148:14 Horn here symbolizes strength.
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Imagine, are you coming into God’s presence quickly or slowly, eagerly or reluctantly, alert or weary, distracted or focused?I’m writing this note in Holy Trinity Church, Blythburgh in Suffolk, known as the Cathedral in the Marshes. The angel roof in the fifteenth-century church is stunning. Originally brightly colored, 11 angels remain, lifted high above the full length of the church, back- to-back, outstretched wings drawing the eyes of worshippers into God’s presence. Sunlight streams down the chancel.
This psalm starts with the praise of angels in the highest heavens, shifts to the second heaven of sun and moon, and then moves on to the heavens nearest us, the rain clouds. They all offer unending praise to God by their very existence—mainly without using words.
Then we reach the earth (vv. 7–12). The genius of contemporary photography displays exquisite and unimaginable images of nature, calling forth praise and honor to God. Praising God tends to be described in terms of words, but the created world honors God by just being with its sheer biodiversity, by procreation, by seasonal transformation, and by demonstration of awesome power. The psalm begins with mysterious angels who worship God in the heavens and deliver God’s messages by words. It ends with children who communicate verbally but in many other ways.
Apply
In what ways can you offer God praise that will encourage those around you to appreciate the wonder of who God is?
Closing prayer
Lord God, as I come into your presence today, with the angels, I offer you joy-filled, unfettered praise—your splendor is above both earth and the heavens.
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