Reflection on Psalm 148:7-12: How Praise Restores Creation’s Order
Reflection on Psalm 148:7-12: How Praise Restores Creation’s Order
Reflection on Psalm 148:7-12: How Praise Restores Creation’s Order (NIVUK)
Praise the LORD from the earth, | you great sea creatures and all ocean depths, | lightning and hail, snow and clouds, | stormy winds that do his bidding, | you mountains and all hills, | fruit trees and all cedars, | wild animals and all cattle, | small creatures and flying birds, | kings of the earth and all nations, | you princes and all rulers on earth, | young men and women, | old men and children.
Commentary
And when we praise, we join in with the heavens. Verse two says, “Praise him all his angels. Praise him his heavenly hosts”. Our praise is like a little taste of eternity. We speak of the goodness of God in a world that has chosen to turn its back and to fail to hear. We need to speak so that people might know. We need to tell these stories to the next generation so that they too can encounter the goodness of God. And when we praise, we are putting the world to rights. So much that is wrong with this world is because human beings turn their back on God and turn towards themselves. And when we praise God, we are putting creation back in the order that it’s intended to be. We are celebrating God who is the great good, who is the thing to which we aspire, the one that we love, the greatest ideal. So we praise because that’s what we were created for.