Reflections on Psalms 148

 Psalms 148(Contemporary English Version)

1. Shout praises to the LORD! Shout the LORD's praises in the highest heavens.
   
2. All of you angels, and all who serve him above, come and offer praise.
   
3. Sun and moon, and all of you bright stars, come and offer praise.
   
4. Highest heavens, and the water above the highest heavens, come and offer praise.
   
5. Let all things praise the name of the LORD, because they were created at his command.
   
6. He made them to last forever, and nothing can change what he has done.
   
7. All creatures on earth, you obey his commands, so come praise the LORD!
   
8. Sea monsters and the deep sea, fire and hail, snow and frost, and every stormy wind, come praise the LORD!
   
9. All mountains and hills, fruit trees and cedars,
   
10. every wild and tame animal, all reptiles and birds, come praise the LORD!
    
11. Every king and every ruler, all nations on earth,
    
12. every man and every woman, young people and old, come praise the LORD!
    
13. All creation, come praise the name of the LORD. Praise his name alone. The glory of God is greater than heaven and earth.
    
14. Like a bull with mighty horns, the LORD protects his faithful nation Israel, because they belong to him. Shout praises to the LORD!

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All creation is summoned to praise the Lord in this psalm. It brings to mind the impromptu performance of a flash mob in which on a busy city street, or similar public place, a couple of performers suddenly pop up to begin a performance followed soon afterward by a few more performers and then more and more keep popping up. Eventually the whole group of performers have emerged and the performance plays out to its completion.

For this performance in psalm 148 the angels and heavenly hosts suddenly emerge to give praise to the Lord. Soon the sun, moon, and stars are also giving praise. Then the highest heavens, possibly a reference to the extended portions of the universe, followed by the waters above the heavens, which could be the waters spoken of in the creation account which were above the firmament, join those giving praise.

Next, the inhabitants of the earth join the performance beginning with the sea creatures and beings of the ocean depths. Then enter the elements: lightning, hail, snow, cloud, and powerful wind. Can anyone imagine the awesomeness of this performance? Now the mountains, hills, and trees join in. Then along come the wild animals, cattle, crawling creatures, and flying birds. This performance could be frightening except it is all giving praise to the Lord. How could anything bad come from this?

Finally the people of the earth join the praise and the performing group is complete. This last group begins first with the kings of the earth followed by all the rest, from young to old. Though this is a performance that is yet to be seen, it could yet be seen.