In The Word
Read: Psalm 148-150
The Whole Creation Invoked to Praise the Lord.
148 Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
Praise Him in the heights!
2 Praise Him, all His angels;
Praise Him, all His heavenly armies!
3 Praise Him, sun and moon;
Praise Him, all stars of light!
4 Praise Him, highest heavens,
And the waters that are above the heavens!
5 They are to praise the name of the Lord,
For He commanded and they were created.
6 He has also established them forever and ever;
He has made a decree, and it will not pass away.
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
Sea monsters, and all the ocean depths;
8 Fire and hail, snow and clouds;
Stormy wind, fulfilling His word;
9 Mountains and all hills;
Fruit trees and all cedars;
10 Animals and all cattle;
Crawling things and winged fowl;
11 Kings of the earth and all peoples;
Rulers and all judges of the earth;
12 Both young men and virgins;
Old men and children.
13 They are to praise the name of the Lord,
For His name alone is exalted;
His majesty is above earth and heaven.
14 And He has lifted up a horn for His people,
Praise for all His godly ones,
For the sons of Israel, a people near to Him.
Praise the Lord!
Israel Invoked to Praise the Lord.
149 Praise the Lord!
Sing a new song to the Lord,
And His praise in the congregation of the godly ones.
2 Israel shall be joyful in his Maker;
The sons of Zion shall rejoice in their King.
3 They shall praise His name with dancing;
They shall sing praises to Him with tambourine and lyre.
4 For the Lord takes pleasure in His people;
He will glorify the lowly with salvation.
5 The godly ones shall be jubilant in glory;
They shall sing for joy on their beds.
6 The high praises of God shall be in their mouths,
And a two-edged sword in their hands,
7 To execute vengeance on the nations,
And punishment on the peoples,
8 To bind their kings with chains,
And their dignitaries with shackles of iron,
9 To execute against them the judgment written.
This is an honor for all His godly ones.
Praise the Lord!
A Psalm of Praise.
150 Praise the Lord!
Praise God in His sanctuary;
Praise Him in His mighty expanse.
2 Praise Him for His mighty deeds;
Praise Him according to His excellent greatness.
3 Praise Him with trumpet sound;
Praise Him with harp and lyre.
4 Praise Him with tambourine and dancing;
Praise Him with stringed instruments and flute.
5 Praise Him with loud cymbals;
Praise Him with resounding cymbals.
6 Everything that has breath shall praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord!
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
Today, we read the last 3 psalms. The first and last psalms are both very short but equally powerful. The first psalm has a layout of our duty to the Lord. The last psalm was possibly written to be the conclusion of all the sacred psalms to show that the design of them all is praising God. We see the continued exaltation of the Lord as it’s written over and over again.
What are called to praise the Lord are all of the heavens, earth, people individually, and people corporately in church. We are to praise Him with loud music and with loud voices. For in Psalm 149:4, it tells us that He takes great pleasure in His people when we worship Him fully.
We are called to give thanksgiving and praise back to the Lord for who He is and what He has done. We must continually enter into His presence with this type of attitude and heart before Him. God has done so much for us and is still working on our behalf. Not to give Him praise and thanks is to be ungrateful. I don’t know about you, but one thing I don’t want to be to my Lord is ungrateful.
Maybe it’s been a while since you’ve given thanks to Him. Start today! Journal and give Him thanks for all that He has done and is doing in your life. This will help you become grateful because you will begin to see all that He is doing in your life.