Spurgeon, “The song is one and indivisible. It seems almost impossible to expound it in detail, for a living poem is not to be dissected verse by verse. It is a song of nature and of grace. As a flash of lightning flames through space, and enwraps both heaven and earth in one vestment of glory, so doth the adoration of the Lord in this Psalm light up all the universe, and cause it to glow with a radiance of praise. The song begins in the heavens, sweeps downward to dragons and all deeps, and then ascends again, till the people near unto Jehovah take up the strain. For its exposition the chief requisite is a heart on fire with reverent love to the Lord over all, who is to be blessed for ever.

1. PSALM 148 COMME
TARY
Written and edited by Glenn Pease
PREFACE
I quote many authors both old and new, and if any I quote do not want their wisdom shared in
this way they can let me know and I will remove it. My e-mail is glenn_p86@yahoo.com
I
TRODUCTIO
1. Spurgeon, “The song is one and indivisible. It seems almost impossible to expound it in detail,
for a living poem is not to be dissected verse by verse. It is a song of nature and of grace. As a
flash of lightning flames through space, and enwraps both heaven and earth in one vestment of
glory, so doth the adoration of the Lord in this Psalm light up all the universe, and cause it to
glow with a radiance of praise. The song begins in the heavens, sweeps downward to dragons and
all deeps, and then ascends again, till the people near unto Jehovah take up the strain. For its
exposition the chief requisite is a heart on fire with reverent love to the Lord over all, who is to be
blessed for ever.
2. Treasury of David, “Psalms 148:1-150:6. The last three Psalms are a triad of wondrous praise,
ascending from praise to higher raise until it becomes "joy unspeakable and full of glory" --
exultation which knows no bounds. The joy overflows the soul, and spreads throughout the
universe; every creature is magnetized by it, and drawn into the chorus. Heaven is full of praise,
the earth is full of praise, praises rise from under the earth, "everything that hath breath" joins
in the rapture. God is encompassed by a loving, praising creation. Man, the last in creation, but
the first in song, knows not how to contain himself. He dances, he sings, he commands all the
heavens, with all their angels, to help him, "beasts and all cattle, creeping things and flying fowl"
must do likewise, even "dragons" must not be silent, and "all deeps" must yield contributions.
He presses even dead things into his service, timbrels, trumpets, harps, organs, cymbals, high
sounding cymbals, if by any means, and by all means, he may give utterance to his love and joy. --
John Pulsford.
Whole Psalm. In this splendid anthem the Psalmist calls upon the whole creation, in its two great
divisions (according to the Hebrew conception) of heaven and earth, to praise Jehovah: things
with and things without life, beings rational and irrational, are summoned to join the mighty
chorus. This Psalm is the expression of the loftiest devotion, and it embraces at the same time the
most comprehensive view of the relation of the creature to the Creator. Whether it is exclusively
the utterance of a heart filled to the full with the thought of the infinite majesty of God, or
whether it is also an anticipation, a prophetic forecast, of the final glory of creation, when at the
manifestation of the sons of God, the creation itself also shall be redeemed from the bondage of
corruption (Romans 8:18-23), and the homage of praise shall indeed be rendered by all things
that are in heaven and earth and under the earth, is a question into which we need not enter.
--J.J. Stewart Perowne.

2. Whole Psalm. Milton, in his Paradise Lost (Book 5, line 153, & c.), has elegantly imitated this
Psalm, and put it into the mouth of Adam and Eve as their morning hymn in a state of innocency.
--James Anderson.
Whole Psalm. Is this universal praise never to be realized? is it only the longing, intense desire of
the Psalmist's heart, which will never be heard on earth, and can only be perfected in heaven? Is
there to be no jubilee in which the mountains and the hills shall break forth into singing, and all
the trees of the field shall clap their hands? If there is to be no such day, then is the word of God
of none effect; if no such universal anthem is to swell the chorus of heaven and to be reechoed by
all that is on earth, then is God's promise void. It is true, in this Psalm our translation presents it
to us as a call or summons for every thing that hath or hath not breath to praise the Lord -- or as
a petition that they may praise; but it is in reality a prediction that they shall praise. This Psalm
is neither more nor less than a glorious prophecy of that coming day, when not only shall the
knowledge of the Lord be spread over the whole earth, as the waters cover the sea, but from
every created object in heaven and in earth, animate and inanimate, from the highest archangel
through every grade and phase of being, down to the tiniest atom -- young men and maidens, old
men and children, and all kings and princes, and judges of the earth shall unite in this millennial,
anthem to the Redeemer's praise. --Barton Bouchier.
3. Steven Cole, “Psalm 148 is a glorious psalm of praise. It is easy to see that praise is the theme.
The command to praise the Lord is repeated nine times in the first five verses and twelve times in
the entire psalm. Barton Bouchier wrote (cited by C. H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of David
[Baker], 7:426), This psalm is neither more nor less than a glorious prophecy of that coming day,
when not only shall the knowledge of the Lord be spread over the whole earth, as the waters
cover the sea, but from every created object in heaven and in earth, animate and inanimate, from
the highest archangel through every grade and phase of being, down to the tiniest atom— young
men and maidens, old men and children, and all kings and princes, and judges of the earth shall
unite in this millennial anthem to the Redeemer’s praise. The message of Psalm 148 is simple:
Everything and everyone in heaven and on earth should praise the Lord.”
4. Constable, “Another anonymous psalm stresses the importance of praising God. This one calls
the heavens to praise Him for establishing them and the earth to bless Him for exalting Israel.
Each major section of the psalm begins with a call to worship ("Praise the LORD"), and
the whole poem ends with the same call, forming an inclusio. "Praise" appears 13 times
in the 14 verses of this psalm.”
5. Calvin, “The more effectually to express how worthy God is to be praised in his works, he calls
upon all creatures from above and below to sing his praises. He begins with angels, but
immediately proceeds to address the brute creation and dumb elements, intimating, that there is
no part of the world in which the praises of God are not to be heard, inasmuch as he everywhere
gives proof of his power, goodness, and wisdom. He then comes to speak of men, whom God has
constituted the proper heralds of his praises in this world. But as the unbelieving portion of them
is both blind to the consideration of God’s works, and dumb to his praises, the Psalmist at the
close appeals to the children of Israel, who were privileged with a special discovery of God, as
principal witnesses.”
6. Larry Brincefield, “Several commentators (Stephen J. Lennox, et. al) pointed out that many of
these things mentioned in Psalm 148 were frequently things that people worshipped.

3. • People have (and still today) worship angels…
• People have and still today worship the sun, moon, and stars…
• Animals, mountains, trees, and even stormy weather.
• But David, in describing all these things that people might turn to and worship them instead of
the One True God…
• And showing that all these things exist only to give praise and glory to God… (2.)
• It certainly helps us put our praise and worship into the right place.
• It reminds me of a song that Carmen sung where he said something like: “keep your eyes upon
the Creator and not on His creation”.
E. David concludes this stanza like he did the first one…
• Giving us reason to praise God…
•
ot that we need a reason…
• We should praise God anyway…
• But David tells us, He has raised up for his people a horn Psalms 148:14 (
IV)
• Many times, when you see a horn used metaphorically in Scripture…
• It is referring to strength…
• Like a rams’ horn would be strong…
• So, essentially, David is telling us to praise the Lord for Him giving us strength…
• But other commentators indicate that this is a reference to Jesus Christ…
• As in Luke 1:69, which is a clear reference to Jesus Christ, “He has raised up a horn of salvation
for us in the house of his servant David” Luke 1:69 (
IV)
• So, then, David is telling us to praise the Lord for Jesus Christ Who brings us salvation.
1 Praise the LORD.[a]
Praise the LORD from the heavens;
praise him in the heights above.
1. Barnes, “Praise ye the Lord from the heavens - On the part of the heavens. Let those who dwell
in heaven begin the song.
Praise him in the heights - All that are in the heights; to wit, in the highest parts of the
universe, or the heavens.
2. Clarke, “Praise ye the Lord from the heavens - The Chaldee translates, “Praise the Lord, ye
holy creatures from the heavens. Praise him, ye armies of supreme angels. Praise him, all ye
angels who minister before him.” מן השמים min hashshamayim signifies whatever belongs to the
heavens, all their inhabitants; as מן הארץ min haarets, Psa_148:7, signifies all that belongs to the
earth, all its inhabitants and productions.
2B. Augustine, “The subject of our meditation in this present life should be the praises of God;

4. for the everlasting exaltation of our life hereafter will be the praise of God, and none can become
fit for the life hereafter, who hath not practised himself for it now. So then now we praise God,
but we pray to Him too. Our praise is marked by joy, our prayer by groans.…On account of
these two seasons, one, that which now is in the temptations and tribulations of this life, the other,
that which is to be hereafter in everlasting rest and exultation; we have established also the
celebration of two seasons, that before Easter and that after Easter. That which is before Easter
signifieth tribulation, in which we now are; that which we are now keeping after Easter, signifieth
the bliss in which we shall hereafter be. The celebration then which we keep before Easter is what
we do now: by that which we keep after Easter we signify what as yet we have not. Therefore we
employ that time in fastings and prayer, this present time we spend in praises, and relax our fast.
This is the Halleluia which we sing, which, as you know, meaneth (in Latin), Praise ye the Lord.
Therefore that period is before the Lord’s Resurrection, this, after His Resurrection: by which
time is signified the future hope which as yet we have not: for what we represent after the Lord’s
Resurrection, we shall have after our own. For in our Head both are figured, both are set forth.
The Baptism of the Lord setteth forth to us this present life of trial, for in it we must toil, be
harassed, and, at last, die; but the Resurrection and Glorification of the Lord setteth forth to us
the life which we are to have hereafter, when He shall come to recompense due rewards, evil to
the evil, good to the good. And now indeed all the evil men sing with us, Halleluia; but, if they
persevere in their wickedness, they may utter with their lips the song of our life hereafter; but the
life itself, which will then be in the reality which now is typified, they cannot obtain, because they
would not practise it before it came, and lay hold on what was to come.”
3. Gill, “ Praise ye the Lord,.... Or, hallelujah: which, in some versions, and with some
interpreters, is the title of the psalm; expressive of the subject matter of it, the praise of the Lord;
and is an exhortation of all creatures to it;
praise ye the Lord from the heavens; that is, those that are of the heavens; let their praises of the
Lord, of his perfections, works, and benefits, resound from thence; the angels of heaven
particularly, who have their habitation and residence there, and sometimes descend from thence
on special business, by the order and appointment of their great Creator and Master: so the
Targum,
"praise the Lord, ye holy creatures from heaven.''
Though some take the phrase, "from heaven", to be descriptive of the Lord, the object of praise,
who is the Lord from heaven; the character of Christ, the second Adam, 1Co_15:47; who is from
above; came down from heaven to do the will of God; and was in heaven, as to his divine Person,
while here on earth in human nature, working out the salvation of men; for which he justly
deserves the praise of all in heaven and in earth. But as all creatures are distinguished in this
psalm into celestial and terrestrial, called upon to praise the Lord; this seems to be the general
character of the celestial ones, persons, bodies, and things; as the phrase "from the earth",
Psa_148:7, includes all in the terraqueous globe;
praise him in the heights; either in the highest heavens where he dwells, or with the highest notes
of praise that can be raised; see Psa_149:6. The Targum is,
"praise him, all the hosts of angels on high:''
or the high hosts of angels: but these are particularly mentioned in Psa_148:2.

5. 4. Henry, “We, in this dark and depressed world, know but little of the world of light and
exaltation, and, conversing within narrow confines, can scarcely admit any tolerable conceptions
of the vast regions above. But this we know,
I. That there is above us a world of blessed angels by whom God is praised, an innumerable
company of them. Thousand thousands minister unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand
stand before him; and it is his glory that he has such attendants, but much more his glory that he
neither needs them, nor is, nor can be, any way benefited by them. To that bright and happy
world the psalmist has an eye here, Psa_148:1, Psa_148:2. In general, to the heavens, to the
heights. The heavens are the heights, and therefore we must lift up our souls above the world
unto God in the heavens, and on things above we must set our affections. It is his desire that God
may be praised from the heavens, that thence a praising frame may be transmitted to this world
in which we live, that while we are so cold, and low, and flat, in praising God, there are those
above who are doing it in a better manner, and that while we are so often interrupted in this work
they rest not day nor night from it. In particular, he had an eye to God's angels, to his hosts, and
calls upon them to praise God. That God's angels are his hosts is plain enough; as soon as they
were made they were enlisted, armed, and disciplined; he employs them in fighting his battles,
and they keep ranks, and know their place, and observe the word of command as his hosts. But
what is meant by the psalmist's calling upon them, and exciting them to praise God, is not so easy
to account for. I will not say, They do not heed it, because we find that to the principalities and
powers is known by the church the manifold wisdom of God (Eph_3:10); but I will say, They do not
need it, for they are continually praising God and there is no deficiency at all in their
performances; and therefore when, in singing this psalm, we call upon the angels to praise God
(as we did, Psa_103:20), we mean that we desire God may be praised by the ablest hands and in
the best manner, - that we are pleased to think he is so, - that we have a spiritual communion with
those that dwell in his house above and are still praising him, - and that we have come by faith,
and hope, and holy love, to the innumerable company of angels, Heb_12:22.
II. That there is above us not only an assembly of blessed spirits, but a system of vast bodies too,
and those bright ones, in which God is praised, that is, which may give us occasion (as far as we
know any thing of them) to give to God the glory not only of their being, but of their beneficence
to mankind.
5. Spurgeon, “Praise ye the LORD. Whoever ye may be that hear this word, ye are invited,
entreated, commanded, to magnify Jehovah. Assuredly he has made you, and, if for nothing else,
ye are bound, upon the ground of creatureship, to adore your Maker. This exhortation can never
be out of place, speak it where we may; and never out of time, speak it when we may.
Praise ye the LORD from the heavens. Since ye are nearest to the High and Lofty One, be ye sure
to lead the song. Ye angels, ye cherubim and seraphim, and all others who dwell in the precincts
of his courts, praise ye Jehovah. Do this as from a starting point from which the praise is to pass
on to other realms. Keep not your worship to yourselves, but let it fall like a golden shower from
the heavens on men beneath.
Praise him in the heights. This is no vain repetition; but after the manner of attractive poesy the
truth is emphasized by reiteration in other words. Moreover, God is not only to be praised from
the heights, but in them: the adoration is to be perfected in the heavens from which it takes its
rise.
o place is too high for the praises of the most High. On the summit of creation the glory of
the Lord is to be revealed, even as the tops of the highest Alps are tipped with the golden light of
the same sun which glads the valleys. Heavens and heights become the higher and the more
heavenly as they are made to resound with the praises of Jehovah. See how the Psalmist trumpets

6. out the word "PRAISE." It sounds forth some nine times in the first five verses of this song. Like
minute-guns, exultant exhortations are sounded forth in tremendous force -- Praise! Praise!
Praise! The drum of the great King beats round the world with this one note -- Praise! Praise!
Praise! "Again they said, Hallelujah." All this praise is distinctly and personally for Jehovah.
Praise not his servants nor his works; but praise HIM. Is he not worthy of all possible praise?
Pour it forth before HIM in full volume; pour it only there!
6. Treasury of David, “Verse 1. Praise ye the Lord, etc. All things praise, and yet he says, "Praise
ye." Wherefore doth he say, "Praise ye", when they are praising? Because he delighteth in their
praising, and therefore it pleaseth him to add, as it were, his own encouragement. Just as, when
you come to men who are doing any good work with pleasure in their vineyard or in their harvest
field, or in some other matter of husbandry, you are pleased at what they are doing, and say,
"Work on", "Go on"; not that they may begin to work, when you say this, but, because you are
pleased at finding them working, you add your approbation and encouragement. For by saying,
"Work on", and encouraging those who are working, you, so to speak, work with them in wish.
In this sort of encouragement, then, the Psalmist, filled with the Holy Ghost, saith this. --
Augustine.
Verse 1. The thrice repeated exhortation, "Praise ... Praise ...Praise", in this first verse is not
merely imperative, nor only hortative, but it is an exultant hallelujah. --Martin Geier.
Verse 1. From the heavens: praise him in the heights. Or, high places. As God in framing the world
begun above, and wrought downward, so doth the Psalmist proceed in this his exhortation to all
creatures to praise the Lord. --John Trapp.
Verse 1. Praise him in the heights. The principle applied in this verse is this, that those who have
been exalted to the highest honours of the created universe, should proportionately excel in their
tribute of honour to him who has exalted them. --Hermann Venema.
Verse 1. Bernard, in his sermon on the death of his brother Gerard, relates that in the middle of
his last night on earth his brother, to the astonishment of all present, with a voice and
countenance of exultation, broke forth in the words of the Psalmist Praise the Lord of heaven,
praise him in the heights!
7. Calvin, “Praise Jehovah from the heavens He seems here to include the stars as well as the
angels, and, therefore, heaven itself, the air, and all that is gendered in it; for afterwards a
division is made when he first calls upon angels, then upon the stars, and the waters of the
firmament. With regard to the angels, created as they were for this very end — that they might
be instant in this religious service, we need not wonder that they should be placed first in order
when the praises of God are spoken of. Accordingly, in that remarkable vision which Isaiah
describes, (Isaiah 6:3,) the cherubim cry out — “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Hosts.” And in
several other places of Scripture the angels are represented as praising God by such ascription’s.
How, then, can zeal like theirs stand in need of exhortations? Or, if they require to be incited,
what can be more unseemly than that we, who are so sluggish in the service, should assume the
part of exhorting them to their duty? David, then, who did not equal the angels in zeal, but came
far behind them, was not qualified to be an exhorter to them. But neither did this enter into his
purpose; he would simply testify that it was the height of his happiness and desire to join in
sacred concert with elect angels in praising God. And there is nothing unreasonable that, in order
to stir himself up in the praises of God, he should call as companions upon the angels, although

7. these run spontaneously in the service, and are fitter to lead the way. He calls them, in the second
part of the verse — the armies of God; for they stand always ready to receive his orders. “Ten
thousand times ten thousand surround his throne,” as Daniel says, (Daniel 7:10.) The same name
is applied also to the stars, both because they are remarkable for the order which maintains
among them, and because they execute with inconceivable quickness the orders of God. But the
angels are here called armies, upon the same account as elsewhere principalities and powers,
inasmuch as God exerts his power by their hands.”
8. K&D 1-6, “The call does not rise step by step from below upwards, but begins forthwith from
above in the highest and outermost spheres of creation. The place whence, before all others, the
praise is to resound is the heavens; it is to resound in the heights, viz., the heights of heaven
(Job_16:19; Job_25:2; Job_31:2). The מִן might, it is true, also denote the birth or origin: ye of the
heavens, i.e., ye celestial beings (cf. Psa_68:27), but the parallel בַּמְּרוֹמִי ם renders the immediate
construction with הַֽלֲלוּ more natural. Psa_148:2-4 tell who are to praise Jahve there: first of all,
all His angels, the messengers of the Ruler of the world - all His host, i.e., angels and stars, for
צְבָאוֹ (Chethîb) or צְבָאָיו (Kerî as in Psa_103:21) is the name of the heavenly host armed with light
which God Tsebaoth commands (vid., on Gen_2:1), - a name including both stars (e.g., in
Deu_4:19) and angels (e.g., in Jos_5:14., 1Ki_22:19); angels and stars are also united in the
Scriptures in other instances (e.g., Job_38:7). When the psalmist calls upon these beings of light
to praise Jahve, he does not merely express his delight in that which they do under any
circumstances (Hengstenberg), but comprehends the heavenly world with the earthly, the church
above with the church here below (vid., on Psa_29:1-11; Ps 103), and gives a special turn to the
praise of the former, making it into an echo of the praise of the latter, and blending both
harmoniously together. The heavens of heavens are, as in Deu_10:14; 1Ki_8:27, Sir. 16:18, and
frequently, those which lie beyond the heavens of the earth which were created on the fourth day,
therefore they are the outermost and highest spheres. The waters which are above the heavens
are, according to Hupfeld, “a product of the fancy, like the upper heavens and the whole of the
inhabitants of heaven.” But if in general the other world is not a notion to which there is no
corresponding entity, this notion may also have things for its substance which lie beyond our
knowledge of nature. The Scriptures, from the first page to the last, acknowledge the existence of
celestial waters, to which the rain-waters stand in the relation as it were of a finger-post pointing
upwards (see Gen_1:7). All these beings belonging to the superterrestrial world are to praise the
ame of Jahve, for He, the God of Israel, it is by whose fiat ( צִוָּה , like אָמַר in Psa_33:9)
(
ote: The interpolated parallel member, αὐτὸς εἶπε καὶ ἐγενήθησαν, here in the lxx is
taken over from that passage.))
the heavens and all their host are created (Psa_33:6). He has set them, which did not previously
exist, up ( הֶֽעֶמִיד as e.g., in
eh_6:7, the causative to עָמַד in Psa_33:9, cf. Psa_119:91), and that for
ever and ever (Psa_111:8), i.e., in order for ever to maintain the position in the whole of creation
which He has assigned to them. He hath given a law ( חקֹ ) by which its distinctive characteristic is
stamped upon each of these heavenly beings, and a fixed bound is set to the nature and activity of
each in its mutual relation to all, and not one transgresses (the individualizing singular) this law
given to it. Thus א יַעֲֽברֹ  וְ is to be understood, according to Job_14:5, cf. Jer_5:22; Job_38:10;
Psa_104:9. Hitzig makes the Creator Himself the subject; but then the poet would have at least
been obliged to say חק־נתן לָמוֹ , and moreover it may be clearly seen from Jer_31:36; Jer_33:20,
how the thought that God inviolably keeps the orders of nature in check is expressed θεοπρεπῶς.
Jer_5:22, by way of example, shows that the law itself is not, with Ewald, Maurer, and others,
following the lxx, Syriac, Italic, Jerome, and Kimchi, to be made the subject: a law hath He given,
and it passes not away (an imperishable one). In combination with חקֹ , עָבַר always signifies “to

8. pass over, transgress.”
2 Praise him, all his angels;
praise him, all his heavenly hosts.
1. Barnes, “Praise ye him, all his angels - Dwelling in the heavens. Compare the notes at
Psa_103:20. Praise ye him, all his hosts - See the notes at Psa_103:21 and the notes at Isa_1:9. All
his armies - referring to the angels considered as marshalled into hosts, of which God is the Head
and Leader.
1B. Luke 2:13 says, “Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel,
praising God” John describes the sounds of the heavenly hosts praising God in Revelation 19:6-7,
when he writes, “Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing
waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: "Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns.
Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory!”
2. Gill, “Praise ye him, all his angels,.... The Targum adds, who minister before him: the
ministering spirits, the angels of Jehovah, even of Christ, who are his creatures, and at his
command; and whom he sends forth to minister to others, Heb_1:7. And great numbers there are
of them, thousands and tens of thousands, yea, an innumerable company; and all of them are
under obligation to praise the Lord for their creation: for invisible spirits, as well as visible
bodies, even the celestial thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers, were created by him, by
Christ, Col_1:16. And for their preservation in their beings, and confirmation in that happy
estate in which they were created; being chosen and secured in Christ, the head of all principality
and power, and so stood while others fell: and also for the various excellent powers, and faculties
and properties, they are endowed with; they excel in strength, are possessed of great agility and
swiftness; have a large share of knowledge, of things natural, civil, moral, spiritual, and
evangelical; are perfectly holy, and without sin; and happy in the enjoyment of God, in whose
presence they always are, and whose face they continually behold; and will ever remain in this
state, being immaterial and immortal beings. And as praise is their duty, it is their work; in this
they were employed at the creation of all things, then these sons of God and morning stars sang
and shouted for joy; and at the incarnation of Christ, when they worshipped him; at the
conversion of every sinner; and frequently join the church in this service, and will be concerned
in it to all eternity: and when the psalmist calls upon them to engage in it, it does not suppose that
they were deficient in it, or backward to it, or that he had any authority over them to require it of
them; but it shows his great desire that the Lord might be praised by the noblest creatures, and
in the best manner that could be, and how much his heart was in this work; and he does it to stir
up himself and others the more unto it, from this consideration; that if those heavenly creatures
should praise the Lord, then much more such as he and others, who were so very unworthy of the
divine favours, and so much beholden to the Lord for them;
praise ye him, all his hosts; meaning either the angels as before, sometimes called the hosts of
heaven, and the heavenly host; there being armies and legions of them, and these encamping

9. about the saints in a military way; see 2Ki_19:35; or else the celestial bodies, the sun, moon, and
stars, as follow, sometimes called the host of heaven; and who are represented as militant,
Gen_2:1, 2Ki_21:3.
2B. Augustine, ““Halleluia.” “Praise the Lord,” thou sayest to thy neighbour, he to thee: when all
are exhorting each other, all are doing what they exhort others to do. But praise with your whole
selves: that is, let not your tongue and voice alone praise God, but your conscience also, your life,
your deeds. For now, when we are gathered together in the Church, we praise: when we go forth
each to his own business, we seem to cease to praise God. Let a man not cease to live well, and
then he ever praiseth God.…It is impossible for a man’s acts to be evil, whose thoughts are good.
For acts issue from thought: nor can a man do anything or move his limbs to do aught, unless the
bidding of his thought precede: just as in all things which ye see done throughout the provinces,
whatsoever the Emperor biddeth goeth forth from the inner part of his palace throughout the
whole Roman Empire.[A striking illustration of (the Christmas morning Lesson, Anglican) Luke
ii. 1How great commotion is caused at one bidding by the Emperor as he sits in his palace! He but
moveth his lips, when he speaketh: the whole province is moved, when what he speaketh is being
executed. So in each single man too, the Emperor is within, his seat is in the heart. If he be good
and biddeth good things, good things are done: if he be bad and biddeth evil things, evil things
are done. When Christ sitteth there, what can He bid, but what is good? When the devil is the
occupant, what can he bid, but evil? But God hath willed that it should be in thy choice for whom
thou wilt prepare room, for God, or for the devil: when thou hast prepared it, he who is occupant
will also rule. Therefore, brethren, attend not only to the sound; when ye praise God, praise with
your whole selves: let your voice, your life, your deeds, all sing.”
3. Henry, “What these creatures are that thus show us the way in praising God, and, whenever
we look up and consider the heavens, furnish us with matter for his praises. (1.) There are the
sun, moon, and stars, which continually, either day or night, present themselves to our view, as
looking-glasses, in which we may see a faint shadow (for so I must call it, not a resemblance) of
the glory of him that is the Father of lights, Psa_148:3. The greater lights, the sun and moon, are
not too great, too bright, to praise him; and the praises of the less lights, the stars, shall not be
slighted. Idolaters made the sun, moon, and stars, their gods, and praised them, worshipping and
serving the creature, because it is seen, more than the Creator, because he is not seen; but we,
who worship the true God only, make them our fellow-worshippers, and call upon them to praise
him with us, nay, as Levites to attend us, who, as priests, offer this spiritual sacrifice. (2.) There
are the heavens of heavens above the sun and stars, the seat of the blessed; from the vastness and
brightness of these unknown orbs abundance of glory redounds to God, for the heavens of
heavens are the Lord's (Psa_115:16) and yet they cannot contain him, 1Ki_8:27. The learned Dr.
Hammond understands her, by the heavens of heavens, the upper regions of the air, or all the
regions of it, as Psa_68:33. We read of the heaven of heavens, whence God sends forth his voice,
and that a mighty voice, meaning the thunder.
4. Spurgeon, “Praise ye him, all his angels. Living intelligences, perfect in character and in bliss,
lift up your loudest music to your Lord, each one, of you.
ot one bright spirit is exempted from
this consecrated service. However many ye be, O angels, ye are all his angels, and therefore ye are
bound, all of you, to render service to your Lord. Ye have all seen enough of him to be able to
praise him, and ye have all abundant reasons for so doing. Whether ye be named Gabriel, or
Michael, or by whatever other titles ye are known, praise ye the Lord. Whether ye bow before
him, or fly on his errands, or desire to look into his covenant, or behold his Son, cease not, ye

10. messengers of Jehovah, to sound forth his praise while ye move at his bidding.
Praise ye him, all his hosts. This includes angelic armies, but groups with them all the heavenly
bodies. Though they be inanimate, the stars, the clouds, the lightnings, have their ways of
praising Jehovah. Let each one of the countless legions of the Lord of hosts show forth his glory;
for the countless armies are all his, his by creation, and preservation, and consequent obligation.
Both these sentences claim unanimity of praise from those in the upper regions who are called
upon to commence the strain -- "all his angels, all his hosts." That same hearty oneness must
pervade the whole orchestra of praising ones; hence, further on, we read of all stars of light, all
deeps, all hills, all cedars, and all people. How well the concert begins when all angels, and all the
heavenly host, strike the first joyful notes! In that concert our souls would at once take their part.
5. Treasury of David, “Verse 2. Praise ye him, all his angels. Angels are first invoked, because they
can praise God with humility, reverence, and purity. The highest are the humblest, the leaders of
all created hosts are the most ready themselves to obey. --Thomas Le Blanc.
Verse 2. Praise ye him, all his angels. The angels of God were his first creatures; it has even been
thought that they existed prior to the inanimate universe. They were already praising their
Maker before the light of day, and they have never ceased their holy song. Angels praise God best
in their holy service. They praised Christ as God when they sang their Gloria in Excelsis at the
Incarnation, and they praised him as man when they ministered to him after his temptation and
before his crucifixion. So also now angels praise the Lord by their alacrity in ministering to his
saints. --John Lorinus.
Verse 2. Praise ye him, all his hosts. That is, his creatures (those above especially which are as his
cavalry) called his "hosts", for,
1. Their number; 2, their order; 3, their obedience. --John Trapp.
3 Praise him, sun and moon;
praise him, all you shining stars.
1. Barnes, “Praise ye him, sun and moon - The most conspicuous and glorious objects in the
heavens, as apparent to the eyes of people.
Praise him, all ye stars of light - A poetical expression to denote bright or shining stars. The
phrase embraces all the stars as they strike the eyes of people. Each one has something special to
it for which to praise God: and the entire groups - the immense multitudes, as such - should join
in one chorus of praise.
2. Clarke, “Praise ye him, sun and moon - The meaning of this address and all others to
inanimate nature, is this: Every work of God’s hand partakes so much of his perfections, that it
requires only to be studied and known, in order to show forth the manifold wisdom power, and
goodness of the Creator.

11. Stars of light - The brightest and most luminous stars: probably the planets may be especially
intended.
2B. Augustine, ““Praise ye the Lord from heaven” (ver. 1). As though he had found things in
heaven holding their peace in the praise of the Lord, he exhorteth them to arise and praise.
ever
have things in heaven held their peace in the praises of their Creator, never have things on earth
ceased to praise God. But it is manifest that there are certain things which have breath to praise
God in that disposition wherein God pleaseth them. For no one praiseth aught, save what
pleaseth him. And there are other things which have not breath of life and understanding to
praise God, but yet, because they also are good, and duly arranged in their proper order, and
form part of the beauty of the universe, which God created, though they themselves with voice
and heart praise not God, yet when they are considered by those who have understanding, God is
praised in them; and, as God is praised in them, they themselves too in a manner praise God
3. Gill, “Praise ye him, sun and moon,.... The sun praises the Lord, the Creator of it, by doing the
work constantly it is appointed to do; to rule by day, and give light and heat to the earth, and the
inhabitants of it; and so is the cause of man's praising the Lord for the benefits they receive from
it; for its enlightening, warming, and refreshing rays; and for the precious fruits brought forth by
it and so the moon likewise doing its office, ruling by night, and reflecting the light of the sun
upon the earth, and producing precious fruits, also praises its Maker, and is the occasion, of
others praising him; see Psa_136:1;
praise him, all ye stars of light; which are very beneficial in the night season, especially to
mariners and travellers, and shed their benign influences upon the earth and things in it; which
are a means of praising the Lord, and in their way they do it, Psa_136:1. The Septuagint, Vulgate
Latin, Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions, read it, "stars and light", wrongly; the stars are
luminous bodies, and shine in their own light (c), though the moon with a borrowed light from
the sun.
3B. Calvin, “Praise him, ye sun and moon This passage gives no countenance to the dream of
Plato, that the stars excel in sense and intelligence.
or does the Psalmist give them the same
place as he had just assigned to angels, but merely intimates that the glory of God is everywhere
to be seen, as if they sang his praises with an audible voice. And here he tacitly reproves the
ingratitude of man; for all would hear this symphony, were they at all attent upon considering the
works of God. For doth not the sun by his light, and heat, and other marvelous effects, praise his
Maker? The stars when they run their course, and at once adorn the heavens and give light to the
earth, do they not sound the praises of God? but as we are deaf and insensible, the Psalmist calls
upon them as witnesses to reprove our indolence. By the heavens of heavens he no doubt means
the spheres. Eclipses, and other things which we observe, plainly show both that the fixed stars
are above the planets, and that the planets themselves are placed in different orbits. The
excellency of this contrivance the Psalmist justly commends, speaking expressly of the heavens of
heavens; not as if there were really more heavens than one, but to extol the matchless wisdom
which God has shown in creating the heavens; for the sun, moon, and stars are not confusedly
mixed together, but each has its own position and station assigned to it, and their manifold
courses are all regulated. As under the name of the heavens he comprehends the air, or at least all
the space from the middle region of the air upwards, he calls rains, the waters above the heavens
There is no foundation for the conjecture which some have made, that there are waters deposited

12. above the four elements; and when the Psalmist speaks of these waters as being above, he clearly
points at the descent of the rain. It is adhering too strictly to the letter of the words employed, to
conceive as if there were some sea up in the heavens, where the waters were permanently
deposited; for we know that Moses and the Prophets ordinarily speak in a popular style, suited to
the lowest apprehension. It would be absurd, then, to seek to reduce what they say to the rules of
philosophy; as, for example, in the passage before us, the Psalmist notes the marvelous fact that
God holds the waters suspended in the air, because it seems contrary to nature that they should
mount aloft, and also, that though fluid they should hang in vacant space. Accordingly it is said
elsewhere, that they are held there as enclosed in bottles. (Psalm 33:7.) The Psalmist has
borrowed the form of expression from Moses, who says — “that the waters were divided from the
waters.” (Genesis 1:6.)
4. Spurgeon, “Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light. The Psalmist enters
into detail as to the heavenly hosts. As all, so each, must praise the God of each and all. The sun
and moon, as joint rulers of day and night, are paired in praise: the one is the complement of the
other, and so they are closely associated in the summons to worship. The sun has his peculiar
mode of glorifying the Great Father of lights, and the moon has her own special method of
reflecting his brightness. There is a perpetual adoration of the Lord in the skies: it varies with
night and day, but it ever continues while sun and moon endure. There is ever a lamp burning
before the high altar of the Lord.
or are the greater luminaries allowed to drown with their
floods of light the glory of the lesser brilliants, for all the stars are bidden to the banquet of
praise. Stars are many, so many that no one can count the host included under the words, "all ye
stars"; yet no one of them refuses to praise its Maker. From their extreme brilliance they are fitly
named "stars of light"; and this light is praise in a visible form twinkling to true music. Light is
song glittering before the eye instead of resounding in the ear. Stars without light would render
no praise, and Christians without light rob the Lord of his glory. However small our beam, we
must not hide it: if we cannot be sun or moon we must aim to be one of the "stars of light", and
our every twinkling must be to the honour of our Lord.
5. Treasury of David, “Verse 3. Praise ye him, sun and moon, etc. How does the sun specially
praise Jehovah?
1. By its beauty. Jesus son of Sirach calls it the "globe of beauty."
2. By its fulness. Dion calls it "the image of the Divine capacity."
3. By its exaltation. Pliny calls it caeli rector, "the ruler of heaven."
4. By its perfect brightness. Pliny adds that it is "the mind and soul of the whole universe."
5. By its velocity and constancy of motion. Martian calls it "the Guide of
ature."
God the Supreme was depicted by the ancients holding in his hand a wreath of stars, to show the
double conception, that they both obey and adorn him. --Thomas Le Blanc.
Verse 3-4. Let the sun, the fount of light, and warmth, and gladness, the greater light which rules
the day, the visible emblem of the Uncreated Wisdom, the Light which lighteth every man, the
centre round whom all our hopes and fears, our wants and prayers, our faith and love, are ever
moving, -- let the moon, the lesser light which rules the night, the type of the Church, which
giveth to the world the light she gains from the Sun of Righteousness, -- let the stars, so vast in
their number, so lovely in their arrangement and their brightness, which God hath appointed in
the heavens, even as he hath appointed his elect to shine for ever and ever, -- let all the heavens
with all their wonders and their worlds, the depths of space above, and the waters which are
above the firmament, the images of God's Holy Scripture and of the glories and the mysteries
contained therein, -- let these ever praise him who made and blessed them in the beginning of the

13. creation. -- J.W. Burgon.
Verse 3-4.
Praise him, thou golden tressed sun;
Praise him thou fair and silver moon,
And ye bright orbs of streaming light;
Ye floods that float above the skies,
Ye heav'ns, that vault o'er vault arise,
Praise him, who sits above all height. --Richard Mant.
6. Steven Cole, “Here we might ask (and the same question will apply to the inanimate and non-rational
things on earth), “How can something inanimate or unthinking praise the Lord?” The
psalmist calls on sun, moon, stars, clouds, sea monsters and all creatures of the deeps, fire, hail,
snow, mist, stormy winds, mountains, hills, fruit trees, cedars, beasts, cattle, insects, and birds, all
to praise the Lord! How can this be? What does he mean? I think the most obvious meaning is
that all of these things call attention to the glory of their Creator, whose infinite understanding
(Ps. 147:5) spoke them into existence (Ps. 148:5). As Psalm 19:1 declares, “The heavens are telling
of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.” David wrote that
before the telescope was invented. Think of how awestruck he would be if he knew about the
millions of galaxies containing trillions of stars that we now know about!
In The Pleasures of God (revised & expanded [Multnomah, 2000], p. 93), John Piper cites a
ovember, 1989, newspaper article that reported that two Harvard astronomers had discovered
a “Great Wall” of galaxies stretching hundreds of millions of light years across the universe. The
wall is supposedly 500 million light years long, 200 million light years wide, and 15 million light
years thick. (One light year is a little less than six trillion miles!) This Great Wall consists of more
than 15,000 galaxies, each with millions of stars.
But just three months later, in February, 1990, the news reported that astronomers had
discovered more than a dozen evenly distributed clumps of galaxies that dwarf the so-called
“Great Wall.” In fact, the Great Wall was now seen to be merely one of the closest of these clumps
or regions that contain very high concentrations of galaxies. The only reason that all astronomers
do not immediately fall on their faces and worship the God who spoke these galaxies into
existence is that their foolish hearts are darkened because they suppress the truth in
unrighteousness (Rom. 1:18-22).”
4 Praise him, you highest heavens
and you waters above the skies.
1. Barnes, “Praise him, ye heavens of heavens - Referring to the idea that there is one heaven
rising above another. See the notes at Psa_68:33. See 1Ki_8:27 : “Behold, the heaven and heaven
of heavens cannot contain thee.” Compare 2Ch_2:6.

14. And ye waters that be above the heavens - Gen_1:7 : “And God made the firmament, and
divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the
firmament.” The allusion here is to the waters which seem to be above the lower heaven, that is,
the air, and which seem to come from some higher region - some higher heaven. See the notes at
Psa_104:3 : “Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters.”
2. Clarke, “Heavens of heavens - Heavens exceeding heavens. Systems of systems extending as far
beyond the solar system, as it does beyond the lowest deeps. The endless systematic concatenation
of worlds.
Ye waters that be above the heavens - This refers to Gen_1:7 (note), where see the notes.
Clouds, vapours, air, exhalations, rain, Snow, and meteors of every kind.
2B. Augustine, ““Praise ye the Lord from heaven: praise Him in the high places.” First he saith,
“from heaven,” then from earth; for it is God that is praised, who made heaven and earth. All in
heaven is calm and peaceful; there is ever joy, no death, no sickness, no vexation; there the
blessed ever praise God; but we are still below: yet, when we think how God is praised there, let
us have our heart there, and let us not hear to no purpose, “Lift up your hearts.” Let us lift up
our heart above, that it become not corrupted on earth: for we take pleasure in what the Angels
do there. We do it now in hope: hereafter we shall in reality, when we have come thither. “Praise
Him” then “in the high places.”
3. Gill, “ Praise him, ye heaven of heavens,.... All the heavens, the airy and starry heavens; and
the third heaven, the residence of God, angels and saints: these are made by the Lord, and
declare the glory of his power, wisdom, and goodness, and show forth his handiwork, Psa_19:1. A
voice was heard from heaven, praising Jehovah the Son, when on earth in our nature; a cloud of
the lower heavens received him when he went from hence, and in the clouds thereof he will come
again: the highest heavens opened to receive him, and will retain him until the restitution of all
things; and from hence he will descend to judge the world in righteousness, Mat_3:16;
and ye waters that be above the heavens; divided by the firmament from the waters below; and
are no other than the thick clouds, in which the waters are bound up, and not rent, but at the
pleasure of God, Gen_1:7; so Seneca (d) calls the clouds the celestial waters. And these give men
occasion to praise the Lord, that those vast bodies of water that are over their heads are not let
down in such large quantities upon them as would destroy them; and that are carried about from
place to place, and let down and gentle showers, to water and refresh the earth, and make it
fruitful, so that it brings forth food for man and beast. The Targum is,
"ye waters, that by the Word (of the Lord) hang above the heavens;''
in which is displayed the glory of amazing power, wisdom, and goodness. The most ancient
Syrians and Arabians were thoroughly persuaded, that beyond the bounds of the visible heavens
there was a great sea, without any limits; which some (e) suppose to be the waters here meant.
4. Henry, “There are the waters that are above the heavens, the clouds that hang above in the air,
where they are reserved against the day of battle and war, Job_38:23. We have reason to praise

15. God, not only that these waters do not drown the earth, but that they do water it and make it
fruitful. The Chaldee paraphrase reads it, Praise him, you heavens of heavens, and you waters that
depend on the word of him who is above the heavens, for the key of the clouds is one of the keys
which God has in his hand, wherewith he opens and none can shut, he shuts and none can open.
5. Spurgeon, “Praise him, ye heavens of heavens. By these are meant those regions which are
heavens to those who dwell in our heavens; or those most heavenly of abodes where the most
choice of spirits dwell. As the highest of the highest, so the best of the best are to praise the Lord.
If we could climb as much above the heavens as the heavens are above the earth, we could still
cry out to all around us, "Praise ye the Lord." There can be none so great and high as to be
above praising Jehovah.
And ye waters that be above the heavens. Let the clouds roll up volumes of adoration. Let the sea
above roar, and the fulness thereof, at the presence of Jehovah, the God of Israel. There is
something of mystery about these supposed reservoirs of water; but let them be what they may,
and as they may, they shall give glory to the Lord our God. Let the most unknown and perplexing
phenomena take up their parts in the universal praise.
6. Treasury of David, “Verse 4. Paise him, ye heavens of heavens, etc. From the heavenly
inhabitants the poetic strain passes in transition to the heavens themselves. There are orders of
heavens, ranks and heights supreme, and stages and degrees of lower altitude. This verse
sublimely traverses the immensities which are the home of the most exalted dignities who wait on
Deity, and then it descends to the firmament where the meteors flash forth, and where the
heavens stoop to lift the clouds that aspire from earth. And the idea sustained is that all these vast
realms, higher and lower, are one temple of unceasing praise. -- Herman Venema.
Verse 4. The ancients thought there was an ethereal and lofty ocean in which the worlds floated like
ships in a sea. --Thomas Le Blanc.
7. “Consider the mystery of the universe. Many centuries ago, Ptolemy could count no more than
one thousand and twenty-two stars; centuries later, Galileo could see five thousand through his
telescope. Seventy years ago, scientists' best estimate was three hundred billion. The figure soon
doubled, then trebled.
ow they talk of galaxies and meta-galaxies until the mind boggles. Our
own galaxy is about one hundred thousand times six trillion miles wide, yet we know it is but a
tiny part of the larger, unknown star-system. We know there are atom particles travelling in
outer space at incredible speed [we call them "cosmic rays"] but we don't know where they come
from. Getting down to earth, we know there is a vast quantity of salt in the ocean, but we still
don't know how it got there. The more we learn about creation, the more we realize how little we
know - how immense the mystery of it.” author unknown
8. “In January 1983, a three-nation infrared astronomy satellite soared into a 560-mile orbit
above the earth and pointed its tracking antennae toward deep space. Almost at once, an
avalanche of information poured into the computers at an English ground station. More than two
hundred thousand new objects were soon spotted in the heavens, including twenty thousand
galaxies in interstellar space. Astronomers couldn't believe their good fortune. Having convinced
themselves of the universe's emptiness, the new treasures stunned them.
Christians are delighted, but not surprised. The God of Scripture created more in this world than
can ever be investigated, studied, or understood. As a dim reflection of God's incomparably
resplendent grandeur we expect what the satellite revealed. Yet, all we have experienced here, or
ever shall, reads like an empty page compared to the fullness of life to come in his presence.”

16. author unknown
5 Let them praise the name of the LORD,
for at his command they were created,
1. Barnes, “Let them praise the name of the Lord - That is, Let them praise Yahweh himself - the
name being often put for the person or thing referred to.
For he commanded, and they were created - He showed his great power by merely speaking,
and they came at once into being. Compare Psa_33:6, note; Psa_33:9, note.
2. Clarke, “He commanded, and they were created - He spake the word expressive of the idea in
his infinite mind; and they sprang into being according to that idea.
2B. Calvin, “Let them praise the name, etc. As he speaks of things wanting intelligence, he passes
to the third person, from which we infer that his reason for having spoken in the second person
hitherto, was to make a deeper impression upon men. And he asks no other praise than that
which may teach us that the stars did not make themselves, nor the rains spring from chance; for
notwithstanding the signal proofs we constantly have before our eyes of the divine power, we with
shameful carelessness overlook the great author. He says emphatically — for He Himself created,
intimating that the world is not eternal, as wicked men conjecture, nor made by a concourse of
atoms, but that this fair order of things which we see, suddenly sprang forth upon the
commandment of God. And, speaking of the creation, he adds what is even more worthy of
observation, that he gave that law to them which remains inviolable. For many, while they grant
that the world was made by God, lapse from this into the senseless notion that now the order of
nature stands of itself, and that God sits idle in the heavens. The Psalmist very properly insists,
therefore, that the works of God above us in the heavens were not only made by him, but even
now move forward at his disposal; and that not only was a secret power communicated to them at
first, but while they go through their assigned parts, their operation and ministry to their various
ends is dependent upon God.”
3. Gill, “ Let them praise the name of the Lord,.... Set forth the glory of the nature and
perfections of God, and celebrate the praise of them; even all celestial creatures, the angels, the
hosts of heaven, the sun, moon, and stars; the heavens, and the haven of heavens, and the waters
above them; and that for the following reasons;
for he commanded, and they were created; they are all his creatures, and therefore should praise
him: he is the "Father of spirits", of angelic spirits, as well as the spirits of men; and the "Father
of lights", of all the luminaries of the heavens; and he has made the heavens themselves, and all
their hosts, and the firmament dividing the waters above and below; and all this by an almighty
"fiat", at a word of command; he spoke, and they came into being at once, Heb_12:9, Jam_1:17.
3B. Augustine, ““Praise Him, all ye angels of His, praise Him, all His powers” (ver. 2). “Praise

17. Him, sun and moon; praise Him, all ye stars and light” (ver. 3). “Praise Him, ye heaven of
heavens, and waters that are above the heavens” (ver. 4). “Let them praise the
ame of the Lord”
(ver. 5). When can he unfold all in his enumeration? Yet he hath in a manner touched upon them
all summarily, and included all things in heaven praising their Creator. And as though it were
said to him, “Why do they praise Him? what hath He conferred on them, that they should praise
Him?” he goeth on, “for He spake, and they were made; He commanded, and they were created.”
o wonder if the works praise the Worker, no wonder if the things that are made praise the
Maker, no wonder if creation praise its Creator. In this Christ also is mentioned, though we seem
not to have heard His
ame.…By what were they made? By the Word? John i. 1, 2. How doth he
show in this Psalm, that all things were made by the Word? “He spake, and they were made; He
commanded, and they were created.”
o one speaketh, no one commandeth, save by word.”
4. Henry, “Upon what account we are to give God the glory of them: Let them praise the name of
the Lord, that is, let us praise the name of the Lord for them, and observe what constant and
fresh matter for praise may be fetched from them. (1.) Because he made them, gave them their
powers and assigned them their places: He commanded them (great as they are) out of nothing,
and they were created at a word's speaking. God created, and therefore may command; for he
commanded, and so created; his authority must always be acknowledged and acquiesced in,
because he once spoke with such authority
5. Spurgeon, “Let them praise the name of the LORD; for he commanded, and they were created.
Here is good argument: The Maker should have honour from his works, they should tell forth his
praise: and thus they should praise his name -- by which his character is intended. The name of
JEHOVAH is written legibly upon his works, so that his power, wisdom, goodness, and other
attributes are therein made manifest to thoughtful men, and thus his name is praised. The highest
praise of God is to declare what he is. We can invent nothing which would magnify the Lord: we
can never extol him better than by repeating his name, or describing his character. The Lord is to
be extolled as creating all things that exist, and as doing so by the simple agency of his word. He
created by a command; what a power is this! Well may he expect those to praise him who owe
their being to him. Evolution may be atheistic; but the doctrine of creation logically demands
worship; and hence, as the tree is known by its fruit, it proves itself to be true. Those who were
created by command are under command to adore their Creator. The voice which said "Let them
be", now saith "Let them praise."
6. Treasury of David, “Verse 5-6. This is the account of creation in a word -- He spake; it was done.
When Jesus came, he went everywhere showing his Divinity by this evidence, that his word was
omnipotent. These verses declare two miracles of God's Will and Word, viz., the creation and
consolidation of the earth. Jehovah first produced matter, then he ordered and established it.
--John Lorinus.
6 and he established them for ever and ever—
he issued a decree that will never pass away.

18. 1. This verse means that God made his creation to be eternal, and so the universe that is debated
as to its infinity is here settled. It is infinite and never ending, and this means that we will be able
to explore the vast universe in God's eternal kingdom. Heaven is going to be more than just a
huge city of great glory, but a huge universe of great glory where there are infinite places to go.
All of this give a touch of reality to Star Wars and similar movies, for the implication is that the
redeemed will have forever to explore the infinite universe at speeds that are even greater than
the speed of light. We will travel at the speed of thought. When God sent Gabriel to talk to Mary,
I am sure he did not fly for days and weeks to get to earth. He was there as soon as he got the
order to go. Space travel in eternity will be awesome even beyond what the fantasies of man can
portray.
1B. Barnes, “He hath also stablished them forever and ever - He has made them firm, stable,
enduring. That they may be eternal is possible; that they will not be, no one can prove. Matter,
when created, has no necessary tendency to decay or annihilation; and the universe - the stars,
and suns, and systems - which have endured so many million of ages may continue to exist any
number of million of ages to come. Of course, however, all this is dependent on the will of God.
On the meaning of this passage, compare Psa_119:90, note; Psa_72:5, note; Psa_89:2, note;
Psa_89:36-37, note. See also 2Pe_3:7, note; 2Pe_3:10, note; 2Pe_3:13, note.
He hath made a decree which shall not pass - He has given a law or statute which they cannot
pass. The word rendered decree here seems to be used in the sense of limit or bound; and the idea
is, that he has bound them by a fixed law; he has established laws which they are compelled to
observe. The fact is, in regard to them, that he has established great laws - as the law of
gravitation - by which they are held from flying off; he has marked out orbits in which they
move; he has so bound them that they perform their revolutions with unerring accuracy in the
very path which he has prescribed. So accurate are their movements that they can be predicted
with exact precision; and so uniform, that any succession of ages does not vary or affect them.
2. Clarke, “He hath also stablished them - He has determined their respective revolutions and the
times in which they are performed, so exactly to show his all-comprehensive wisdom and skill,
that they have never passed the line marked out by his decree, nor intercepted each other in the
vortex of space, through revolutions continued for nearly 6000 years.
2B. Augustine, ““He hath established them for the age, and for age upon age” (ver. 6). All things
in heaven, all things above, all powers and angels, a certain city on high, good, holy, blessed; from
whence because we are wanderers, we are wretched; whither because we are to return, we are
blessed in hope; whither when we shall have returned, we shall be blessed indeed; “He hath given
them a law which shall not pass away.” What sort of command, think ye, have things in heaven
and the holy angels received? What sort of command hath God given them? What, but that they
praise Him? Blessed are they whose business is to praise God! They plough not, they sow not,
they grind not, they cook not; for these are works of necessity, and there is no necessity there.
They steal not, they plunder not, they commit no adultery; for these are works of iniquity, and
there is no iniquity there. They break not bread for the hungry, they clothe not the naked, they
take not in the stranger, they visit not the sick, they set not at one the contentious, they bury not
the dead; for these are works of mercy, and there there is no misery, for mercy to be shown to. O
blessed they! Think we that we too shall be like this? Ah! let us sigh, let us groan in sighing. And
what are we, that we should be there? mortal, outcast, abject, earth and ashes! But He, who hath
promised, is almighty.…

19. 3. Gill, “ He hath also stablished them for ever and ever,.... The angels are made immortal, and
shall never die; and they are confirmed in their state of happiness by Christ, and shall always
continue in it; the hosts of heaven being created by him, consist in him, and will remain as long as
the world does; hence the duration and never-failing state of other things, even of good men and
their felicity, are expressed by them; see Psa_72:5;
he hath made a decree which shall not pass; concerning those creatures and their duration, which
shall never pass away, or be frustrated or made void; but shall always continue and have its sure
and certain effect; see Jer_31:35; and is true of every decree of God, which is eternal and not
frustrable, and is always fulfilled, Isa_14:27.
4. Henry, “Because he still upholds and preserves them in their beings and posts, their powers
and motions (Psa_148:6): He hath established them for ever and ever, that is, to the end of time, a
short ever, but it is their ever; they shall last as long as there is occasion for them. He hath made a
decree, the law of creation, which shall not pass; it was enacted by the wisdom of God, and
therefore needs not be altered, by his sovereignty and inviolable fidelity, and therefore cannot be
altered. All the creatures that praised God at first for their creation must praise him still for their
continuance. And we have reason to praise him that they are kept within the bounds of a decree;
for to that it is owing that the waters above the heavens have not a second time drowned the
earth.
5. He hath also stablished them for ever and ever. The continued existence of celestial beings is
due to the supporting might of Jehovah, and to that alone. They do not fail because the Lord does
not fail them. Without his will these things cannot alter; he has impressed upon them laws which
only he himself can change. Eternally his ordinances are binding upon them. Therefore ought the
Lord to be praised because he is Preserver as well as Creator, Ruler as well as Maker.
He hath made a decree which shall not pass. The heavenly bodies are ruled by Jehovah's decree:
they cannot pass his limit, or trespass against his law. His rule and ordination can never be
changed except by himself, and in this sense his decree "shall not pass": moreover, the highest
and most wonderful of creatures are perfectly obedient to the statutes of the Great King, and
thus his decree is not passed over. This submission to law is praise. Obedience is homage; order is
harmony. In this respect the praise rendered to Jehovah from the "bodies celestial" is absolutely
perfect. His almighty power upholds all things in their spheres, securing the march of stars and
the flight of seraphs; and thus the music of the upper regions is never marred by discord, nor
interrupted by destruction. The eternal hymn is for ever chanted; even the solemn silence of the
spheres is a perpetual Psalm.
6. Treasury of David, “Verse 6. He hath also stablished there for ever and ever, etc. Here two things
are set before us, the permanence and the cosmic order of creation. Each created thing is not only
formed to endure, in the type or the development, if not in the individual, but has its place in the
universe fixed by God's decree, that it may fulfil its appointed share of working out his will. They
raise a question as to the words "for ever and ever", how they can be reconciled with the
prophecy, Isaiah 65:17: "Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not
be remembered, nor come into mind"; a prophecy confirmed by the Lord himself, saying,
"Heaven and earth shall pass away", and seen fulfilled in vision by the beloved disciple.
Matthew 5:18 Revelation 21:1. And they answer that just as man dies and rises again to

20. incorruption, having the same personality in a glorified body, so will it be with heaven and earth.
Their qualities will be changed, not their identity, in that new birth of all things. --
eale and
Littledale.
Verse 6. For ever and ever.
My heart is awed within me, when I think
Of the great miracle which still goes on,
In silence, round me -- the perpetual work
Of thy creation, finished, yet renewed,
For ever. --William Cullen Bryant, 1794-1878.
Verse 6. He hath made a decree, etc. Rather, He hath made an ordinance, and will not transgress
it. This is more obvious and natural than to supply a new subject to the second verb, "and none
of them transgress it." This anticipates, but only in form, the modern scientific doctrine of the
inviolability of natural order. It is the imperishable faithfulness of God that renders the law
invariable. --A.S. Aglen.
7 Praise the LORD from the earth,
you great sea creatures and all ocean depths,
1. It is folly to hate any part of God's creation, for all of it, even in the depths of the sea, which we
seldom see, is filled with praise to God. Those who search it and take pictures reveal to the rest of
us the wonders of the deep, and the beauty of its creatures. It is an ocean of praise to God. We are
to learn how to love all creatures. We can fear them and stay away from them, but we can still
love them and praise God because of them.
1B. Barnes, “Praise the Lord from the earth - From among those who dwell on the earth. In
respect to terrestrial objects, let these also unite in the praise of God.
Ye dragons - On the meaning of this word, see Psa_91:13, note; Isa_13:22, note. The word may
mean a great fish, a whale, a sea monster, or a serpent. It would seem to refer here to whales and
sea monsters. See the notes at Rev_12:3.
And all deeps - All that are in the depths of the sea.
ot merely the “dragons” or sea monsters,
but all that inhabit the oceans.
2. Clarke, “Praise the Lord from the earth - As in the first address, he calls upon the heavens and
all that belong to them; so here, in this second part, he calls upon the earth, and all that belong to
it.
Ye dragons - תנינים tanninim, whales, porpoises, sharks, and sea-monsters of all kinds.
And all deeps - Whatsoever is contained in the sea, whirlpools, eddies, ground tides, with the
astonishing flux and reflux of the ocean.
Every thing, in its place and nature, shows forth the perfections of its Creator.

21. 2B. Calvin, “Praise Jehovah, etc. He now comes to the lower parts of the world; although
deviating at the same time from the exact order, he mixes up such things as are produced in the
air — lightning’s, snow, ice, and storms. These should rather have been placed among the former
class, but he has respect to the common apprehension of men. The scope of the whole is, that
wherever we turn our eyes we meet with evidences of the power of God. He speaks first of the
whales; for, as he mentions the abysses or deeps immediately afterwards, I have no doubt that by
תנינים , tanninim, he means fishes of the sea, such as whales. It is only reasonable to think that
matter for praising God should be taken from the sea, which is fraught with so many wonders.
He then ascends to hail, snows, and storms, which he says fulfill the word of God; for it is not by
an effect of chance that the heavens are clouded, or that a single drop of rain falls from the
clouds, or that the thunders rage, but one and all of these changes depend upon the secret will of
God, whether he will show his goodness to the children of men in irrigating the earth, or punish
their sins by tempest, hail, or other calamities. The passage contains instruction of various kinds,
as, for example, that when dearth impends, however parched the earth may be by long continued
heat, God can promptly send rain which will remove the drought at his pleasure. If from
incessant rains, on the other hand, the seed rot in the ground, or the crops do not come to
maturity, we should pray for fair weather. If we are alarmed by thunder, we are taught to pray to
God, for as it is he who sends it in his anger, so he can still all the troubled elements. And we are
not to take up the narrow view of this truth which irreligious men advocate, that things in nature
merely move according to the laws impressed upon them from the beginning, while God stands
by idle, but are to hold firmly that God watches over his creatures, and that nothing can take
place without his present disposal, as we have seen, Psalm 104:4 that
“he maketh the winds his messengers,
and his ministers a flaming fire.”
3. Gill, “Praise the Lord from the earth,.... Let his praise resound from all creatures on earth, and
reach him in the highest heavens; this phrase comprehends all terrestrial beings afterwards
particularly mentioned; all in the terraqueous globe, all that arise from it, are upon it, or within
it;
ye dragons, and all deeps; either land dragons, or rather sea dragons, the water or sea being the
proper place of them, Psa_44:19; these, as cruel, as poisonous, and pernicious as they are, are
made to honour and praise the Lord, Isa_43:20; and such as are mystically signified by, them, as
Satan, tyrannical and persecuting princes, and antichristian ones, as Pharaoh king of Egypt,
Rome Pagan and Papal; out of whom the Lord has or will get himself praise in the deliverance of
his people from them, and in the destruction of them, and in the confessions they have been
obliged to make of him, Rev_12:3; these seem to be set in contrast with the angels. The word is
used for the great whales the Lord made, which are thought to be the same with the "leviathan"
of Job; of whom so many things are said, which declare the power and wisdom of God in the
formation of it, Gen_1:21, &c. and these may be put for the innumerable creatures in the sea,
which in their way show forth the praise and glory of God, Psa_102:24; as "all deeps" do, deep
waters, especially the depths of the sea, and the inhabitants of them; where the wonders of God
are to be seen, and give occasion to those that go down to the sea in ships to praise his name,
Psa_107:23.

22. 3B. Augustin, “Let him then turn himself to things on earth too, since he hath already spoken the
praises of things in heaven. “Praise ye the Lord from the earth” (ver. 7). For wherewith began he
before? “Praise ye the Lord from heaven:” and he went through things in heaven: now hear of
things on earth. “Dragons and all abysses.” “Abysses” are depths of water: all the seas, and this
atmosphere of clouds, pertain to the “abyss.” Where there are clouds, where there are storms,
where there is rain, lightning, thunder, hail, snow, and all that God willeth should be done above
the earth, by this moist and misty atmosphere, all this he hath mentioned under the name of
earth, because it is very changeable and mortal; unless ye think that it raineth from above the
stars. All these things happen here, close to the earth. Sometimes even men are on the tops of
mountains, and see the clouds beneath them, and often it raineth: and all commotions which arise
from the disturbance of the atmosphere, those who watch carefully see that they happen here, in
this lower part of the universe.…Thou seest then what kind all these things are, changeable,
troublous, fearful, corruptible: yet they have their place, they have their rank, they too in their
degree fill up the beauty of the universe, and so they praise the Lord. He turns then to them, as
though He would exhort them too, or us, that by considering them we may praise the Lord.
“Dragons” live about the water, come out from caverns, fly through the air; the air is set in
motion by them: “dragons” are a huge kind of living creatures, greater there are not upon the
earth. Therefore with them he beginneth, “Dragons and all abysses.” There are caves of hidden
waters, whence springs and streams come forth: some come forth to flow over the earth, some
flow secretly beneath; and all this kind, all this damp nature of waters, together with the sea and
this lower air, are called abyss, or “abysses,” where dragons live and praise God. What? Think
we that the dragons form choirs, and praise God? Far from it. But do ye, when ye consider the
dragons, regard the Maker of the dragon, the Creator of the dragon: then, when ye admire the
dragons, and say, “Great is the Lord who made these,” then the dragons praise God by your
voices.
4. Henry, “Considering that this earth, and the atmosphere that surrounds it, are the very
sediment of the universe, it concerns us to enquire after those considerations that may be of use
to reconcile us to our place in it; and I know none more likely than this (next to the visit which
the Son of God once made to it), that even in this world, dark and as bad as it is, God is praised:
Praise you the Lord from the earth, Psa_148:7. As the rays of the sun, which are darted directly
from heaven, reflect back (though more weakly) from the earth, so should the praises of God,
with which this cold and infected world should be warmed and perfumed.
I. Even those creatures that are not dignified with the powers of reason are summoned into this
concert, because God may be glorified in them, Psa_148:7-10. Let the dragons or whales, that
sport themselves in the mighty waters (Psa_104:26), dance before the Lord, to his glory, who
largely proves his own omnipotence by his dominion over the leviathan or whale, Job_41:1, etc.
All deeps, and their inhabitants, praise God - the sea, and the animals there - the bowels of the
earth, and the animals there. Out of the depths God may be praised as well as prayed unto. If we
look up into the atmosphere we meet with a great variety of meteors, which, being a king of new
productions (and some of them unaccountable), do in a special manner magnify the power of the
great Creator. There are fiery meteors; lightning is fire, and there are other blazes sometimes
kindled which may be so called. There are watery meteors, hail, and snow, and the vapours of
which they are gendered. There are airy meteors, stormy winds; we know not whence they come
nor whither they go, whence their mighty force comes nor how it is spent; but this we know, that,
be they ever so strong, so stormy, they fulfil God's word, and do that, and no more than that,
which he appoints them; and by this Christ showed himself to have a divine power, that he
commanded even the winds and the seas, and they obeyed him. Those that will not fulfil God's
word, but rise up in rebellion against it, show themselves to be more violent and headstrong than

23. even the stormy winds, for they fulfil it.
5.Spurgeon, “Praise the LORD from the earth. The song descends to our abode, and so comes
nearer home to us. We who are "bodies terrestrial", are to pour out our portion of praise from
the golden globe of this favoured planet. Jehovah is to be praised not only in the earth but from
the earth, as if the adoration ran over from this planet into the general accumulation of worship.
In Psalms 148:1 the song was "from the heavens"; here it is "from the earth": songs coming
down from heaven are to blend with those going up from earth. The "earth" here meant is our
entire globe of land and water: it is to be made vocal everywhere with praise.
Ye dragons, and all deeps. It would be idle to inquire what special sea monsters are here meant;
but we believe all of them are intended, and the places where they abide are indicated by "all
deeps." Terrible beasts or fishes, whether they roam the earth or swim the seas, are bidden to the
feast of praise. Whether they float amid the teeming waves of the tropics, or wend their way
among the floes and bergs of polar waters, they are commanded by our sacred poet to yield their
tribute to the creating Jehovah. They pay no service to man; let them the more heartily confess
their allegiance to the Lord. About "dragons" and "deeps" there is somewhat of dread, but this
may the more fitly become the bass of the music of the Psalm. If there be aught grim in
mythology, or fantastic in heraldry, let it praise the incomprehensible Lord.
6. Treasury of David, “Verse 7. Dragons. The word tanninim, rendered "dragons", is a word
which may denote whales, sharks, serpents, or sea monsters of any kind (Job 7:1 Ezekiel 29:3).
--John Morison.
Verse 7. Sea monsters, in Revised Version. Fishes constrain our admiration, as a created wonder,
by the perfection of their form, their magnitude, their adaptation to the element they inhabit, and
their multitude. Thus their very nature praises the Creator. -- Thomas Le Blanc.
Verse 7-8. He calls to the deeps, dire, hail, snow, mountains, and hills, to bear a part in this work
of praise.
ot that they are able to do it actively, but to show that man is to call in the whole
creation to assist him passively, and should have so much charity to all creatures as to receive
what they offer, and so much affection to God as to present to him what he receives from him.
Snow and hail cannot bless and praise God, but man ought to bless God for those things, wherein
there is a mixture of trouble and inconvenience, something to molest our sense, as well as
something that improves the earth for fruit. -- Stephen Charnock.
Verse 7-10. Here be many things easy to be understood, they are clear to every eye; as when David
doth exhort "kings" and "princes", "old men" and "babes" to praise God; that is easy to be
done, and we know the meaning as soon as we look on it; but here are some things again that are
hard to be understood, dark and obscure, and they are two:
First, in that David doth exhort dumb, unreasonable, and senseless creatures to praise God, such
as cannot hear, at least cannot understand. Doth the Holy Ghost in the gospel bid us avoid
impertinent speeches, and vain repetitions, and shall we think he will use them himself?
o, no.
But,
Secondly, not only doth he call upon these creatures, but also he calls upon the deeps and the seas
to praise God; these two things are hard to be conceived. But to give you some reasons.
The first reason may be this, why David calls upon the unreasonable creatures to perform this
duty, -- He doth his duty like a faithful preacher, whether they will hear or no that he preaches to,
yet he will discharge his soul: a true preacher, he speaks forth the truth, and calls upon them to
hear, though his auditors sleep, are careless, and regard it not. So likewise doth David, in this

24. sense, with these creatures; he doth his duty, and calls upon them to do it, though they
understand not, though they comprehend it not. And likewise he doth it to show his vehement
desire for all creatures to praise God.
The second reason may be this: he doth it craftily, by way of policy, to incite others to perform
this duty, that if such creatures as they ought to do this, then those that are above them in degree
have more cause, and may be ashamed to neglect it; as an ill governed master, though he stay
himself at home, yet he will send his servants to church: so David, being conscious of his own
neglect, yet he calls upon others not to be slack and negligent: though he came infinitely short of
that he should do, yet he shows his own desire for all creatures to perform this duty.
But if these reasons will not satisfy you, though they have done many others, a third reason may
be this: to set forth the sweet harmony that is among all God's creatures; to show how that all the
creatures being God's family, do with one consent speak and preach aloud God's praise; and
therefore he calls upon some above him, some below him, on both sides, everywhere, to speak
God's praise; for every one in their place, degree, and calling, show forth, though it be in a dumb
sense and way, their Creator's praise.
Or, fourthly and lastly, which I think to be a good reason: zeal makes men speak and utter things
impossible; the fire of zeal will so transport him that it will make him speak things unreasonable,
impossible, as Moses in his zeal desired God, for the safety of Israel, "to blot his name out of his
book"; and Paul wished himself "anathema", accursed or separate from Christ, for his
brethren's salvation, which was a thing impossible, it could not be. --John Everard, in "Some
Gospel Treasures", 1653.
Verse 7-10. The ox and the ass acknowledge their master. The winds and the sea obey him. It
should seem that as there is a religion above man, the religion of angels, so there may be a
religion beneath man, the religion of dumb creatures. For wheresoever there is a service of God,
in effect it is a religion. Thus according to the several degrees and difference of states -- the state
of nature, grace, and glory -- religion may likewise admit of degrees. --G.G., in a sermon entitled
"The Creatures Praysing God", 1662.
7. K&D 7-14, “The call to the praise of Jahve is now turned, in the second group of verses, to the
earth and everything belonging to it in the widest extent. Here too מִן־הָאָרֶץ , like ,מִן־הַשָּׁמַיִם
Psa_148:1, is intended of the place whence the praise is to resound, and not according to
Psa_10:18 of earthly beings. The call is addressed in the first instance to the sea-monsters or
dragons (Psa_74:13), i.e., as Pindar (.em. iii. 23f.) expresses it, θῆρας ἐν πελάγεΐ ὑπερο'χους, and
to the surging mass of waters ( תְּהמֹוֹת ) above and within the earth. Then to four phenomena of
nature, coming down from heaven and ascending heavenwards, which are so arranged in
Psa_148:8, after the model of the chiasmus (crosswise position), that fire and smoke ( קִטוֹר ), more
especially of the mountains (Exo_19:18), hail and snow stand in reciprocal relation; and to the
storm-wind ( רוּחַ סְעָרָה , an appositional construction, as in Psa_107:25), which, beside a seeming
freeness and untractableness, performs God's word. What is said of this last applies also to the
fire, etc.; all these phenomena of nature are messengers and servants of God, Psa_104:4, cf.
Psa_103:20. When the poet wishes that they all may join in concert with the rest of the creatures
to the praise of God, he excepts the fact that they frequently become destructive powers executing
judicial punishment, and only has before his mind their (more especially to the inhabitant of
Palestine, to whom the opportunity of seeing hail, snow, and ice was more rare than with us,
imposing) grandeur and their relatedness to the whole of creation, which is destined to glorify
God and to be itself glorified. He next passes over to the mountains towering towards the skies

25. and to all the heights of earth; to the fruit-trees, and to the cedars, the kings among the trees of
the forest; to the wild beasts, which are called חַחַיָּה because they represent the most active and
powerful life in the animal world, and to all quadrupeds, which, more particularly the four-footed
domestic animals, are called בְּהֵמָה ; to the creeping things ( רֶמֶשׂ ) which cleave to the ground
as they move along; and to the birds, which are named with the descriptive epithet winged ( צִפּוֹר
כָּנָף as in Deu_4:17, cf. Gen_7:14; Eze_39:17, instead of עוֹף כָּנָ ף , Gen_1:21). And just as the call in
Ps 103 finds its centre of gravity, so to speak, at last in the soul of man, so here it is addressed
finally to humanity, and that, because mankind lives in nations and is comprehended under the
law of a state commonwealth, in the first instance to its heads: the kings of the earth, i.e., those
who rule over the earth by countries, to the princes and all who have the administration of justice
and are possessed of supreme power on the earth, then to men of both sexes and of every age.
All the beings mentioned from Psa_148:1 onwards are to praise the
ame of Jahve; for His
ame, He (the God of this
ame) alone (Isa_2:11; Psa_72:18) is נִשְׂגָּ ב , so high that no name
reaches up to Him, not even from afar; His glory (His glorious self-attestation) extends over earth
and heaven (vid., Psa_8:2). כִּי , without our being able and obliged to decide which, introduces the
matter and the ground of the praise; and the fact that the desire of the poet comprehends in יְהַלֲלוּ
all the beings mentioned is seen from his saying “earth and heaven,” as he glances back from the
nearer things mentioned to those mentioned farther off (cf. Gen_2:4). In Psa_148:14 the
statement of the object and of the ground of the praise is continued. The motive from which the
call to all creatures to Hallelujah proceeds, viz., the new mercy which God has shown towards
His people, is also the final ground of the Hallelujah which is to sound forth; for the church of
God on earth is the central-point of the universe, the aim of the history of the world, and the
glorifying of this church is the turning-point for the transformation of the world. It is not to be
rendered: He hath exalted the horn of His people, any more than in Psa_132:17 : I will make the
horn of David to shoot forth. The horn in both instances is one such as the person named does not
already possess, but which is given him (different from Psa_89:18, Psa_89:25; Psa_92:11, and
frequently). The Israel of the Exile had lost its horn, i.e., its comeliness and its defensive and
offensive power. God has now given it a horn again, and that a high one, i.e., has helped Israel to
attain again an independence among the nations that commands respect. In Ps 132, where the
horn is an object of the promise, we might directly understand by it the Branch (Zemach). Here,
where the poet speaks out of his own present age, this is at least not the meaning which he
associates with the words. What now follows is an apposition to וַיָּרֶם קֶרֶן לְעַמּ ו : He has raised up a
horn for His people - praise (we say: to the praise of; cf. the
ew Testament εἰς ἔπαινον) to all His
saints, the children of Israel, the people who stand near Him. Others, as Hengstenberg, take תְּהִלָּה
as a second object, but we cannot say הֵרִים תְּהִלָּה . Israel is called עַם קְרבֹוֹ , the people of His near =
of His nearness or vicinity (Köster), as Jerusalem is called in Ecc_8:10 מְקוֹם קָדוֹשׁ instead of קדֶֹשׁ
מְקוֹם (Ew. §287, a, b). It might also be said, according to Lev_10:3, עַם קְרבָֹיו , the nation of those
who are near to Him (as the Targum renders it). In both instances עַם is the governing noun, as,
too, surely גֶּבֶר is in גֶּבֶר עֲמִיתִי ni, Zec_13:7, which need not signify, by going back to the abstract
primary signification of עמית , a man of my near fellowship, but can also signify a man of my
neighbour, i.e., my nearest man, according to Ew. loc. cit. (cf. above on Psa_145:10). As a rule, the
principal form of עם is pointed עָם ; and it is all the more unnecessary, with Olshausen and
Hupfeld, to take the construction as adjectival for עם קרוב לו . It might, with Hitzig after Aben-
Ezra, be more readily regarded as appositional (to a people, His near, i.e., standing near to Him).
We have here an example of the genitival subordination, which is very extensive in Hebrew,
instead of an appositional co-ordination: populo propinqui sui, in connection with which
propinqui may be referred back to propinquum = propinquitas, but also to propinquus (literally: a
people of the kind of one that is near to Him). Thus is Israel styled in Deu_4:7. In the
consciousness of the dignity which lies in this name, the nation of the God of the history of

26. salvation comes forward in this Psalm as the leader (choragus) of all creatures, and strikes up a
Hallelujah that is to be followed by heaven and earth.
8 lightning and hail, snow and clouds,
stormy winds that do his bidding,
1. Barnes, “Fire, and hail - Fire, when accompanied by hail; that is, the lightning. See Psa_18:12.
Snow, and vapors - Snow and clouds. It was not unnatural that these should be combined, or
suggested together to the mind.
Stormy wind - The storm; the tempest.
Fulfilling his word - Obeying his command; accomplishing his purpose. Let the storm-wind,
which seems to be so little under any control, speak his praise by showing how obedient it is to his
will, and how exactly it carries out his designs. Its perfect submission to his laws - the exactness
with which, though apparently so fierce, raging, and lawless, it carries out his plans, and pauses
when he commands it - is in fact an act of praise or homage, as it proclaims his majesty, his
supremacy, and his power. On the sentiment here expressed, compare Psa_107:29, note;
Psa_89:9, note.
2. Clarke, “Fire, and hail; snow, and vapours - All kinds of meteors, water, and fire, in all their
forms and combinations. And air, whether in the gentle breeze, the gale, the whirlwind, the
tempest, or the tornado; each accomplishing an especial purpose, and fulfilling a particular will
of the Most High.
2B. Augustine, ““Fire, hail, snow, ice, wind of storms, which do His word” (ver. 8). Wherefore
added he here, “which do His word”? Many foolish men, unable to contemplate and discern
creation, in its several places and rank, performing its movements at the nod and commandment
of God think that God doth indeed rule all things above, but things below He despiseth, casteth
aside, abandoneth, so that He neither careth for them, nor guideth, nor ruleth them; but that they
are ruled by chance, how they can, as they can: and they are influenced by what they say
sometimes to one another: e.g. “If it were God that gave rain, would He rain into the sea? What
sort of providence,” they say, “is this? Getulia is thirsty, and it rains into the sea.” They think
that they handle the matter cleverly. One should say to them, “Getulia does at all events thirst,
thou dost not even thirst.” For good were it for thee to say to God, “My soul hath thirsted for
Thee.” Ps. cxliii. 6; Ps. lxiii. 1; Matt. v. 6. For he that thus argueth is already satisfied; he thinketh
himself learned, he is not willing to learn, therefore he thirsteth not. For if he thirsted, he would
be willing to learn, and he would find that everything happeneth upon earth by God’s
Providence, and he would wonder at the arrangement of even the limbs of a flea. Attend, beloved.
Who hath arranged the limbs of a flea and a gnat, that they should have their proper order, life,
motion? Consider one little creature, even the very smallest, whatever thou wilt. If thou
considerest the order of its limbs, and the animation of life whereby it moveth; how doth it shun

27. death, love life, seek pleasures, avoid pain, exert divers senses, vigorously use movements suitable
to itself! Who gave its sting to the gnat, for it to suck blood with? How narrow is the pipe
whereby it sucketh! Who arranged all this? who made all this? Thou art amazed at the smallest
things; praise Him that is great. Hold then this, my brethren, let none shake you from your faith
or from sound doctrine. He who made the Angel in heaven, the Same also made the worm upon
earth: the Angel in heaven to dwell in heaven, the worm upon earth to abide on earth. He made
not the Angel to creep in the mud, nor the worm to move in heaven. He hath assigned dwellers to
their different abodes; incorruption He assigned to incorruptible abodes, corruptible things to
corruptible abodes. Observe the whole, praise the whole. He then who ordered the limbs of the
worm, doth He not govern the clouds? And wherefore raineth He into the sea? As though there
are not in the sea things which are nourished by rain; as though He made not fishes therein, as
though He made not living creatures therein. Observe how the fishes run to sweet water. And
wherefore, saith he, doth He give rain to the fishes, and sometimes giveth not rain to me? That
thou mayest consider that thou art in a desert region, and in a pilgrimage of life; that so this
present life may grow bitter to thee, that thou mayest long for the life to come: or else that thou
mayest be scourged, punished, amended. And how well doth He assign their properties to regions.
Behold, since we have spoken of Getulia, He raineth here nearly every year, and giveth corn
every year; here the corn cannot be kept, it soon rotteth, because it is given every year; there,
because it is given seldom, both much is given, and it can be kept for long. But dost thou
perchance think that God there deserteth man, or that they do not there after their own manner
of rejoicing both praise and glorify God? Take a Getulian from his country, and set him amid our
pleasant trees; he will wish to flee away, and return to his bare Getulia. To all places then,
regions, seasons, God hath assigned and arranged what fits them. Who could unfold it? Yet they
who have eyes see many things therein: when seen, they please; pleasing, they are praised; not
they really, but He who made them; thus shall all things praise God.
3. Gill, “ Fire, and hail,.... These, and what follow in this verse, are in the air, but are what are
exhaled or drawn up from the earth or water; "fire" is lightning, which is very swift in its
motion, and powerful in its effects; this is the fire which consumed Sodom and Gomorrah, and
the cities of the plain; which in Elijah's time came down and destroyed the captains and their
fifties; and which attended the Lord's appearance on Mount Sinai; when "the voice of his
thunder was in the heaven, the lightnings lightened the world, and the earth trembled and
shook", Psa_77:18; and by which the power, majesty, and glory of God are greatly displayed; see
Psa_29:3; "hail", which is water frozen in the air and congealed; this was one of the plagues of
Egypt; and with hailstones many of the Canaanites were slain in the times of Joshua; and by
these God has shown his power, and has got himself praise from his people by destroying their
enemies, though they have blasphemed his name on account of them, as they will when the great
hailstorm of all shall fall, Rev_16:21;
snow, and vapour; the former is a gift of God, and very beneficial to the earth, and the cause of
praise and thankfulness to God; See Gill on Psa_147:16; the word (f) for "vapour" signifies
smoke, and is what rises out of the earth like smoke, as Kimchi and Ben Melech observe; and is
hot and dry, and forms lightnings and winds, and has its place among things that occasion praise;
stormy wind fulfilling his word; which is raised up by a word of his command; he creates it,
brings it out of his treasures, holds it in his lists, and lets it go out at his pleasure to fulfil his will;
either, as at some times in a way of mercy, as to dry up the waters of the flood, to make a way for
Israel through the Red sea, to bring quails to them in the wilderness, and rain to the land of