Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
praise him in the heights!
2 Praise him, all his angels;
praise him, all his hosts!
3 Praise him, sun and moon,
praise him, all you shining stars!
4 Praise him, you highest heavens,
and you waters above the heavens!
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord!
For he commanded and they were created.
6 And he established them forever and ever;
he gave a decree, and it shall not pass away.
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
you great sea creatures and all deeps,
8 fire and hail, snow and mist,
stormy wind fulfilling his word!
9 Mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars!
10 Beasts and all livestock,
creeping things and flying birds!
11 Kings of the earth and all peoples,
princes and all rulers of the earth!
12 Young men and maidens together,
old men and children!
13 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for his name alone is exalted;
his majesty is above earth and heaven.
14 He has raised up a horn for his people,
praise for all his saints,
for the people of Israel who are near to him.
Praise the Lord!
We would expect the Psalmist to praise God for created things, but here he calls on created things to praise the Lord directly. The Psalmist takes poetic license to personify mainly inanimate objects. He starts by summoning that which is above the earth to praise: angels, stars, planets, sun, moon, and clouds. These should offer praise because they owe their existence to Him. The Psalmist also calls on the things of the earth to praise God: sea creatures, birds, animals, the forces of the weather, and, finally all human beings. All these praise God for His providential care and power as well as His wisdom, mercy, and justice for He has set up a King to do His will and to bless all things that are.
The pagans worshipped the very creatures, heavenly bodies, and natural forces which the Psalmist says owe their existence and loyalty to Yahweh. Some cultures today do the same. But all created things are under the control of the Lord God Almighty. Those who worship such things ignore the truth that the Creator is infinitely greater than the creation. All of creation should give Him glory for He is the sustainer of all things. He is in control of all that happens in the universe. And yet our culture prefers to refer to natural forces such as the weather and natural disasters as “mother nature”. And many people refuse to acknowledge that God indeed is in control. Perhaps they fear that if they did, they would have to accept His authority while realizing their own weakness and need for help.
Not only should we praise God for those things but we should praise Him for the provision of an everlasting King, Jesus the Messiah son of David. All the earth is blessed through Him. To worship the creation rather than the Creator is to miss out on the provision of salvation that comes only through Christ.