Praise the Lord
Psalm 148
1 Praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights above.2 Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his heavenly hosts.3 Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars.4 Praise him, you highest heavens and you waters above the skies.
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord, or at his command they were created,6 and he established them for ever and ever—he issued a decree that will never pass away.
7 Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all ocean depths,8 lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds that do his bidding,9 you mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars,10 wild animals and all cattle, small creatures and flying birds,11 kings of the earth and all nations, you princes and all rulers on earth,12 young men and women, old men and children.
13 Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his splendor is above the earth and the heavens.14 And he has raised up for his people a horn, the praise of all his faithful servants, of Israel, the people close to his heart.
Praise the Lord.
There seriously isn’t much left to say after that. Praise the Lord! This reminds me of the quote from Abraham Kuyper: “There is not a square inch in the whole creation of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!” Everything in the earth, sea, sky, and space were created by God, and reflects His creativity and glory. However, sin entered the world and worms its way through God’s good creation and taints it. We make everything about ourselves. Sometimes we have to be reminded to be thankful, like it does here in this Psalm. We can be so immersed in our little world that we either don’t notice the good around us, or we just take it for granted. God’s glory can be seen in everything. It is easy to notice that in the snow-capped mountains, vast ocean, a roaring river, or when things are going our way. It is way harder to see that during a drought, bad crops, or with that annoying person across the aisle, and the nasty snake slithering through my path. All these things, as gross or annoying as they are, can be seen as gifts from God and reflect His glory, they have just been affected by sin. To make it even more real, maybe someone else thinks that annoying person is you! There will be a time when Christ comes and makes all things right again. We will be able to see God in every square inch of creation, without having to look for it. Until then, let’s look for the good in people, let’s see the positive in a tough situation. Let’s show those around us that our faith, and our Christian walk is more than just because of a good circumstance. Read through the scripture again, and ask yourself how you have praised the Lord? How do you reflect Him? If you didn’t say you were a Christian, would people know? All of God’s creation reflects His glory and so do each of us. Let’s be aware of our actions and let them reflect what Christ modeled for us.