Friday April 19
Jesus, “The Praise of All His Saints”
Psalm 148:1-14
1 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 stars of light!
4 Praise Him, you heavens of heavens, And you waters above the heavens!
5 Let them praise the name of the LORD, For He commanded and they were created.
6 He also established them forever and ever; He made a decree which shall not pass away.
7 Praise the LORD from the earth, You great sea creatures and all the depths;
8 Fire and hail, snow and clouds; Stormy wind, fulfilling His word;
9 Mountains and all hills; Fruitful trees and all cedars;
10 Beasts and all cattle; Creeping things and flying fowl;
11 Kings of the earth and all peoples; Princes and all judges of the earth;
12 Both young men and maidens; Old men and children.
13 Let them praise the name of the LORD, For His name alone is exalted; His glory is above the earth and heaven.
14 And He has exalted the horn of His people, The praise of all His saints-- Of the children of Israel, A people near to Him. Praise the LORD!
Psalm 148 is a psalm of purest praise. It is right in the middle of the five “Hallelujah Psalms” that concludes the Book of Psalms. The Book of Psalms is a book of praise, a book of worship that takes us into the presence of God, a book that lets us express our emotions and tell God how we feel as we deal with our problems, difficulties and our enemies, especially our great enemy the devil! In this book we are reminded repeatedly that the LORD is our rock, our salvation, our refuge, our defense and our victory over all things! Psalms is a book that teaches us to pray and praise the LORD and to trust Him and His promises as we face life!
Psalm 148 is a praise psalm that doesn’t have a prayer, a plea, or a petition in it. It is all pure praise. It begins with a call for the heavens and everything in them to praise the LORD (vv. 1-6). It continues with the call for the earth and everything on it and in it to praise the LORD (vv. 7-13). Then it concludes with the nation of Israel and their praise for the LORD (v. 14).
“And He has exalted the horn of His people”. In Scripture, a "horn" is a symbol of power and dignity, a king or a kingdom. To "take away the horn" means to deprive a nation or person of authority and prestige (Psalms 79:10; 89:17, 24; 132:17; Ezek. 29:21). When the Lord brought His people back from exile in Babylon, He "raised up a horn" for them (v. 14). This cannot refer to a king, for David's dynasty had ended with the capture of Zedekiah and the returned remnant had no king. But they did have a nation, a temple, and a priesthood, and they had preserved the sacred Word that the Lord had given them through their prophets (147:19-20).
But Luke 1:68-73 gives us the right to apply this image to Jesus Christ, the Son of David, "Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited and redeemed His people, And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of His servant David, As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, Who have been since the world began, That we should be saved from our enemies And from the hand of all who hate us, To perform the mercy promised to our fathers And to remember His holy covenant, The oath which He swore to our father Abraham.” Jesus Christ is the only person qualified to sit on David's throne (Luke 1:30-33). "Salvation is of the Jews" (John 4:22), and the Jews are a people who are still dear to the Lord (Ex. 19:6; Num. 16:5; Deut. 4:1-8).
If you read this psalm again with Jesus in mind, you can see how much greater He is than anything or anyone mentioned, for He is the Creator of all things (John 1:1-3; Col. 1:16-17). He is Captain of the hosts of the Lord (Josh. 5:14), the Sun of Righteousness (Mal. 4:2; Luke 1:78) and the Morning Star (Rev. 22:16). When ministering here on earth, He demonstrated power over storms (Matt. 8:23-27; 14:23-33), trees (Matt. 21:18-22), and wild and domestic animals (Mark 1:13; 11:1-3). He is far above the angels (Heb. 1; Eph. 1:18-23 and 3:10-11). He revealed the Father's name (John 17:6) and glorified that name in all He was, said, or did (John 1:14; 2:11; 11:4, 40; 12:28; 14:13; 17:4).
In all things, Jesus Christ has the preeminence (Col. 1:18). Today, we should give Him first place in every aspect of our lives! Yes, Jesus “is the praise of all His saints!”
God bless!