Universal Praise to the LORD
Psalm 103:19-22
19 The LORD has established His throne in heaven, And His kingdom rules over all.
20 Bless the LORD, you His angels, Who excel in strength, who do His word, Heeding the voice of His word.
21 Bless the LORD, all you His hosts, You ministers of His, who do His pleasure.
22 Bless the LORD, all His works, In all places of His dominion. Bless the LORD, O my soul!
Psalm 103 begins with David giving personal praise to the LORD for all His benefits (vv. 1-5). In verses 6-18, he encourages his people as a nation to give national praise to the LORD, especially as they remember God’s everlasting mercy and kindness that He has bestowed on them over the many years of their history! Now, in these closing verses 19-22, David reminds us that Jehovah, the LORD, is sovereign and for eternity He will receive universal praise.
We live in a world filled with corruption, violence, war and rumors of war, just as the Scriptures said it will be in the last days as “Perilous times shall come….for men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, …But evil men and seducers will grow worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived” ( 2 Timothy 3:1-4, 13).
Instead of living in dismay and despair, we as believers should be looking up and remember that our Jehovah, our LORD, is sovereign and that He is still in charge and rules over all the affairs of the universe. When we worship the Lord God, we worship the King of the universe. The "Lord of Hosts" is sovereign over all things He has created, including the stars and planets. Isaiah reminds us in Isaiah 40:26 to “Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these things, Who brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name, By the greatness of His might And the strength of His power; Not one is missing.”
In Hebrews 1:13-14 we are reminded that Jesus, our Jehovah, is higher and better than the angels and they are servants to His saints. “But to which of the angels has He ever said: "Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool"? Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?
When as a youth, David confronted the giant Goliath he shouted, "I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel" (1 Samuel 17:45). In Revelation 5, the apostle John was given a vision of a future worship scene in heaven, and he saw and heard the vast choir of all creation praise the Lord.
“Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice: "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!" And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: "Blessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever!" Then the four living creatures said, "Amen!" And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever.” (Revelation 5:11-14)
My friend, one day, we shall join in that anthem. But even now, as bad as it might be around us, we can look up and remember our God is King of the universe, Who is sovereign. And as His children we can join David in saying, "Bless the Lord, O my soul!" After all, we as His redeemed men and women have more to praise the Lord for than do all the angels in heaven and all the galaxies in the universe.
God bless!