Israel, rejoicing in the restoration of its national existence, calls heaven and earth to join in a diapason of praise. Let every heavenly being and every heavenly body unite to praise Him Who created them and sustains them (Psalm 148:1-6). Let earth with all its phenomena and all its inhabitants praise Him for the revelation of His majesty (Psalm 148:7-13). Especially has He given His people ground for praise by restoring them to honour (Psalm 148:14).

Thus, though Israel’s restoration is only briefly mentioned at the end, it is evidently the motive of the universal call to praise, and the thought that inspires the Psalm is the desire that not only all humanity but all creation should rejoice with Israel. Cp. Psalm 117:1-2. If man is the crown of creation, and Israel is Jehovah’s servant for the redemption of humanity, then all things in heaven and earth must rejoice when Israel is raised from humiliation to honour. Cp. Isaiah 40-66 passim.

The Psalm implies the significance of Israel’s history for the history of the world, and, in view of the unity of all being, for the history of the universe. It should be read in connexion with Romans 8:19 ff.; Revelation 5:13.

This Psalm was obviously written for liturgical use, and apparently, as may be inferred from Psalm 148:14, upon some special occasion. It bears a general resemblance to the other Psalms of the group, and may belong to the same epoch. It is an expansion of Psalm 145:10, and Psalm 148:14 connects it with Psalm 149:5; Psalm 149:9. The germ of it is found in Nehemiah 9:5-6. The Benedicite or Song of the Three Holy Children is based upon it.

1. from the heavens] The anthem of praise is to ring out from heaven above, and to be answered from the earth below (Psalm 148:7).

in the heights] Of heaven (Job 16:19; Job 25:2).

1–6. Let the heavens and all that is in them praise Jehovah their Creator.

2. Cp. Psalm 103:20 a, 21 a. Hosts may include both heavenly beings and heavenly bodies, and in Job 38:7 angels and stars join in praise: but here as in Psalm 103:21 the angels only seem to be meant (cp. 1 Kings 22:19; Nehemiah 9:6); the heavenly bodies follow in Psalm 148:3. The Q’rç and all the Versions read the plur. hosts; the K’thîbh has the sing. host.

3. all ye stars of light] So the Heb. text. P.B.V. stars and light follows the LXX (Vulg.).

4. heavens of heavens] i.e. the highest heavens. Cp. Psalm 68:33; Deuteronomy 10:14; 1 Kings 8:27 (= 2 Chronicles 6:18); 1 Chronicles 2:6; Nehemiah 9:6; Sir 16:18. It is doubtful whether the idea of a plurality of heavens, three (2 Corinthians 12:2) or seven, which is prominent in later Jewish literature, was already current. See however Salmond in Hastings’ Dict. of the Bible, 11. 321, who thinks that it is implied by this phrase.

ye waters that be above the heavens] The great reservoir of waters supposed to exist above the ‘firmament,’ the source of rain. See Genesis 1:6-7; Psalm 104:3.

5. for HE commanded] HE is emphatically expressed. Cp. Psalm 33:9, whence also comes the addition of the LXX, which is retained in P.B.V., HE spake the word, and they were made.

6. And he hath made them stand fast] To Him they owe not only their original creation but their perpetual maintenance. Cp. Sir 43:26; Colossians 1:17.

he hath made a decree which shall not pass] This rendering, which is that of the LXX (παρελεύσεται) and Jer. (praeteribit) may be defended by Esther 1:19; Esther 9:27 : but the general usage of the verb and subst. is in favour of the rendering, He hath given (them) a statute which none (of them) shall transgress. The ‘law of gravity’ and the other ‘laws of nature’ keep them fixed in their orbits and courses. For chôq (something prescribed, an enactment, statute) in the sense of the laws imposed on nature by Jehovah see Jeremiah 31:35-36; Jeremiah 33:25.

7. dragons, and all deeps] The sea-monsters of Genesis 1:21, and the depths of ocean which they were supposed to inhabit[90].

[90] Robertson Smith (Rel. of the Semites, p. 161) suggests that the tannîn is a personification of the waterspout.

7–13. Let earth and all that is therein praise Jehovah for the revelation of His majesty.

8. Fire, and hail] Lightning and hail are naturally coupled, as hail most commonly falls in thunderstorms. Cp. Psalm 18:12 ff.

vapour] The word elsewhere means smoke (Genesis 19:28; Psalm 119:83); but must here mean the mists, which drift like smoke over the mountains.

9. Cp. Psalm 104:16.

10. All kinds of living creatures: animals, wild and tame; reptiles and birds. Cp. Genesis 1:24-25; Genesis 1:21.

11, 12. Last of all man, as the crown of creation (Genesis 1:26), is summoned to join the chorus, without distinction of rank or age or sex.

all people] Peoples, naturally coupled with kings.

13. is excellent] Is exalted, as in Isaiah 12:4. On excellent, excellency, in A.V. and P.B.V., see note in Driver’s Daniel, p. 32.

his glory] His majesty. Cp. Psalm 8:1; Psalm 104:1; Psalm 145:5; Habakkuk 3:3.

14. Israel’s special ground for praise.

And he nath lifted up a horn for his people] He has once more given to Israel dignity and power. For the metaphor cp. Psalm 75:4; Psalm 89:17; Psalm 89:24; Psalm 92:10, note.

The rendering of P.B.V., he shall exalt, is that of the LXX, ὑψώσει, and is adopted by some critics. But the tense expresses accomplished fact more naturally than confident anticipation.

the praise of all his saints] Lit. a praise for all his beloved; best taken in apposition to the preceding clause to mean that this national restoration is a theme of praise for all the members of the covenant people. The words may however be in apposition to the subject of the verb, and refer to Jehovah: He … who is the praise &c.: cp. Deuteronomy 10:21, “He is thy praise.” So the LXX, paraphrased in P.B.V., “all his saints shall praise him.”

a people near unto him] Jehovah was ‘near’ to Israel (Deuteronomy 4:7; Psalm 145:18); and Israel, as “a kingdom of priests” (Exodus 19:6), stood in a unique relation of nearness to Jehovah. Cp. Psalm 65:4, note; Numbers 16:5; Jeremiah 30:21. That relation, which seemed to have been interrupted by the Exile, has now been restored: Jehovah once more dwells in the midst of His people in the city of His choice.

This verse is quoted verbatim in the Hebrew text of Sir 51:12 (15). See p. 777.