Psalm 148
1Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him[1] in the heights!
2Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his host!
3Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars!
4Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens!
5Let them praise the name of the Lord, for he commanded and they were created.
6He established them forever and ever; he fixed their bounds, which cannot be passed.
7Praise the Lord from the earth, you sea monsters and all deeps,
8fire and hail, snow and frost, stormy wind fulfilling his command!
9Mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars!
10Wild animals and all cattle, creeping things and flying birds!
11Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers of the earth!
12Young men and women alike, old and young together!
13Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his glory is above earth and heaven.
14He has raised up a horn for his people, praise for all his faithful, for the people of Israel who are close to him. Praise the Lord!
Luke 2:13-14
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”
Meditation
The waiting is over; Jesus has arrived; he is sleeping snuggly in the manager with Mary resting close by. So, what do we do now? The crescendo of the season, with candles aglow and the singing of lullabies for the baby “away in the manger,” has come to an end. Or has it? Psalm 148 tells us to “Praise the Lord!” With a litany of creation images reminiscent of Genesis 1, “heaven and nature sing.” The creator God is praised by all that was created including sea monsters, fruit trees, creeping things, and “fire and hail, snow and frost, stormy winds” (vs. 8). “Young men and women alike, old and young together” (vs. 12) join in with all creation and the angels to praise the Lord. This overwhelming praise is enacted when the “heavenly host” announce Jesus’ birth to the shepherds (Luke 2:13-14). What we do now is praise God for Jesus’ arrival and for Christ’s continued grace. Praise that never goes out of season.
“Joy to the world, the Lord is come!”
Happy New Year!
[1] To keep the poetic flow of this psalm, I have chosen not to edit the masculine pronoun for God. God can also be referred to with the feminine pronoun.