The Whole Creation Invoked to Praise the Lord.
148 [a]Praise [b]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 stars of light!
4 Praise Him, [c]highest heavens,
And the waters that are above the heavens!
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
For He commanded and they were created.
6 He has also established them forever and ever;
He has made a decree which will not pass away.7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
Sea monsters and all deeps;
8 Fire and hail, snow and clouds;
Stormy wind, fulfilling His word;
9 Mountains and all hills;
Fruit trees and all cedars;
10 Beasts and all cattle;
Creeping things and winged fowl;
11 Kings of the earth and all peoples;
Princes and all judges of the earth;
12 Both young men and virgins;
Old men and children.13 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
For His name alone is exalted;
His glory is above earth and heaven.
14 And He has lifted up a horn for His people,
Praise for all His godly ones;
Even for the sons of Israel, a people near to Him.
[d]Praise [e]the Lord!
This is a pretty wide-sweeping appeal for all to praise the Lord. Not only all peoples, young, old, rulers, judges, and commoners, but all of creation. The beasts of the earth, of the sea, the mountains, trees, birds, even the wind and snow are called to give God glory.
They don’t really have a choice, especially the sun, moon, and stars, but you and I do. All of creation speaks irrevocably of the greatness of God, from the amazing detail in a single algae cell to the most complex galaxy in the sky. It all boggles the imagination, and yet God thought of every little thing, leaving nothing to chance.
He hasn’t left you to chance either, and still, the choice is in your hands. This morning, as I logged on to start writing, I found something was broken. Further investigation led to a bigger issue with many of our customers. I could fret and worry, and be frustrated at such a poor start to my morning. Or I can thank God that he helped me discover the issue before it was even posted by our provider.
Thanks to God, and His impeccable timing, I was able to communicate with affected customers right away. Some of our issues are bigger, more impactful, some are small, but they all have the potential to derail our day. Will you sit and stew in your storm? Or will you join with all creation and give Him thanks and praise. There is much to be thankful for, even sometimes the storm itself. Choose a thankful heart today, and let God lift you up out of the darkness as he stills the wind and waves.