Study Notes Worship! Psalm 148-150 - Read Passage: epmkg.com/Psalm148 ​ About Austin’s Study Notes This document contains information and resources Pastor Austin Rammell used to research and compile his weekly message. Resources are copyrighted by their respective authors and credited via footnotes. We encourage you to purchase the original resource materials to perform your own study. Notes C. The Praise of Creation (Ps 148) This anonymous psalm certainly belongs to the period of the restoration of Jerusalem under Nehemiah. It consists of two divisions: (1) heavenly praise (vv. 1–6); and (2) earthly praise (vv. 7–14). 148:1–6. The psalmist calls for praise to ring out from the heavens. The angels and the “hosts”—here probably the stars—should join in that praise. “The heaven of heavens” is the highest heavens. The waters above the expanse in the clouds should praise God too. All that is in the heavens were created at the command of God. They owe their perpetual maintenance to his providence. 148:7–13. The earth should join the heavens in the praise of God. The sea monsters of the deep, the phenomena of weather, mountains, trees, beasts and fowl owe Yahweh their praise. Last of all man, as the crown of creation, is summoned to join the Hallelujah chorus ​ without respect to station, age or sex. 148:14. Israel had special ground for praise. Yahweh had once more “lifted up the horn” of his people, i.e., given them dignity and power. Israel was a people near to Yahweh, i.e., they stood in a unique relationship to him. That relationship, which seemed to have been interrupted by the Exile, had now been restored. Yahweh once more dwelt in the midst of his people in the city of his choice. D. The Praise of Saints (Ps 149) 1 More study helps at www.daretoventure.org Study Notes Like the other four members of the Hallelujah chorus, this psalm comes from an ​ anonymous writer of the postexilic period. It has two divisions: (1) praise for what God has done in the past (vv. 1–4); and (2) praise for what he will do in the future (vv. 5–9). 149:1–2. The psalmist urges praise for the Lord in “the congregation of the godly ones.” Yahweh is Israel’s maker; to him it owes its existence as a nation, and the present restoration of its national life. Though they now have no earthly king, Yahweh is still their sovereign as in days of old. The “children of Zion” are the citizens of restored Jerusalem. 149:3–4. Dancing was a natural expression of joy among the Israelites, as among other nations of antiquity. Musical instruments also express the believer’s joy. This joy is occasioned by the fact that Yahweh “takes pleasure in his people.” The deliverance which they have experienced is proof of the renewal of his favor. In captivity Israel had learned humility; and now Yahweh has “adorned” (beautified) his people with “salvation,” i.e., with victory, welfare and prosperity. 149:5–6. The godly ones should exult in the “glory” of this renewed manifestation of God’s presence. Songs of the night now take the place of tears and sorrow. 149:7–8. While they give God the highest praise, they should have ready “a sword of mouths,” i.e., a devouring sword, to execute “vengeance” upon the Gentiles. These Gentiles will be made subject to Israel and to Israel’s divine king (cf. Ps 2). Such predictions find their fulfillment in the militant advance of the soldiers of the cross. 149:9. Yahweh had pronounced and recorded in his book of remembrance the sentence against nations which refuse to embrace him and his people. The New Testament links the judgment upon those who do not obey God to the Second Coming of Christ (2 Thess 1:8–10). The defeat of the enemies brings honor to Yahweh’s chosen people, the New Testament Israel. E. Concluding Doxology (Ps 150) The grand finale of the Hallelujah chorus is anonymous. No doubt it comes from the ​ period of Ezra-Nehemiah. No outline is here discernible. 150:1–2. Yahweh is ’El, the God of sovereign power. He should receive praise in his ​ ​ heavenly sanctuary, which is located in the “mighty expanse” which is his handiwork. He deserves to be praised for his “mighty acts” of creation, providence and redemption as well as for “his excellent greatness,” i.e., his wondrous attributes. 150:3–5. Eight different musical instruments are named as appropriate to the praise of the Lord. The precise identification of some of these is uncertain. Praise though religious dance is also encouraged since that was common in ancient societies. 2 More study helps at www.daretoventure.org Study Notes 150:6. The psalmist calls on everything that has “breath” (neshamah) to praise God. The ​ ​ Hebrew term is used of that which was uniquely given to man at his creation (Gen 2:7). Not just priests and Levites only, but all Israel; not Israel only, but all mankind are called upon 1 to join the Hallelujah chorus. ​ ​ “All God’s children got a place in the choir,” goes an old song. The boundaries of Psalm 148 push even further to include places not only for all God’s children but for all creation. The ​ ​ choir of those praising here includes children and senior citizens but also creeping things and cattle, fire (see Frost’s poem, above) as well as hail and snow, and sun, moon, and stars! The psalm begins by speaking of praise of the Lord from the heavens (vv. 1–6), continues with praise from the earth (vv. 7–12), and concludes with a call for all to join in (vv. 13–14). Praise from the Heavens (148:1–6) The opening segment provides an insight into the Old Testament view of the universe. Humans live on the earth, along with the variety of creatures God has created (vv. 7–12). Above the earth are the heavens, where the angels reside (vv. 1–2). The “heavens” can also be called the “firmament” or “dome” (Ps. 19:1; Gen. 1:6–8). Above that solid dome are waters (Ps. 148:4). When it rains, windows in the dome slide open to allow water to come down. At the time of the great flood, “all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened” (Gen. 7:11). Verses 5–6 pick up on the creation story in Genesis 1. God gave the command and all was created (the Hebrew word bārā’, as used in Genesis 1): the sun and moon, the stars and ​ ​ ​ planets, the waters above the heavens. Praise from the Earth (148:7–12) “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,” the Bible begins. With this … segment of Psalm 148, it is time to hear praises from the earth. First to be mentioned are those aspects of the created world that evoke fear: sea monsters, fire, hail and storm, all are called to praise the Lord (vv. 7–8). The words of the psalm break open the traditional compartments of our thinking. Not only kings and people but also humpback whales, hurricanes, and blizzard winds are called to join in praise (vv. 7–8)! 1 Smith, J. E. (1996). The wisdom literature and Psalms (Ps 148–150:6). Joplin, MO: College ​ ​ Press Pub. Co. 3 More study helps at www.daretoventure.org Study Notes The listing continues: again, the call to praise is inclusive, addressed to mountains and trees, wild and domestic animals, creeping things and flying birds (vv. 9–10). How do these creatures praise the Lord? It appears that praise need not be limited to words. According to Psalm 150, one can praise God with dance, with trumpets, stringed instruments, and percussion! If human dance can express praise, why not the dance of the loons on a Minnesota lake? If the sound of a trumpet can express praise, why not the sound of a trumpeter swan? Verses 11 and 12 call on all human beings to praise by naming the extremes of the groups: from the political leaders in the world’s centers of power to the boys and girls playing in the streets of a village. All can praise the Lord, and this psalm calls them to do so. Let the Praises Begin! (148:13–14) The concluding words tie together the twin themes of the psalm, declaring that the Lord’s honor is higher than the earth and the heavens. To “raise up a horn” means to restore strength and honor (Pss. 75:4–5; 112:9). Claus Westermann once observed, “It is praise which binds humans with all other creatures.” According to this psalm, praise is the business of all that exists. Psalm 150 will carry this theme even further. LET THE FAITHFUL DANCE! Psalm 149 149:1–9 At the center of Psalm 149 is the people of God, identified at the beginning (v. 1), the middle (v. 5), and the end (v. 9) as “the faithful” or “faithful ones.” The Hebrew word in all three contexts is hasidim, which is sometimes translated as “saints” (NIV). In using this ​ ​ ​ ​ term for God’s people, the psalm is picking up a theme from the end of Psalm 148. There “his faithful” is further defined with the balancing expression “the people of Israel who are close to him” (148:14). In Psalm 149, these faithful persons are the ones who assemble for worship (v.