Praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens!
Praise him from the skies!
Let every created thing give praise to the Lord,
for he issued his command, and they came into being.
He set them in place forever and ever.
His decree will never be revoked.
Psalm 148:1, 5-6 NLT

In this Psalm, the word “Praise” appears 13 times. The Psalmist runs through many of God’s attributes, encouraging us to respond as he did, with a heart full of praise. He starts by looking up into the skies. There he “sees” angels and God’s “armies of heaven”. He continues with his observations of the celestial bodies, our sun, moon, and the stars we can see. His gaze starts to fall, with a view of the clouds then replaced by his thoughts about created beings, formed at God’s command. By His spoken and irrevocable word. The Psalmist continues with what he sees around him. The inhabitants of the seas, the weather systems, the habitat and occupants of the lands, the society and the people who live within it. All in all, the Psalmist did a pretty good job in describing his world in just a few short verses. But above all, he exhorted his fellow countrymen to “Praise the Lord”.

Do we look around us at our world, with wonder and praise for its Creator? Or do we just take for granted what we see? Do we spend our time trying to explain it all away, as a chance happening on a random planet in a vast universe? Or do we see God’s plan in it all; the Creator who wanted to make mankind in His image? Or do we, like the Psalmist, become overwhelmed by our loving Heavenly Father, responding over and over again in expressing our praises to Him? The Psalmist’s view of God was so overwhelming that all he could do was offer up a “wow” from deep within him. We too must find that “wow” moment in our own lives. It is there for the finding, and as we utter praises from our lips, we will find ourselves in a different place. In His presence. In God’s “wow”-zone.