“Praise the Lord from the earth you great sea creatures and all deeps. Fire and hail, snow and mist, stormy wind fulfilling his word.”
– Psalm 148:7–8
Oh these verses Psalm 148:7–8, Psalm 148, Psalm 149, Psalm 153, just powerful triumphant chapters at the end of this book praising the Lord, exalting him for his glory over all creation. And these verses specifically, just picture. So praise the Lord from the earth, like all over the earth. Praise the Lord from the earth like all over the earth.
All of creation obeys its Maker. May we join in this song ascribing to God the honor that only He is due.
The whole picture in Psalm 148 is the Psalm is calling on creation to praise God, acknowledging that everything on the earth … So think about what lions are doing in the middle of the Savannah, think about what animals are doing around the world, think about mountains, and hills, and valleys and canyons. So Grand Canyon, praise the Lord. You resound to the glory of God. From the earth you great sea creatures in all deeps, so not just the earth, but the sea and everything in it. All the millions of creatures in the sea give glory to God. They move in glory to God. They declare the glory of God on a moment-by-moment basis. Great sea creatures, in all deeps, fire, hail, snow, mist.
Just think about rain, hail falling. Think about snow falling. Think about mist rising. It’s all happening to the glory of God. And then verse eight closes by saying, “Stormy wind fulfilling his word.” What a phrase, what a statement. What a reality, that everything in creation is ultimately responding in obedience to God’s word, that the snow doesn’t fall randomly, weather doesn’t happen randomly, that weather is under the umbrella of the sovereignty of God, that he is in control of it all, which means all the creation at every moment is shouting his praise.
Psalm 148:7–8 Reminds Us Of God’s Glory Demonstrated In Nature
Just look around you today at creation. Look at maybe rain falling or the breeze blowing. Look at the leaves on the trees going back and forth with the wind, and realize they’re doing that in fulfillment of God’s word. God is causing that to happen, and millions and trillions of other things to happen in creation all around us. It will change your perspective on nature when you realize nature is God centered, and ultimately God directed that nature is constantly displaying the glory of God.
And, as we read this, aren’t we compelled to say, “God, may it be so in my life as well. Lord, fulfill your word in my life, cause in my life every single detail of it to resound to your glory, to point to your glory, to shout your goodness and your greatness.” Help me to join and with the song of creation. Here in Psalm 148:7–8 and all of Psalm 148, in Psalm 149, in Psalm 150. Help me to join in with the song of creation in declaring your praise. God, may it be so today in all of our lives, in my life and each person who’s listening to this right now, God, we see your glory in creation around us. We praise you for your glory.
May We See God’s Glory
The heavens declare the glory of God. The skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech, night after night they display knowledge. And not just the skies and the heavens, but the sea creatures in all deeps and all over the earth, fire and hail, snow and mist, stormy wind fulfilling your word. God, we join with all creation in giving you glory and we pray, we pray that you would make your glory known through our lives.
Prayer For The Spread Of God’s Word
God, we pray that you make your glory known through each of us today. God, we pray for the spread of your glory around the world. Lord, we pray for small minority people, groups in China, like the Shixing people who have little to no knowledge of your Gospel and your grace, who see the majesty of your glory in mountains around them, and hills around them, in valleys around them and each other as you have made them in your image.
And yet, they don’t know you God. They don’t know who to give glory to. They don’t know that you have made it possible for them to know you through Jesus. God, please change that. Please change that, that Shixingand other minority people groups all across China would know your grace and give you glory through Jesus. God, we pray for that for them, and we pray for that in our own lives.
God, please, please help us today in all that we do, in all that we think, in all the way say, and the way we act, the way we love, the way we care for others, the way we serve others. And God, we pray that you’d help us to reflect your glory. To join in this song that has resounding around the world to your praise. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
