This set of Psalms is focused on Yahweh as Creator. 146-150 are the final psalms in the book though not the final psalms we will read. We have a few that we skipped that will pop up from time to time.
PSALM 134
When I was a kid we sang a little chorus based on this Psalm. I never really thought about what I was singing – that there were people worshiping and serving in the temple in the middle of the night.
Perhaps it was a bit like a 24-hour Walmart. There weren’t as many people there at 2am, but it was open and the lights were on.
Take a moment to close your eyes and imagine the golden temple with reflected firelight under the starry heavens…
I can see why it would be awesome to worship at night.
This psalm ends with a blessing from Yahweh as Creator. The next 5 psalms will continue in that theme.
PSALM 146
The psalmist highlights the fleeting nature of trusting other people. They die.
It doesn’t matter how tough or smart or rich and famous and influential they are – people eventually die.
Which is wiser – trusting imperfect, finite people or trusting the perfect, infinite Creator?
🤔 Is this a trick question?
No.
🤨 Well it’s a no-brainer then. Of course you’d trust God.
Well, that’s easy to say but it can be much harder to do in real life.
🤔 Why?
Because people and the world are visible and immediate, and God and His kingdom are invisible and He has no problem making us wait.
🤔 Sounds like the marshmallow experiment. We can either trust people now (and get a 1-marshmallow reward) or trust that when the LORD returns we get TWO marshmallows in the hereafter.
I don’t think God hands out marshmallows as rewards.
🤨 It’s a metaphor.
PSALM 147
“He counts the number of the stars; he gives names to all of them.”
Psalms 147:4 LEB
According to the interwebs, on a clear night with a dark sky you can see 2000-2500 stars with the naked eye. ✨
We don’t really know how many stars there are in the universe. Astronomers estimate there are roughly 200 billion trillions (2×10 to the power of 23). They arrive at this inconceivable number by multiplying the estimated number of stars in our Milky Way galaxy (100 Billion) by the estimated number of galaxies in the observable universe (2 trillion).
Trillion is a number that – even though our government likes to toss it around as if it’s similar to a billion, I promise you it’s not. It makes a billion look like small potatoes. Here’s a cool video that might help a bit.
You’ll have to take the 1 trillion and mentally multiply it 200 billion times. Good luck.
For more images from the Webb Telescope, click HERE.
Oh – and God has names for all those trillions of stars. He can tell them apart.
No wonder the next line says,
“Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is unlimited.”
Psalms 147:5 LEB
It may be that this calling-the-stars-by-name text is hinting at the heavenly angelic host (called “the morning stars” in Job) and not just hot balls of burning gasses. Or, as I’m inclined to think, these may not be mutually exclusive ideas. What if the LORD made and assigned an angelic being to each ball of burning gas and the planets that orbit it? What if a burning ball of gas IS the physical “body” of the being?
C.S. Lewis suggested such a thing in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Edmund and Lucy and the crew of the Dawn Treader had landed on the Island at the End of the World. And there they encountered a figure called Ramandu, who appeared as an old man but who was actually a star, ⭐️ retired and in the process of renewal. Eustace finds this hard to believe…
“In our world,” said Eustace, “a star is a huge ball of flaming gas.”
“Even in your world, my son, that is not what a star is but only what it is made of.”
This all-powerful God Who made and named the starry host is also “the one who heals the brokenhearted, and binds up their wounds.” Psalms 147:3 LEB
“He does not delight in the strength of the horse; he takes no pleasure in the legs of the man. Yahweh takes pleasure in those who fear him, the ones who hope for his loyal love.”
Psalms 147:10-11 LEB
What gives delight to the Maker of Galaxies? Those who respect Him and wait in hope of His khesed. (See? I told you, you needed to know that Hebrew word.)
Oh, and before we move on, I just have to say that I LOVE this word-imagery:
“He gives snow like wool; he scatters frost like ashes; he throws his hail like crumbs. Who can stand before his cold?”
Psalms 147:16-17 LEB
Next time I see hail, this is what I’m going to picture:
PSALM 148
Continuing with the theme of Yahweh as Creator, Psalm 148 divides the creation into the heavenly (verses 1-6) and the earthly (verses 7-12). The commands to each group to praise the Creator seem to follow the order of the days of creation:
- V1. The sky (Day 2)
- V2. The angelic host (probably Day 4)
- V3. Sun, moon, & stars (Day 4)
- V7. Sea creatures (Day 5)
- V10. Land animals (Day 6)
- V11-12. People (Day 6)
PSALM 149
This is another psalm that seems to be divided into two segments.
In verses 1-4 we’re rollin’ along with praise and dance and celebration. Everybody is singing for joy. 💃🏼🪩🕺🏼🥳
Then all of a sudden, we have a sword of vengeance 🗡️ and we’re chaining ⛓️ up the global elites. 😧 Talk about escalation!
This is not as disjointed as it seems on first glance. In the OT, God used Israel’s army to bring physical punishment on the kings and armies of wicked peoples. When they won it was like this:
The praise and joyful celebration is FOR the executing of judgment on the wicked. We may think of praise as a form of spiritual warfare (and it is). But one day, when Jesus metes out judgement, the battle won’t be limited to the spiritual realm. It will be kinetic. And that’s not something we’re using to singing praise song about.
In Revelation 15 the victors sing in praise of God’s judgments. He is about to pour out His wrath on planet earth and the heavenly choir is singing in praise. In chapter 18 the whole system of the Great Whore of Babylon is decimated and in chapter 19 while the smoke is still wafting up from its destruction, the multitudes of heaven sing “Hallelujah! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth!” That line from Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus isn’t about Jesus’ birth or resurrection, it’s about the absolute and bloody annihilation of the wicked.
Better brush up on your hallelujahs.
PSALM 150
It’s the grand finale of the Psalms!
Psalm 150 is a favorite among musicians for obvious reasons. It’s also the “Cliff Notes” version of “How to Praise God 101.”
😏 It reminds me of Green Eggs & Ham by Dr. Seuss.
Psalm 150 reminds you of Green Eggs & Ham? What on earth?
😌 Allow me to demonstrate… (ahem)
Praise Him in the Holy Place
Praise Him up in outer space 🪐
Praise Him for His mighty deeds
Because His greatness far exceeds
You can praise Him with a horn 🎺
You can praise if you were born
Will you praise Him with a lute?
Will you praise Him with a flute? 🪈
Tambourine and harp and dance 💃🏼
Praise in your pajama pants
Praise with pipes and stringy things 🎸
Praise with crashy cymbal rings
You will like it. Don’t be bored.
If you’re breathing, praise the Lord! 🎉
😌
Uhhhh… You just Seussified Psalm 150.
😌 Yes. And? What do you think?
Well… apart from the unbiblical reference to pajamas… (ahem)
I like this psalm all Seussified
More than ham 🍖 and green eggs fried 🍳
I would read it in the air ✈️
Or on the beach 🏖️ or at the fair 🎡
I would read it soft or loud 📣
I would read it in a crowd 🏟️
I do so like the psalm this way 💕
Thanks, Emoji Guy. Hooray! 🎉
To The Reader 