The last five Old Testament psalms (146-150) are joyous hymns of praise — the call for all God’s creation to worship and extol the Lord! Let ALL creation worship and adore the LORD!
Psalm 148 capsulizes the basic essence of true worship — that which God designed each aspect of His creation to do: “Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights above. Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his heavenly hosts. Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars. Praise him, you highest heavens and you waters above the skies. Let them praise the name of the Lord, for at his command they were created, and he established them forever and ever—he issued a decree that will never pass away. Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all ocean depths, lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds that do his bidding, you mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, wild animals and all cattle, small creatures and flying birds, kings of the earth and all nations, you princes and all rulers on earth, young men and women, old men and children. Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his splendor is above the earth and the heavens. And he has raised up for his people a horn, the praise of all his faithful servants, of Israel, the people close to his heart. Praise the Lord.”
Notice that verses 1,3-6 call on the heavens to praise the Lord and in verses 7-10 the earth and its creatures are beckoned to the same exercise. In verses 2, 11-14 angels and all mankind are directed to praise the Creator.
Implied here is that the heavenly bodies (planets) and the creatures of land and sea have a role; angels and men have a will. Both role and will are summed up in one word: conformity. In other words, Conforming to God’s design, decrees, and purpose equals worship!
In fulfilling their God-ordained roles, planets and creation render “worship”; angels and men do so by choosing conformity to God’s proclaimed will. For man, that will is recorded in the Word of God.
Our conscience and the Holy Spirit of God assist in the willingness to obey our Creator.
In this new year, may our chosen-resolve be conformity to Scripture’s mandate as set before us in Romans 12:1-2: “And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”
