AP

 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 he commanded and they were created.

Psalm 148:1-5

I know the verb to ‘infect’ isn’t popular today, but it is hard to read the words of this psalm without being infected with the emotions of the writer!

Sadly, however, we are part of a culture that has been gradually and systematically indoctrinated to have no place in its thinking for the concept of a Sovereign Creator God who has not only revealed himself so wondrously IN and THROUGH his Creation, but who has given us all the information we need to understand this gift to us in his inspired Word!

If we don’t first acknowledge who God IS, and what he has DONE we can’t even start to moved by this psalm … but when we DO acknowledge him, nothing can hold us back from joining with his whole Creation in PRAISING him!

The Apostle Paul sums up the situation like this: “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who SUPPRESS the TRUTH by their wickedness, since what may be KNOWN about God is PLAIN to them, because GOD HAS MADE IT PLAIN TO THEM.  For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are WITHOUT EXCUSE.  For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.” (Romans 1:18-21).

It was probably under the emotional influence of Psalm 148 that Francis of Assisi wrote: “All creatures of our God  and King, lift up your voice and with us sing: O praise Him!  Alleluia! Thou, burning sun with golden beam, thou, silver moon with softer gleam, O praise him!  O praise him!  Alleluia!  Alleluia!  Alleluia!”  May we never become so influenced by the God-denying culture  that surrounds us that we fail to lift up our hearts, minds and voices with Francis and sing from the very depths of our being in joyful praise to, and of, our awesome, wonder-working God!