"A Call for the Universe
   to Praise God"

   Psalm 148

   Good News Translation (GNT)

*************************

  1  Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from heaven,
   you that live in the heights above.
  2  Praise him, all his angels, all his heavenly
   armies.
  3  Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, shining
   stars.
  4  Praise him, highest heavens, and the waters
   above the sky.(a)
  5  Let them all praise the name of the Lord!
   He commanded, and they were created;
  6  by his command they were fixed in their
   places forever, and they cannot disobey.(b)
  7  Praise the Lord from the earth, sea monsters
   and all ocean depths;
  8  lightning and hail, snow and clouds, strong
   winds that obey his command.
  9  Praise him, hills and mountains, fruit trees
   and forests;
10  all animals, tame and wild, reptiles and birds.
11  Praise him, kings and all peoples, princes
   and all other rulers;
12  young women and young men, old people
   and children too.
13  Let them all praise the name of the Lord!
   His name is greater than all others; his glory
   is above earth and heaven.
14  He made his nation strong, so that all his
   people praise him - the people of Israel, so
   dear to him.
   Praise the Lord!

   Footnotes
   Psalm 148:4 See Gen 1.6-7
   Psalm 148:6
   by his command...disobey;
   or
   he has fixed them by a command that lasts
   forever.

*************************

Commentary taken from 'word-on-the-web'
supplied by Scripture Union

'The wonder of worship'

Here is the party. All of creation - physical, angelic, human - joins together in praise of the God who is worthy of all praise.

The function of creation is to give glory to God, and we humans are caught up in that glorious praise of God.

As the Westminster Shorter Catechism puts it, the chief end of man is: 'To glorify God and enjoy him for ever'.

Worship matters
The picture of heaven in Revelation is of all heaven joining in the praise of the One who sits on the throne and of the Lamb
(Revelation 5:13)

He is praised for who he is and for what he has done in creation (v 5) and salvation (v 14).

What we believe matters, but perhaps even more what and how we worship. Israel's failure was not primarily one of belief, but one of worship.

The two are inextricably interwoven, but right convictions have not always led to right worship. Of course, it is true that we can only worship correctly when we have a true understanding of God.

But there is a danger in putting the emphasis on belief alone. It can lead to a focus on ourselves and lead to arrogance and division.

True worship
Worship helps us to place the focus where it belongs, on God, and encourages humility.

Worship lies at the heart of our relationship with God. Worship is about bringing glory to God in all that we do and in the way that we live as much as in the songs that we sing.

Our whole being, body, mind (right beliefs),(right feelings) (will right actions) and Spirit combine to produce true and spiritual worship

(John 4:23).(NIV)
23  Yet a time is coming and has now come
   when the true worshipers will worship the
   Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind
   of worshipers the Father seeks.

What would happen if we were to call others to worship, to give them a vision of the beauty, glory and majesty of God, to show them his wonderful activity in the world, rather than starting by asking them to sign up to a particular set of beliefs?

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