Psalm 148
August 9, 2020
preached by Pastor Doug Cooper
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Time of Reflection Quotations

“Our whole business in this life is to restore to health the eye of the heart whereby God may be seen.”

~ Augustine of Hippo (354-430), Christian author, theologian and philosopher

“What freedom is found in recognizing that only God creates! (…) We bear the mark of our Maker. It is not our job to be original, but to worship the Origin of All Things. We are free to explore the limits of human creativity to the glory of our Creator. We are free to love and cherish others at great expense without demanding their worship in return.”

~ Jen Wilkin (1969-present), christian speaker and writer

“The world rings with praise – lovers praising their mistresses, readers their favorite poet, walkers praising the countryside, players praising their favorite game –praise of weather, wines, dishes, actors, motors, horses, colleges, countries, historical personages, children, flowers, mountains, rare stamps, rare beetles, even sometimes politicians or scholars…praise almost seems to be inner health made audible…I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses, but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation…Fully to enjoy is to glorify. In commanding us to glorify Him, God is inviting us to enjoy Him.”

~ C.S. Lewis (1898-1963), British writer and Christian apologist

“The goal at which all the psalm-prayers arrive after their long travels through the unmapped back countries of pain, doubt, and trouble, with only occasional vistas of the sunlit lands, along the way… all prayer, pursued far enough, becomes praise. Any prayer, no matter how desperate its origin, no matter how angry and fearful the experiences it traverses, ends up in praise. It does not always get there quickly or easily – the trip can take a lifetime – but the end is always praise.”

~ Eugene Peterson (1932-present), American clergyman, scholar, and author

“In our redemption by Christ we have the fullest, clearest, and most delightful manifestation of the glory of God that ever was or shall be in this life. All the declarations and manifestations that we have of His glory in the works of creation and common providence, are but dim and obscure in comparison with what is here. Indeed the glory of His wisdom, power, and goodness, is clearly manifested in the works of creation. But the glory of His mercy and love had lain under an eternal eclipse without a Redeemer.”

~ Thomas Boston (1676-1732), Scottish pastor, theologian and philosopher

Sermon Passage

Psalm 148 (NIV)

¹  Praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
praise him in the heights above.
²  Praise him, all his angels;
praise him, all his heavenly hosts.
³  Praise him, sun and moon;
praise him, all you shining stars.
⁴  Praise him, you highest heavens
and you waters above the skies.
⁵  Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for at his command they were created,
⁶  and he established them for ever and ever—
he issued a decree that will never pass away.
⁷  Praise the Lord from the earth,
you great sea creatures and all ocean depths,
⁸  lightning and hail, snow and clouds,
stormy winds that do his bidding,
⁹  you mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars,
¹⁰ wild animals and all cattle,
small creatures and flying birds,
¹¹ kings of the earth and all nations,
you princes and all rulers on earth,
¹² young men and women,
old men and children.
¹³ Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for his name alone is exalted;
his splendor is above the earth and the heavens.
¹⁴ 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.