relationships (Psalm 148:1-14) Praise the One Who is Worthy

(Psalm 148:1-14) 

1   Praise the Lord!
     Praise the Lord from the heavens;
     Praise Him in the heights!
2   Praise Him, all His angels;
     Praise Him, all His heavenly armies!
3   Praise Him, sun and moon;
     Praise Him, all stars of light!
4   Praise Him, highest heavens,
     And the waters that are above the heavens!
5   They are to praise the name of the Lord,
     For He commanded and they were created.
6   He has also established them forever and ever;
     He has made a decree, and it will not pass away.

7   Praise the Lord from the earth,
     Sea monsters, and all the ocean depths;
8   Fire and hail, snow and clouds;
     Stormy wind, fulfilling His word;
9   Mountains and all hills;
     Fruit trees and all cedars;
10 Animals and all cattle;
     Crawling things and winged fowl;
11 Kings of the earth and all peoples;
     Rulers and all judges of the earth;
12 Both young men and virgins;
     Old men and children.

13 They are to praise the name of the Lord,
     For His name alone is exalted;
     His majesty is above earth and heaven.
14 And He has lifted up a horn for His people,
     Praise for all His godly ones,
     For the sons of Israel, a people near to Him.
     Praise the Lord!

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

All of creation will bow down and praise the Lord.  And one day, even those who have rejected Jesus, will have no choice but to bow down before Him, as they come before the Lord to be judged for all their sins.  It sounds harsh, but everyone has been given a conscience, a free will and a choice.  

Even if a person never sees a Bible, or hears someone tell them the good news, nature itself is a testimony to God's truth and glory (Romans 1).  Praise the Lord that He knows exactly who will accept Him, and gives each person a fair amount of time and opportunity, as He desires that all come to know Him.  We were all created with the purpose to be in His family and have a close personal relationship with Him!  But because He is love, He will not force anyone to love Him back.

Israel has been given covenants which will be fulfilled in the Millennium, but even there, it requires that each individual has made a personal decision to believe in Jesus.  The Lord chose them to be His missionaries, to be a light to all nations, but they as a nation will only "see" and accept the Light - that is the Lord Jesus - when they see their signs (the judgments) in the Tribulation.

For God's people, and all those who become children of God, the Lord has lifted up a horn.  This is a symbol of royalty, dignity and power, dominion, glory, fierceness and strength.  This will be fulfilled in the Millennium as well as in heaven.  As for right now, God is "on our side" for all of those who are on His side!  In this broken, messed up world, the Lord gives order and makes sense of all things!  He alone is sovereign, just and righteous.  Only the Lord God (Jesus Christ) can save, change, help, and keep us in His way, within the only perfect relationship we can ever have.  Let us not be afraid to praise Him, for He is exalted and worthy!