DATE POSTED: Sunday, 2023-03-26
WRITTEN AT: O’Brien, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: Psalm 148:1-13
TRANSLATION: New Living Translation (NLT)

BIBLE TEXT: ¹ Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens! Praise him from the skies! ² Praise him, all his angels! Praise him, all the armies of heaven! ³ Praise him, sun and moon! Praise him, all you twinkling stars! ⁴ Praise him, skies above! Praise him, vapors high above the clouds! ⁵ Let every created thing give praise to the Lord, for he issued his command, and they came into being. ⁶ He set them in place forever and ever. His decree will never be revoked.
⁷ Praise the Lord from the earth, you creatures of the ocean depths, ⁸ fire and hail, snow and clouds, wind and weather that obey him, ⁹ mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, ¹⁰ wild animals and all livestock, small scurrying animals and birds, ¹¹ kings of the earth and all people, rulers and judges of the earth, ¹² young men and young women, old men and children. ¹³ Let them all praise the name of the Lord…

OBSERVATION: I find it interesting how this particular Psalm showed up on my reading plan for today – a day of praise and worship to our risen Lord! I trust that you made it a priority to attend church today and join hearts and hands with other believers in remembering the goodness of God, while learning even more from His written Word. Stay with me for the full devotional as we look deeper into this Psalm!

APPLICATION: I was amazed at the list of things that David commissioned to praise the Lord. Look at how David called on things in the heavens and skies to praise the Lord – God’s angels and all His armies of heaven, the sun, moon, stars and the skies. Vapors above the clouds – every created thing that God issued the command to come into being. As I meditated on that, I wondered how on earth could these things praise the Lord. But then it became clear that God commanded everything that He created to worship Him. Look around any church service and note the look of excitement on the faces of the worshippers as they lift up holy hands in deepest worship and highest praise! Really? Is that what you see at your church? Is that the excitement on your face that the camera captures as it pans over the congregation? Is that the heart-felt appreciation that God receives from us? Is it any wonder that David chose as his final segment of this Psalm to address mankind? He summoned all mankind – from the mightiest king to the weakest child to praise the Lord. Is there any wonder that John tells us that when Jesus came to earth, He came unto His own, but His own received Him not (John 1:11, 12). From in depth studies on the Word, commentators tell us that creation received Him, but man did not. When Jesus walked on earth, the winds obeyed His voice. The sea supported His feet. Even the rocks would have cried out if He had let them. But what did man say? “Away with Him. We have no king but Caesar” (John 19:15). When He comes back, however, every knee will bow to Him (Philippians 2:10). Dear friends, do you personally know this King/Creator/Almighty God of which David summoned us to praise? Unless you know Him, I see little reason that you would have to praise Him. Unless you know Him, you will meet Him for the very first time when you depart this earth, and you will be faced with extreme disappointment as He says – away from me, for you had no need of me and wanted no part of my forgiveness and acceptance. It’s too late now, so continue your journey into the place of eternal damnation, torture, pain and suffering. Satan has been successful in retaining control of your heart, so now He will reward you bitterly with His deepest punishment in Hell. To my friends still alive and able to make a choice between Heaven and Hell – between Jesus and Satan: please be sure that you are happy at this very moment with where your eternal destination will be. Death can come at any time, and you will no longer have an opportunity to make a change at that time. If you know Him, then let’s join all of creation in giving praise to our God!

BLESSING(S) NOTED: This Psalm begins and ends with ‘Praise the Lord!’ Perhaps we should begin and end each day with those words also! We can begin the day in knowing that God will be our Guide, our Strength and our Sustainer as we give Him complete control of our life that day. To end our day with those words, is to show thanksgiving for how God took care of us and gave us opportunities to grow in our wisdom and knowledge of Him that day! Praise the Lord!

PRAYER: You are worthy of our praise oh Lord! Regardless of how our day is going and how little we think there is to praise You for, yet You are always by our side guiding our way, lifting us up through ever hurdle, and giving us a witness to share with those who may be following in our footsteps. Let us never forget the wonders of Your ways, and the power of Your hand as you deliver us from all evil and lead us out of, and away from, every temptation that Satan tries to throw at us. Many in our circle of family and friends need the Lord. May Your presence be so evident in our walk and in our talk, that they could follow us into Your holy presence where we could sing praises to You – a place where they can also commit themselves to You wholeheartedly. AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog might indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. You may also visit me on Spotify and listen to Nuggets while you’re out and about. I would encourage you to find a church home near by your home, and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God, and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!