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PSALM 148

  1. hallelujah! Praise jehovah from the heavens: praise him in the heights.
  2. Praise him, all you his angels: praise him, all you his hosts.
  3. Praise him, sun and moon: praise him, all you stars of light.
  4. Praise him, you heavens of heavens, and you waters which are above the heavens.
  5. Let them praise the name of jehovah, for he commanded, and they were created.
  6. He has established them for ever and ever; he has given a decree which shall not pass away.
  7. Praise jehovah from the earth, you whales, and all deeps.
  8. You fire, and hail; you snow, and vapour; you stormy wind doing his word.
  9. You mountains, and all hills; you trees bearing fruit, and all cedars.
  10. You beasts, and all cattle; you creeping things, and winged birds.
  11. You kings of the earth, and all peoples; you princes, and all judges of the earth.
  12. Both young men and maidservants; old men and children.
  13. Let them praise the name of jehovah, for his name alone is exalted; his glory is above earth and heaven.
  14. He exalts the horn of his people,—the praise of all his saints,—of the sons of Israel,—of the people who is near to him! hallelujah!

The Internal Sense

All in the heavens and on earth are exhorted to worship the lord, from the goods and truths which are from him, verses 1 to 6; also all who are in the ultimates of heaven and the church, from truths and goods of every kind, verses 7 to 10; in general, from the understanding and will of truth and good, verses 11, 12; because salvation is by those things which he gives, verses 13, 14.

Exposition

Verses 2, 3, 4. Praise jehovah, all you his angels: praise him, all you his hosts; praise him, sun and moon: praise him, all you stars of light; praise him, you heavens of heavens. By praising jehovah is signified to worship him; by the angels are signified those who are in Divine truths from the good of love, for all such are angels; by all his hosts are signified goods and truths in all their complex, by the sun and moon are signified the good of love, and the truth from that good; by the stars of light are signified the knowledges of truth from good; by the heavens of heavens are signified goods and truths both internal and external: inasmuch as man worships the lord" from those things which are in him from the lord, thus from the goods and truths which are in him, and as it is by virtue of these that man is man, it is therefore said to such things, namely to the sun, moon, and stars, by which are signified goods and truths, that they shall praise, that is, worship jehovah; who does not know that this cannot be said to the sun, moon, and stars, that is, that they should worship jehovah? For how can such things offer praise or worship? AE 401.

Verse 4. Praise him, you heavens of heavens, and you waters which are above the heavens. Inasmuch as it is not yet known, that waters in the Word signify the truths of faith and the knowledges of truth, perhaps by reason of its appearing so remote, I am desirous here briefly to show, that such things are understood by waters in the Word, which also is necessary, because without the knowledge of the signification of waters, it cannot be known what is signified by baptism, nor what by the washings in the Israelitish church, of which mention is so frequently made. Waters signify the truths of faith, because bread signifies the good of love; the reason why waters and bread have such a signification is because the things which appertain to spiritual nourishment are expressed in the sense of the letter, by such things as appertain to natural nourishment; for waters and bread, by which are meant all drink and all food in general, nourish the body, and the truths of faith and the good of love, nourish the soul; this is also from correspondence, for when bread and water are read in the Word, the angels, as being spiritual, understand those things which nourish them, which are the goods of love, and the truths of faith. But some passages shall be here adduced, from which it may be known that waters signify the truths of faith, likewise the knowledges of truth: as in Isaiah, "Then shall you draw waters with gladness from the fountains of salvation;" and again, "I will pour out waters upon the thirsty, and floods upon the dry; I will pour out my spirit upon your seed, and my blessing upon your offspring." AE 71.

Verses 7, 10. Praise jehovah from the earth, you whales, and all deeps; you beasts, and all cattle; you creeping things, and winged birds. In this Psalm, the things which shall praise jehovah are enumerated by various things which are without life in the world, as fire, hail, snow, vapour, stormy wind, mountains, hills, trees, fruits, cedars: likewise as in this case, by beasts, cattle, creeping things, and birds, which things themselves cannot praise jehovah; who cannot see therefore, that to recount such things in the Divine Word would be vain and superfluous, unless they were significative of such things in man as can praise, that is, worship jehovah; from the science of correspondences it is known, that whales signify the scientifics of the natural man in general; abysses or deeps, and seas, the natural principle itself, where scientifics are; beasts and cattle, the affections of the natural man, both of his understanding and of his will; creeping things, the sensual principle, which is the ultimate of the natural man; and winged birds, the cogitative principle thence derived. AE 650.

Verse 8. Praise jehovah, you fire, and hail; you snow and vapour; you stormy wind doing his word. That by these expressions, something more is signified than what appears in the letter is evident; for to what purpose could it be to say in the Divine Word, that such things should praise jehovah? But by fire and hail, and by snow and vapour, are signified the delights of the loves of the natural man, and his scientifics and knowledges, for these things are fire and hail, and snow and vapour, before man is regenerated and made spiritual, the sphere of their life, when it flows out from them, presenting such things in the spiritual world, and the worship of the lord from those things, is signified by their praising jehovah, to praise denoting to worship; but by the stormy wind is signified Divine truth as to reception, wherefore it is said, stormy wind doing his Word, to do his Word denoting to receive into the life the things which are of doctrine. AE 419.

Verses 9, 10. You trees bearing fruit, and all cedars; you beasts, and all cattle; you creeping things, and winged birds, praise the name of jehovah. Trees bearing fruit, denote the celestial man, the cedar, the spiritual man; beast, cattle, and creeping things, the goods of the celestial and spiritual man, and the winged birds, the corresponding truths from which man can praise the name of jehovah; since it is plainly impossible that beasts, cattle, creeping things, and winged birds can praise jehovah; in profane writings such expressions may be called hyperbolical, but in the Word of the lord nothing is hyperbolical, but every thing is significative and representative. AC 776.

Verse 10. Let them praise the name of jehovah,beast, and all cattle; creeping things, and winged birds. That birds signify such things as appertain to the thought of man, as well spiritual as infernal, thus both truths and falses, for these appertain to thought, is from correspondence, appears from the birds seen in the spiritual world, where all things which appear before the eyes, and before the rest of the senses, are correspondences; in that world there appear animals of the earth of every kind, and also birds of the heaven, as well beautiful as unbeautiful, and they appear from the affections and thoughts of the angels and spirits, the animals from the affections, and birds from the thoughts: that they are correspondences is known to all there, who also know to what affections and thoughts they correspond; that they correspond to affections and thoughts, is made to appear manifestly, inasmuch as when the spirit or angel departs, or ceases to think upon the things to which they correspond, they are dissipated in a moment: inasmuch as birds are correspondences of the thoughts as well rational as not rational, thus both of truths and falsities, therefore the same are signified by them in the Word, for all things of the Word are correspondences. That birds signify thoughts which are derived from truths, as well rational as spiritual, may appear in the following passages: thus in David, "Let them praise the name of jehovah, you beasts, and all cattle; you creeping things, and winged birds" Psalm cxlviii, 10; that by beast and all cattle are signified the affections of the natural man, both of truth and good, and, in the opposite sense, the cupidities of what is false and evil, may be seen above, AE 552, 650, 781; hence by winged birds are signified thoughts, and on this account it is that it is said, that they shall praise the name of jehovah, for it is man who must praise from his affections and thoughts, thus from goods and truths; and in Hosea, "I will make for them a covenant in that day with the wild beast of the field, and with the bird of the heavens, and the creeping things out of the earth; and the bow, and the sword, and the war, will I break off the earth," Hos 2:18; treating concerning the advent of the lord, and concerning heaven and the church from him: by in that day is understood the lord's coming; by the covenant which he will then make, is understood conjunction with those who believe in him; hence by the wild beast of the field, and the bird of the heavens, cannot be signified wild beasts and birds, but those things to which they correspond, which are the affections of good and of truth, and the thoughts thence derived; that in such case there shall be no infestation from falses and evils from hell, is signified the bow, the sword, and the war being broken out of the earth. AE 1100.

Verse 10. Creeping things; see Psalm 69:34, Exposition.

Verse 14. He exalts the horn of his people,—the praise of all his saints,of the sons of Israel,of the people who is near to him. By he has exalted the horn of his people, is signified that he has filled them with Divine truths, wherefore it is said, the praise of all his saints,of the sons of Israel,and of the people who is near to him, for they are called saints who are in Divine truths, inasmuch as the Divine truth is what is called holy, as may be seen above, AE 204; Israel denotes the church which is in truths, the sons thereof are truths, people is also predicated of those who are in truths, and they are said to he near to him who are thereby conjoined to the lord. AE 316.

Verse 14. Near to him; see Psalm 145:18, Exposition.

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