Psalm 148 is a beautiful psalm. It's been called the joy song of creation, and naturally being one of the final psalms, it's a psalm of praise. The Book of Psalms is a book that features many moments of frustration and depression, yet it is also a book filled with great praise. And this critical key to getting lifted out of depression is to pursue a godly life and offer praise to God. No believer's life will really ever be complete without praise and worship to God. So in this psalm, the writer exhorts all of heaven and all of, and on the earth to praise God. One might ask, how do you planets praise God? How do animals praise God? They praise God by their very existence. And the only problem God has with his creation when it comes to offering him praise is with humans. The only humans who think about praising and worshiping God are godly humans. The primary point of this psalm is really not that difficult to see. It's the will of God for everything to offer praise to God since he made everything. But only God's people are in a position to offer praise to God and they have the privilege and responsibility to do that. Everything should praise God and one day everything will praise God. God is the one who made everything and everything owes him praise. Unfortunately, not all people praise God now, but there will come a day when they will. And the creation of God is a powerful witness of the greatness and glory of God. In fact, according to Romans 1.20, the creation of God leaves man without excuse for not recognizing the existence of God. That's why the Bible says one has to be a fool to say there is no God. We see that in Psalm 14, verse one. We first of all see that God is to be praised from the heavens. Verses one through six. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord from the heavens. Praise him in the heights. Praise him, all his angels. Praise him, all his hosts. Praise him, sun and moon. Praise him, all you shining stars. Praise him, you highest heavens and you waters above the heavens. Let them praise the name of the Lord, for he commanded and they were created and he established them. forever and ever. He gave a decree and it shall not pass away. So it's chronologically accurate to begin with praise from heaven because praise begins in heaven. It's the very place from which praise originates. And as we read these opening verses, we see that God is to be praised from the heavens, plural. That plural noun, heavens, is used three times in verses one and a couple times in four. There are three heavens that we learn about in scripture. There's heaven where the birds fly, which is our atmosphere. There's heaven where the planets exist, which is outer space, and then there's heaven where God's throne is located, the third and highest heaven. And the point of these verses is that everything in all the heavens is to praise the Lord. In fact, it does praise the Lord. Everything in the most upper regions of creation is to praise the Lord. We see that God is to be praised by his angels. One of the wonderful things we see concerning angels is that they do praise and worship God. The book of Revelation is filled with worship scenes that involve angels. And then God is to be praised by all of his hosts. And the emphasis of this word is on all celestial armies of God. include all angels that form an army in the sky and on earth. And then God is to be praised by the sun and the moon. We know from Genesis 1, 14 through 19, that God specifically made the sun and the moon, one on day four, to be two great lights in the sky that testified of God's greatness and glory. One of the lights, the sun, is the great light during this day, and the other, the moon, is the great light of the night. And these two great lights are a perpetual praiseworthy reality. Their very existence offers praise to the sovereign God. And then God is to be praised by all the stars. God also made the stars on day four. You put him in the sky, he knows every star and every name of every star, and these things all reflect light. The sun without light, the moon without light, and a star without light cannot be seen, nor can it display the glory of God, but the light shines forth the glory of God. That little poem, Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, How I Wonder What You Are, the stars actually are, they're displays of the glory of God and they offer praise to God. And then God is to be praised by the highest heavens. Highest heavens include space that we have never seen. That's where praise originates. Praise originates at the throne of God. And God is to be praised by the waters above the heavens. According to the Bible, God has storage vaults of water high in the heavens. It's from these very vaults that God draws water and moisture, such as rain, snow, and hail. And all of these displays should be that which causes us to praise God. And so we see these things that exist and then God commanded or spoke these things into existence. He has established these things forever. No, it's not just forever, but forever and ever. Now, what that tells us is that in eternity, these things will exist. Be no need of the sunlight, but it may exist. God has decreed that these things will never pass away. And so when we look into the sky, we're looking at God's sky and God's creation, and he should be praised for every bit of it. And then God is to be praised from the earth. Look at verses seven through 14. Praise the Lord from the earth, you great creatures in all the deeps, fire and hail, snow and mist. stormy wind fulfilling his word, mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, beasts and all livestock, creeping things and flying birds, kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers of the earth, young men and maidens together, all old men and children. Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted. His majesty is above earth and heaven. He has raised up a horn for his people. Praise for all his saints, for the people of Israel who are near to him. Praise the Lord. So he's praised by the sea life. Don't know all the sea life that exists in the sea, but all in the sea are there by God. and praised by sea depths. God has created the depths of the sea, and there's still some areas that are so deep that sonar can't even measure the depth. Deepest known spot is nearly seven miles deep, and God is praised by all the weather. God's in control of fire and hail and snow and clouds and storms, and oftentimes, when a wildfire is burning, you hear someone say, that fire is burning out of control. Truth is out of our control, but not God's control. and people will moan and people will complain about the weather. It's too hot, it's too cold, it's too windy, it's too rainy. Truth is all weather is created and controlled by God and does what he wants it to do. Spurgeon said, snow and hail cannot praise God except by their existence, but we should praise God for their existence. God is praised by all the mountains. The mountains and the hills are created by God and display the glory of God. The psalmist loved the mountains and he saw the glory of God in those mountains and he offered praise to God. And God is praised by all the trees. Trees are an amazing creation of God. They give fruit, and food, and fuel, and shade, and building materials, and places to rest. And some of the leaves on some trees are actually, they give healing. And God has designed all the trees, and they are something for which we can praise God. And God is praised by all animal life, both non-domestic and domestic animals, having been created by God, and they display the glory of God. God is praised by all reptile life. Creeping things like reptiles praise God. They've been created by God and they do display His glory. And God is praised by all bird life. Birds display the glory of God. And God is praised by all human life. Whatever one's station life, all humans are to offer praise to the God of the Bible. All political leaders are to praise God. All people on earth. are to praise God. All high-ranked people in society are to praise God. All people of all ages are to praise God. Young men, virgin girls, old men, children. Obviously, age is not an excuse for not praising God. And all godly people are to praise God. And all Israel is to praise God. So we see in verse 13, it makes it very clear that God is to be praised because He alone is exalted God. His glory is seen in earth and in heaven. Verse 14 says he has lifted up a horn for his people. What that means is God cares about his people. He gives them strength and honor. So I want you to look at something from God's creation every day and thank him and praise him and realize that all weather does come from God whether we like it or not. And then we have an opportunity to talk to others about the greatness of God in creation. It's a form of praise. And if we don't speak up for God, who's going to do that?