and be together tonight. So Psalm 148 will be our text this evening. Friends, the title of this evening's sermon is Praise the Lord of Creation. Praise the Lord of Creation. Psalm 148, friends, let's read God's word together. The word of God says, 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. He and he established them forever and ever. He gave a decree and it shall not pass away. Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all deeps, fire and hail, snow and mist, a 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 together, young men and maidens together, 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. Dear ones, this is the word of God. Thanks be to God. Let's pray. Father, come now and ask for blessing as we study your word, by your spirit come and illumine this word for us. Help us to sing your praises, to worship you as the God of creation and our blessed redeemer. Father, all this we ask in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. So friends, as I've told you, the last five Psalms in the Psalter, you know, there's 150 Psalms. So from Psalm 146 to Psalm 150, we have high doxology. So friends, the Psalter concludes with a sort of a chorus of praises. And we have this very familiar refrain, praise the Lord. Remember in the Hebrew, that is hallelujah, praise the Lord. the Lord. And remember, that is a summons. song leader who is directing the chorus, the choir, the people of God as they're assembled together for worship. He is summoning, the psalmist is summoning us to praise the Lord, to offer to Him worship, to glorify Him. Friends, again, remember that this is what we were created for. You and I were created to worship God, to glorify the Lord and as one Catechism says to glorify the Lord and thus enjoy Him forever. Catechism is catching that sense that as we worship the Lord in spirit and truth, we experience the greatest depths of joy and satisfaction because we are doing the very thing that we were created to do. This is our life's vocation. to praise the Lord. And so it should be the business of God's people that we attend to this good work. Praise the Lord. And now, as always, the psalmist gives us truth. He gives us doctrine. He gives to us statements to fuel praise. Because remember, friends, worship in the biblical sense is not a vacated mind, it's a filled mind. Remember, we talk about worship as being fueled by doctrine, like logs in the fire. And so here the psalmist is saying, here are some truths for you, O people of God, some truth, O saints, to keep in mind, to chew on, to savor, and let this be the source of your adoration. And so he turned to the attention of the Lord, as the God of creation, as the sovereign creator of heaven and earth. And he says in verse one, praise the Lord from the heavens, praise Him in the heights, praise Him all His angels, praise Him all His hosts. The psalmist, as it were, is leading the congregation to think of the highest heavens, the very throne of God. Remember, friends, in the scriptures, we're told that God dwells in holiness. Isaiah 6 tells us that God is attended by an innumerable host of angels, myriads upon myriads, beyond numbering or counting. And there are those that attend in the very throne of God. And these seraphim are clothed with multiple wings to hide their eyes, to hide their feet, and to fly, and they are in His immediate glorious presence. So here we are reflecting on the glory of God in the most holy place, what was symbolized for us in that most holy place in the tabernacle and the temple, the very throne room of God. And so we are calling, the people of God are calling upon the praises of God to ring out from even this angelic host. Praise him, all his angels. Praise him, all his hosts. And so you see what this does, friends. This reminds us that what's going on in heaven now is worship. That the business of the angelic host, among many things, is to worship. and to give glory to their Creator. So we are joining in that chorus of adoration. Now, the psalmist leads us to reflect on the creation itself, that is the heavens above giving glory to God. Verse three, praise Him, sun and moon, praise Him, all you shining stars, praise Him, you highest heavens and you waters above the heavens. On one hand, friends, this is a little bit of personification. For we know that the sun and the moon are not personal beings. We are not like the pagans who believed that there is an animus or a soul behind the sun and moon, a god or deity to be worshipped. We know that these things were created by God for the blessing of humanity, that they were given by God to showcase His glory and to bless man whom He has created. Yet, the sun, the moon and the stars, by their own existence and glory, attest to the wisdom, the glory and might of the Creator. This is what we might call a mediated witness of the glory of God. You see, friends, nature itself reveals that there is a Creator, that God created the universe and it reveals His divine power and His wisdom. Romans 1 tells us that from the beginning of creation, God's invisible attributes, namely His divine power and eternal nature, have been clearly perceived by the things that have been made. So what Paul is saying is that if we look at the universe around us, we have evidence, clear evidence of the glory of God. That is, it speaks to us of the glory of the creator. One way to think about it this way, if you came to my house, or if I came to your house, friends, and I looked around your home, and I would see different things. If I saw maybe things you like to collect, baseball cards. If you came to my house maybe you would see books on shelves and coffee mugs and coffee cups. You would see plants in the garden and plants all around the home and you would know things about me and I would know things about you by simply going into the home that you have made. That home would testify to something of the homemaker, and so it is with creation. Creation, by its own design and glory, attests and reveals the invisible God. Psalm 19 tells us that the heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no place, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Friends, this universe screams of the existence of God and declares His glory and majesty. And human beings have this knowledge of God from our mother's womb. Friends, you know, we talk about the idea of those that profess to be atheists and those who profess to be agnostics. Atheism means there is no God and agnostic means I don't know. if there is a God. But strictly speaking, friends, according to the Bible, everyone knows that God exists, but we suppress that knowledge of God, that truth of who He is, in unrighteousness. And again, as I've told you, we have the internal witness of conscience, but we have the external witness of creation itself. So, friends, the people of God are reminded When you see the heavens in all of its beauty, the sun and the moon in their place, when you see the waters in the clouds, as the rain falls, we are reminded that they attest to the glory of God. They are witnesses of his handiwork. Verse five, let them praise the name of the Lord, for he commanded and they were created. Verse six, and he established them forever and ever. He gave a decree and it shall not pass away. So God is the creator of heaven, the earth, the sea, and all that is in them. But how did God create all things? Well, friends, let's think for a moment of how we create things. How do you and I create things? Well, if I were to say, create a table, I would need some ingredients. I would need some material. I may need a wood, some wood and some nails. I'd need a saw and hammer. I would have all kinds of tools that I would use and material in order to create a table. But friends, the Bible tells us that when God created the universe, he created the universe out of nothing. The term in theology is ex nihilo. Now friends, when we say ex nihilo, what we're meaning is that God did not create the universe out of some co-existent eternal matter. It wasn't as though God took a compressed singularity of reality and sort of shaped it and molded it into the universe that we now inhabit. No friends, God created the universe by his word. Hebrews 11 tells us, by faith we understand that God, that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what exists was not created out of things that are visible. Genesis 1.1, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, and when God spoke, when God said, let there be light, at the word of God, light came into existence. Now, friends, if you want to know what power is, that's power. That is sovereign might. That God can, at His very command, out of His own infinite being, summon into existence the things that do not exist. He creates the world, we might say, ex deo, out of God, out of His own infinite being. This is what Augustine, the theologian of the early church called the divine fiat, or the divine imperative, this command of God. God spoke, and at his word, Everything came into existence. Remember, creation is actually Trinitarian. We think of the Father speaking, we think of the Holy Spirit hovering over the face of the water. We're told in the New Testament that Christ, all things were created by Him and through Him and for Him. So friends, remember, creation is Trinitarian. And it's created by the Word of God. So friends, that truth of the awesome power of God, our Creator, This should stir our hearts to worship. Praise the name of the Lord, the glory of the Lord, for he commanded and they were created. This is the sovereign might. Now friends, if our God can do this, then he can do anything, anything he wills, he is able to accomplish. Verse six, not only does the Lord our God create the universe, but he preserves the universe. He established them forever and ever. He gave a decree and it shall not pass away. You know, friends, creatures, you and I, by nature, it's God who must sustain our being, sustain us with life, sustain us in every way. Because if God does not continue to sustain and to preserve us, we would immediately fall out of existence. It is to God that we owe everything. He is the one who not only creates or gets everything started, but it is He who preserves and sustains and maintains all things. And He has done so by His Word. He has given His decree, and it shall not pass away. Friends, this universe is not running around like a chicken with its head cut off. This universe is not spinning out of control. No matter how dark the present may be, no matter how grave our sufferings may be, the Lord our God is on His throne. Even the devil, as Luther said, the devil is God's devil. for all of his power, for all of his cunning, for all of his evil, he is still under the thumb of Christ. And he has no more authority than what Christ allows him. And so friends, again, there is, these are truths, precious truths that fuel our worship. These are precious doctrines that animate our adoration. The Lord my God is sovereign. The Lord my God reigns. He gave a decree and it shall not pass away. Verse seven, praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all deeps, fire and hail, snow and mist, stormy wind fulfilling his word. So the God who creates is the God who reigns, is the God who directs even the forces of nature. He is the one who on earth is to be adored and worshipped even by great sea creatures." Now friends, the Bible speaks of Leviathan. Leviathan is revealed in Scripture to be a great serpent of the deep, a great powerful serpent. Job has reference to the Leviathan. And again, the idea is that this creature is so powerful and no human being can tangle with it. but it is completely under the thumb of God. And God directs these great sea creatures wherever he would have them go. So that would include also those great aquatic creatures that we know of. Great whales and sharks. All of these are under the hand of God. Even those creatures that human beings have not yet discovered. The ones that still remain shrouded in the darkness of the deep. It is the Lord, our God, who has created, who governs, and directs them. fire and hail, snow and mist. These seemingly chaotic forces of nature. Fire burns as long as it has all of its ingredients, its oxygen and its fuel. This flame continues to take in all that it can. This hail falls and it may hit one roof and it may skip another. All of these forces seem so chaotic, random, but they are under the hand of the Lord, our God. Even the gentle snow that fall in the mist that rises in the morning, God orders all things and it is to his glory. Each stormy wind fulfills his word. Again, friends, the Lord God we serve is sovereign. He's sovereign. There's not a bit of this universe that is outside of his control. No force beyond his reckoning. And he is directing all these things ultimately for his glory and for the good of those who trust in him. Friends, is that not a comforting truth? You know, friends, It'd be one thing to think that God was simply the best bet we could make, that he was the most powerful guy on the block, right? It'd be one thing for us to say, well, I think God probably has more power than anybody else, and if I had to place my bets on one person over another, I would place my bets with the Lord, my God, and I'd go with him. But it's a whole nother thing if God is absolutely sovereign, as the Bible tells us, because that means he's eminently trustworthy. There's not a rogue molecule in the universe that is going to come and thwart the best-laid plans of our God. He is able to do for us all that he promises. And then the psalmist leads us to reflect, we're coming down from heaven to earth, mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, beasts and all livestock, creeping things and flying birds. So the Lord our God is concerned with the greatest of things, from great sea creatures and stars and the moon to the wind and the hail, but he is also the Lord who fashioned the mountains and the hills. Friends, think for a moment how mountains and hills reveal the beauty of God. You know, friends, we live in a very beautiful place. We live in a place of beautiful mountains and hills. And friends, that testifies to the beauty of our creator, a God who loves to beautify this world that he has made. God delights in this diversity that he's made. You know, He made mountains and hills of such varying size and depth. He cut great gorges in the valleys. All of the splendor that we see. We take months to go on these vacations to see all these great and marvelous places, these national parks. And all of them are saying, look at the grandeur of your Creator. He is the one who has fashioned all these wonders. Even the fruit trees and cedars, they grow, they flourish according to the providence of the Lord our God. Beasts and all livestock, creeping things and flying birds. All of this creation bears witness to the glory of God. And now we turn to human beings. Verse 11, kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and rulers of the earth, young men and maidens together, old men and children. This is a poetic description of the summation of the human race from the greatest to the least, from princes and rulers to young men and maidens, old men and children, every human being is to give praise to the Lord. He's worthy. of our worship. Verse 13, let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted. His majesty is above earth and heaven. Again, friends, part of the witness of the church is to bear witness to the invisible God, the invisible kingdom of our God. That's what Calvin said, one of the great tasks of the church, even right now as we gather for worship, right? Part of what we're doing is bearing witness to the glory of the invisible God and his kingdom, the kingdom of Christ, the kingdom of the Lord our God is being demonstrated, seen, as we gather, as we worship, as we give praise to the Lord. And that is a witness to the nations that they also ought to worship, for His name alone is exalted. Now, friends, let us think again about the name of the Lord. The name of the Lord is His glory proclaimed. What's the significance of a name? What do names tell us? You know, friends, I know that there are millions, I suspect millions, maybe less, Clays in the world. There's a lot of people who have the name Clay. But when I hear Clay, especially if I hear Clay Kibler, I only think of one person. I only think of me, right? That name identifies me. It shaped my life. It was put on me before I was born, and that name has stuck with me and shaped so much of who I am. But when we think of the name of the Lord, we're talking about who He is and what He has done. This name, as it were, of the Lord is distilling down everything about the Lord, our God. His character, His history with His people, who He is and what He's done. If we look at Scripture and we look at all the names of the Lord, we look at Yahweh, and we see that God is the I am who I am, the self-existent, eternal One. When we see of His titles, Everlasting Father, when we think of these names of the Lord, they reveal who He is. He is and the exalted one. He is our glorious creator. His majesty is above earth and heaven. So he is really the only proper object of our worship. God alone is worthy of worship. Friends, that's why the first two commandments of the 10 commandments are so important. You recall the first commandment is, you shall have no other gods before me. It's not like God is saying, in your pantheon of gods, I need to be number one. He's saying, no, you worship me and me alone. You shall have no other gods in my presence. I alone am the Lord, your God. But the second commandment, you shall not make any carved image. God is saying the means by which you are to worship me is not via graven images, idols, or anything like that. Our God is worthy of worship and he directs our worship according to his word. He is worthy. His majesty is above earth and heaven. And now in verse 14, this concluding verse brings home the special relationship he has with his people. 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. Now, the Lord our God is the sovereign of creation. He is worthy of worship by all peoples. And yet we see here that he has raised up a horn. What does it mean to raise up a horn? Well, friends, in the scriptures, the horn is a symbol of power, a symbol of authority, of glory, just like you may think of the rhinoceros with his horn or the great mountain goat with his horn. That horn is a symbol of strength and power. Oftentimes it's even identified with a particular person, invested with authority. And so God is saying that he has raised up one who is glorious. He has raised up one who is mighty for his people. That is fulfilled ultimately in Christ. The Lord Jesus is the exalted one. He is the one whom God has raised up to be our redeemer. And he is the one from whom We are blessed in the Lord. Praise for all his saints. It is the Lord our God who has ordained that there would be praise. Think about that, friends. The psalmist is here saying that God will exalt his people. He will exalt and comfort his church. You know, friends, in this world, the church is quite despised. In fact, many of Jesus's parables will talk about the nature of the kingdom of God as being very small and seemingly insignificant, but then later is revealed to have great glory. Remember, Jesus said that the kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which is the smallest of all the plants in the garden. But when it is grown, it becomes a tree, and the birds of the heavens come and make their nests in the branches. Friends, though the church may at this very moment seem plagued by corruption, or sin, or weakness, or sloth. Though she may seem to be insignificant, God has promised that there will be a time of exaltation for His people. There will be a time where we will share in the glory of Christ our Savior. There's a day coming, friends, when God will exalt His people for His namesake. He has raised up a horn for His people, praise for all His saints, for the people of Israel, who are near to him. Now remember friends, the nation of Israel has had a very special vocation. God chose Abraham and he gave to him his covenant and he made to him promises. He announced to Abraham the gospel and this gospel message was transmitted to Isaac and to Jacob. and Israel was constituted as a nation and they were to know the Lord and they were to carry his promises. They were to carry his word, friends. Israel was to be the vehicle by which God would bring blessing to the nations because it would be through the nation of Israel that the Christ would come. And so friends, it's true. that it is in Christ that we are blessed. In Him, we receive mercy. For the people of Israel who are near to Him. Friends, let that be a word of exhortation to us. Are we near to the Lord? You know, friends, in Israel, there were, as there is in the church today, simply those who went through the motions. Those who went to synagogue, those who took their offerings, and it was just so much ritual. There were even profane persons like the sons of Eli, the high priest. Friends, those who are near to the Lord are those who know Him, who are hoping in His Word, trusting in His promises, seeing those promises come together in Christ, and who have a relationship with the Lord. who desire to love and worship and serve Him. So friends, it's not enough simply to be named as those who belong to a particular church, but for those who know the Lord, who are near to Him, those are His saints. And then the psalm concludes with verse 14, praise the Lord. How do we respond to the truth of God? Well, friends, we meditate on it. We give to God glory. This adoration is the fruit of a heart that has been transformed, of one whose heart has been renewed. It is the fruit of the new birth that we worship the Lord and give praise to him. So let's pray. Father, we thank you This psalm, we do pray that you would be honored in our praises. Father, thank you that you have raised up Christ to be our horn, to be our glory. And Father, we thank you that it is in Christ that we may draw near to you and may know you as our Father in heaven and enjoy and worship you. Father, we pray, lead us in this week ahead to give you praise, to think upon your majesty, to meditate on your glory. Father, we pray that you would keep us from idols. And oh Lord, we pray that our church would be marked by those who worship you in spirit and truth. For we ask it all in Jesus name. Amen.