"Let them praise the name of the LORD, for He commanded and they were created" (Ps. 148:5).
Romans 1 tells us that “since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse” (Rom. 1:20). God’s mighty works of creation sing forth His praises, testifying to His glory and His creative powers. Indeed, for this purpose they were created. Like Romans 1, Psalm 148 reminds God’s creation to carry out the responsibility given to it—to praise the Lord and glorify His name.
From angels to paupers, from stars to grains of sands, from birds in the air to fish in the sea comes the music of praise. All the earth is a theater of His glory. No nation is excluded, no man, no woman, no child has permission to forego this most sacred duty. All who do not praise God as they ought will bear the wrath poured upon all those who suppress the truth He has revealed to them. “There is no part of the world in which the praises of God are not to be heard, inasmuch as He everywhere gives proof of His power, goodness, and wisdom,” Calvin wrote.
While it is clear how the angels praise God, how do the sun and the stars praise Him since they are created mute? They do not praise the Lord with audible voices as some pagan religions would claim, but they manifest praise by their very existence. God’s works give Him praise by the glory of their nature as they display God’s wisdom in their creation. The psalmist “intimates that the glory of God is everywhere to be seen, as if they sang His praises with an audible voice,” Calvin wrote. “And here he tacitly reproves the ingratitude of man; for all would hear this symphony, were they at all intent upon considering the works of God. For doth not the sun by his light, and heat, and other marvelous effects, praise his Maker? The stars when they run their course, and at once adorn the heavens and give light to the earth, do they not sound the praises of God?”
Men have failed to praise God because, in their wickedness, they worship idols of their own making. Only those who have been renewed by the Spirit of Christ praise God as they ought. In a world where men are silenced by sin, God’s children must sing that much louder, as a testimony to the One whose name alone is exalted.
Read Romans 1. How have you seen man suppress the truth of God made clear to them? Why is no one without excuse? What is the consequence for not praising God and glorifying Him? What are some idols man has fashioned today? Are you faithful in praising God as a testimony to a world that has neglected this duty?
