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Psalm 148 New International Version (NIV)1?Praise the Lord.[a]Praise the Lord from the heavens;????praise him in the heights above.2?Praise him, all his angels;????praise him, all his heavenly hosts.3?Praise him, sun and moon;????praise him, all you shining stars.4?Praise him, you highest heavens????and you waters above the skies.5?Let them praise the name of the Lord,????for at his command they were created,6?and he established them for ever and ever—????he issued a decree that will never pass away.7?Praise the Lord from the earth,????you great sea creatures and all ocean depths,8?lightning and hail, snow and clouds,????stormy winds that do his bidding,9?you mountains and all hills,????fruit trees and all cedars,10?wild animals and all cattle,????small creatures and flying birds,11?kings of the earth and all nations,????you princes and all rulers on earth,12?young men and women,????old men and children.13?Let them praise the name of the Lord,????for his name alone is exalted;????his splendour is above the earth and the heavens.14?And he has raised up for his people a horn,[b]????the praise of all his faithful servants,????of Israel, the people close to his heart.Praise the Lord.Luke 19 New International Version (NIV)Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King37 When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:38?“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”[b]“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”39?Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”40?“I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones (rocks) will cry out.”IntroductionIntroductory Slide - 1Psalm 148…sits within a group of Psalms…146-150…which…at the end of the Psalter…act as a call to praise….…and these Psalms…form what is known as an inclusio…that is…they are framed or bookended by the same set of words…in this instance…Slide - 2Praise the Lord!... (Psalm 146:1 & Psalm 150:6)And…if you look closely…you will see that…not only are all 5 Psalms arranged in this way…but each of the 5 Psalms are also arranged within this pattern…for…each Psalm starts and finishes with…Praise the Lord!...Which is all very interesting…but…it is arranged this way…no doubt…in order that the reader pick up something the writer is trying to stress…put great emphasis on…Praise the Lord!...I think we have got that now!...but lets’ take a look at the reasons for praising Him…and I think that we will find that the created order…is very much a part of the reason…Slide – 2 X 2One Living OrganismRemembering what was said a couple of weeks ago…when we looked at Genesis chapter 1…and all that God had created was good…and man….and woman…were a part of it…the way that I phrased it was…The Earth is the Lord’s…and we are all in it…But you might be forgiven for thinking…we are all on it…I guess we are on it…but…in it…a part of it…I believe…would be a better way of thinking of things biblically…and a better perspective in terms of how we think ecologically…From the perspective of an inhabitant of the earth…we could well take the view that we are simply put on it…we look about us and see modern civilisation towering above nature in the form of sky scrappers and motorways…great cities and industrial areas expanding across the earth like spiders webs…Human beings…are top of the pile and everything else is beneath it…According to Moltmann…with the advances of technology which has taken us up into space…and satellite pictures which look down from great height…We can see that we are not just on it…but that we live in it…In fact…according to the Gaia hypothesis…a theory advanced by two scientists…James Lovelock and Lynn Margulis…back in the 1970’s…the earth is one living organism…Incidentally they called their theory after the Greek goddess Gaia…who personified the earth…But…although it has been disputed at times...the theory holds that the earth itself…including the biosphere…atmosphere and whatever other sphere you enter into…is one living whole…Of course…I am not qualified to speak in scientific terms…but strangely enough…the reason for praising God in this Psalm…is because He has created the heavens and the earth…and everything in it…on its surface…and beneath the waters…as well as in the air…And…in the ancient Hebrew way of understanding…God…had created all of this…in a manner that a god builds a temple…then lives within it…but…he is not personified by it…He dwells with His image bearers…who praise Him…because of the very fact that He created it…is in it…and above it…Slide – 3 X 2 clicksLet them praise the name of the Lord,for at his command they were created,and he established them for ever and ever—he issued a decree that will never pass away… (Psalm 148:5-6)Let them praise the name of the Lord,????for his name alone is exalted;????his splendour is above the earth and the heavens… (Psalm 148:13)Slide - 4Two Movements of PraiseAnd…although the picture that we are given here…is of one living thing…that is the heavens…which probably means beyond the sky including the heavenly host of sun moon and stars…It also includes the earth below…There are two movements of praise…that is from the heavens…and from earth…From Heaven…verses 1-6…When we praise God…we should remember that all of creation is an answer to the call to praise the creator…Therefore…when we praise…we praise in the company of angels…The sun…the moon…the stars are an expression of praise towards Him…as is the waters above the sky…In ancient cosmology…the sky was a canopy which held back the rain…given that the rain came down sometimes…and sometimes something held it back…there must be something their which controlled that…so they thought that the sky…was what held back the rain…We may find it strange to think of inanimate objects being summonsed to praise…But…although men and women may hold a special place within creation…this Psalm…and others like it…show us that God’s plan for creation…all of it… are created for praising him…in their own way…It may help us to remember that…as we form a view of the whole of creation from an ecological perspective…Why…would we do anything else but care for God’s creation…which is clearly important to Him…Slide – 4 X 2nd & 3rd clicksFrom Earth…verses 7-14…Likewise…There is a call to worship extended to all that is of the earth…and the sea…including trees and all kinds of creatures and birds…Even…lightning…snow…hail and stormy winds…Including all kinds of people…princes…rulers…young men…women and children…All…are created for His splendour…And note how the focus zooms in on a special people…Israel…a people who could share in God’s rule over the created order…a very part of it themselves…people close to God’s heart…verse 14…And yet…perfect sounding as this Psalm is…we know that the covenant relationship between creator of His people…often broke down…And in order to help with the establishment of His Rule…God set up a horn…as verse 14 says…Slide - 5And he has raised up for his people a horn, ????the praise of all his faithful servants,????of Israel, the people close to his heart… (Psalm 148:14)It’s a strange word to us…it appears also in the book of Daniel and Revelation…The symbol of the lifted horn can refer to a powerful oppressor…it can also mean strength in a good way and in this instance it refers to David…God’s representative…who executes God’s will on earth…over His special people…and in relationship to the whole earth…not exploiting it…Read the old testament law and you get the fact that the care of creation…Sabbath rest from work and for the land…crop rotation and all kinds of things…are included…And God…had raised up a ruler…for His people…to oversee it all on His behalf…Slide - 6One King of Heaven and EarthSo we have…one living organism…two movements of praise…coming together as one actually…And one King…in this instance David…who was a fore type of Christ…Jesus…who is the one high king of heaven and earth…Prior to communism…the Emperor was the one who kept harmony between heaven and earth…the old imperial palace…in the so-called forgotten city…was the place of the ‘middle kingdom’…The emperor ruled over religious and political matters...and was tasked with holding the peace between heaven…and earth…including a great respect for all that we would call creation…Now…I am not trying to win you over to Buddhism…Confucianism or anything else…but…Moltmann makes the point that the emperor of China...was probably the last priest-emperor in the world…Teachings which decreed that there was no difference between sacred and profane…have given way to a type of rule which seems to separate out that which is earthly…In the name of progress…we have neglected divine wisdom…such as is given to us in the bible…including psalms and wisdom teaching…as such that our progress…tears down the forests…dredges the seas…and creates barren waste lands…We…humans…are the top of the pile…and now we are even planning to leave this planet…if we don’t self destruct-beforehand…Slide - 7FinallyYou may be wondering why I asked John to read for us that short section from Luke 19:37-40…Jesus…had been heading towards Jerusalem…attracting attention by performing great miracles which defied the normal created order…turning water into wine…healing the sick…restoring sight to the blind…Here was the Messiah…God’s horn…for His…people the oppressed ones of Israel…And…when challenged by Pharisees…men who had lost connection with God’s true plan for bringing salvation to earth…and they served a tyrant king…and failed to recognise the one raised up by their God…Jesus said to them…if these people…who see the truth…who sing the truth…who’s eyes have been opened or realigned to recognise the one before them…“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”… (Luke 19:38)Even if they stop praising…“I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”… (Luke 19:40)Think about it…he may have just been using hyperbole…as He did…or He may well have been speaking in the wisdom tradition which saw all of creation as one expression of praise…to the Lord…the creator…Jesus…as we know from what happened after this in Jerusalem…was enthroned on a Cross and exalted to Heaven…to rule…over Heaven and Earth…And we dare not neglect to praise Him…for in our submission to our rule over our lives…we can occupy the ‘middle kingdom’…in a true sense of the world…that is living under Heaven’s rule…on earth…I just want to offer that as something to take away and consider…when faced with the challenging thought as to where we fit into things…in light of a world in crisis…ecologically and other ways…Your place in it…your choices and responses matter...because, we matter to God…In closing I want to share a short video…with a song to encourage you to keep praising…keep singing…it also links together these two passages very well… ................
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