A manual of the book of Psalms · Martin Luther
PSALM CXLVIII.
_The Psalmist exhorteth the celestial, the terrestrial, and the rational creatures to praise God._ Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the LORD from the heavens: praise him in the heights. Praise ye him, all his angels: praise ye him, all his hosts. Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light. Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that _be_ above the heavens. Let them praise the name of the LORD: for he commanded, and they were created. He hath also stablished them for ever and ever: he hath made a decree which shall not pass. Praise the LORD from the earth, ye dragons, and all deeps: Fire and hail; snow and vapour; stormy wind fulfilling his word: Mountains, and all hills; fruitful trees, and all cedars: Beasts, and all cattle; creeping things, and flying fowl: Kings of the earth, and all people; princes, and all judges of the earth: Both young men and maidens; old men and children: Let them praise the name of the LORD: for his name alone is excellent; his glory _is_ above the earth and heaven. He also exalteth the horn of his people, the praise of all his saints; _even_ of the children of Israel, a people near unto him. Praise ye the LORD. This is a Psalm of thanksgiving; wherein the Psalmist calls upon, and exhorts all creatures, both in heaven and in earth, to praise God; calling more especially on his saints, the children of Israel, among whom is the word and the worship of God.
In this Psalm you may remark this blessed doctrine, that all orders of men, all kinds of life, which are created of God, are good,—that is, kings, magistrates, judges, young men, old men, &c. For if to hold the office of a magistrate and to hear and judge causes were of itself wicked, then such magistrates could not call upon and praise God, nor would the Holy Spirit exhort them in this Psalm to that praise of God. And where there are magistrates and laws, kings and princes, there also there are subjects, town-sergeants and constables. And there also there must be artificers in the cities, and men-servants and maid-servants, and countrymen, and soldiers, &c. And, again, where there are young men and old men, there are also wives and children, and so whole families and households. All these things are good and holy gifts of God, and by no means to be condemned or refused, as the pope blasphemously saith they are. All these things, moreover, show that their all-high and Almighty Creator is good; and that all these his good creatures ought to speak his praise, to sound it forth with thousands of tongues, and to celebrate this infinite goodness and the countless and unspeakable mercies of God!
If, therefore, thou desirest, contrary to the blasphemous doctrine of the pope, and all like him, to know how supremely good all the creatures of God are, from the least of them even to the greatest of them; then, suppose to thyself that one of these creatures, out of the universal whole, were deficient or wanting, for one short moment; suppose there were no fire or no sun for a moment’s space even; suppose there were no women, no infantine offspring;—suppose, I say, any deficiency of this kind: by this thought thou wilt immediately feel that no one can sufficiently praise God, even for one of his creatures? And how many creatures has he formed! What worlds of goodness has he created!
Text from Project Gutenberg, public domain in the United States.