Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 148:7
Praise the LORD from the earth, ye dragons, and all deeps:
7. dragons, and all deeps ] The sea-monsters of Gen 1:21, and the depths of ocean which they were supposed to inhabit [90] .
[90] Robertson Smith ( Rel. of the Semites, p. 161) suggests that the tannn is a personification of the waterspout.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
7 13. Let earth and all that is therein praise Jehovah for the revelation of His majesty.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Praise the Lord from the earth – From among those who dwell on the earth. In respect to terrestrial objects, let these also unite in the praise of God.
Ye dragons – On the meaning of this word, see Psa 91:13, note; Isa 13:22, note. The word may mean a great fish, a whale, a sea monster, or a serpent. It would seem to refer here to whales and sea monsters. See the notes at Rev 12:3.
And all deeps – All that are in the depths of the sea. Not merely the dragons or sea monsters, but all that inhabit the oceans.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 7. Praise the Lord from the earth] As in the first address, he calls upon the heavens and all that belong to them; so here, in this second part, he calls upon the earth, and all that belong to it.
Ye dragons] tanninim, whales, porpoises, sharks, and sea-monsters of all kinds.
And all deeps] Whatsoever is contained in the sea, whirlpools, eddies, ground tides, with the astonishing flux and reflux of the ocean.
Every thing, in its place and nature, shows forth the perfections of its Creator.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Either,
1. Dragons and serpents, which abide in the deep caverns and holes of the earth; or,
2. Whales or other sea-monsters, which dwell in the depths of the sea, which are oft called by this name, as Job 7:12; Eze 29:3, and elsewhere, as the word here rendered
deeps is most commonly used concerning the sea.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
7-10. The call on the earth, asopposed to heaven, includes seas or depths, whoseinhabitants the dragon, as one of the largest (on leviathan, see onPs 104:26), is selected torepresent. The most destructive and ungovernable agents of inanimatenature are introduced.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Praise the Lord from the earth,…. Let his praise resound from all creatures on earth, and reach him in the highest heavens; this phrase comprehends all terrestrial beings afterwards particularly mentioned; all in the terraqueous globe, all that arise from it, are upon it, or within it;
ye dragons, and all deeps; either land dragons, or rather sea dragons, the water or sea being the proper place of them, Ps 44:19; these, as cruel, as poisonous, and pernicious as they are, are made to honour and praise the Lord, Isa 43:20; and such as are mystically signified by, them, as Satan, tyrannical and persecuting princes, and antichristian ones, as Pharaoh king of Egypt, Rome Pagan and Papal; out of whom the Lord has or will get himself praise in the deliverance of his people from them, and in the destruction of them, and in the confessions they have been obliged to make of him,
Re 12:3; these seem to be set in contrast with the angels. The word is used for the great whales the Lord made, which are thought to be the same with the “leviathan” of Job; of whom so many things are said, which declare the power and wisdom of God in the formation of it, Ge 1:21, c. and these may be put for the innumerable creatures in the sea, which in their way show forth the praise and glory of God, Ps 102:24 as “all deeps” do, deep waters, especially the depths of the sea, and the inhabitants of them; where the wonders of God are to be seen, and give occasion to those that go down to the sea in ships to praise his name,
Ps 107:23.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The call to the praise of Jahve is now turned, in the second group of verses, to the earth and everything belonging to it in the widest extent. Here too , like , Psa 148:1, is intended of the place whence the praise is to resound, and not according to Psa 10:18 of earthly beings. The call is addressed in the first instance to the sea-monsters or dragons (Psa 74:13), i.e., as Pindar ( Nem. iii. 23f.) expresses it, ‘ , and to the surging mass of waters ( ) above and within the earth. Then to four phenomena of nature, coming down from heaven and ascending heavenwards, which are so arranged in Psa 148:8, after the model of the chiasmus (crosswise position), that fire and smoke ( ), more especially of the mountains (Exo 19:18), hail and snow stand in reciprocal relation; and to the storm-wind ( , an appositional construction, as in Psa 107:25), which, beside a seeming freeness and untractableness, performs God’s word. What is said of this last applies also to the fire, etc.; all these phenomena of nature are messengers and servants of God, Psa 104:4, cf. Psa 103:20. When the poet wishes that they all may join in concert with the rest of the creatures to the praise of God, he excepts the fact that they frequently become destructive powers executing judicial punishment, and only has before his mind their (more especially to the inhabitant of Palestine, to whom the opportunity of seeing hail, snow, and ice was more rare than with us, imposing) grandeur and their relatedness to the whole of creation, which is destined to glorify God and to be itself glorified. He next passes over to the mountains towering towards the skies and to all the heights of earth; to the fruit-trees, and to the cedars, the kings among the trees of the forest; to the wild beasts, which are called because they represent the most active and powerful life in the animal world, and to all quadrupeds, which, more particularly the four-footed domestic animals, are called ; to the creeping things ( ) which cleave to the ground as they move along; and to the birds, which are named with the descriptive epithet winged ( as in Deu 4:17, cf. Gen 7:14; Eze 39:17, instead of , Gen 1:21). And just as the call in Ps 103 finds its centre of gravity, so to speak, at last in the soul of man, so here it is addressed finally to humanity, and that, because mankind lives in nations and is comprehended under the law of a state commonwealth, in the first instance to its heads: the kings of the earth, i.e., those who rule over the earth by countries, to the princes and all who have the administration of justice and are possessed of supreme power on the earth, then to men of both sexes and of every age.
All the beings mentioned from Psa 148:1 onwards are to praise the Name of Jahve; for His Name, He (the God of this Name) alone (Isa 2:11; Psa 72:18) is , so high that no name reaches up to Him, not even from afar; His glory (His glorious self-attestation) extends over earth and heaven (vid., Psa 8:2). , without our being able and obliged to decide which, introduces the matter and the ground of the praise; and the fact that the desire of the poet comprehends in all the beings mentioned is seen from his saying “earth and heaven,” as he glances back from the nearer things mentioned to those mentioned farther off (cf. Gen 2:4). In Psa 148:14 the statement of the object and of the ground of the praise is continued. The motive from which the call to all creatures to Hallelujah proceeds, viz., the new mercy which God has shown towards His people, is also the final ground of the Hallelujah which is to sound forth; for the church of God on earth is the central-point of the universe, the aim of the history of the world, and the glorifying of this church is the turning-point for the transformation of the world. It is not to be rendered: He hath exalted the horn of His people, any more than in Psa 132:17: I will make the horn of David to shoot forth. The horn in both instances is one such as the person named does not already possess, but which is given him (different from Psa 89:18, Psa 89:25; Psa 92:11, and frequently). The Israel of the Exile had lost its horn, i.e., its comeliness and its defensive and offensive power. God has now given it a horn again, and that a high one, i.e., has helped Israel to attain again an independence among the nations that commands respect. In Ps 132, where the horn is an object of the promise, we might directly understand by it the Branch ( Zemach ). Here, where the poet speaks out of his own present age, this is at least not the meaning which he associates with the words. What now follows is an apposition to : He has raised up a horn for His people – praise (we say: to the praise of; cf. the New Testament ) to all His saints, the children of Israel, the people who stand near Him. Others, as Hengstenberg, take as a second object, but we cannot say . Israel is called , the people of His near = of His nearness or vicinity (Kster), as Jerusalem is called in Ecc 8:10 instead of (Ew. 287, a, b). It might also be said, according to Lev 10:3, , the nation of those who are near to Him (as the Targum renders it). In both instances is the governing noun, as, too, surely is in ni , Zec 13:7, which need not signify, by going back to the abstract primary signification of , a man of my near fellowship, but can also signify a man of my neighbour, i.e., my nearest man, according to Ew. loc. cit. (cf. above on Psa 145:10). As a rule, the principal form of is pointed ; and it is all the more unnecessary, with Olshausen and Hupfeld, to take the construction as adjectival for . It might, with Hitzig after Aben-Ezra, be more readily regarded as appositional (to a people, His near, i.e., standing near to Him). We have here an example of the genitival subordination, which is very extensive in Hebrew, instead of an appositional co-ordination: populo propinqui sui , in connection with which propinqui may be referred back to propinquum = propinquitas , but also to propinquus (literally: a people of the kind of one that is near to Him). Thus is Israel styled in Deu 4:7. In the consciousness of the dignity which lies in this name, the nation of the God of the history of salvation comes forward in this Psalm as the leader ( choragus ) of all creatures, and strikes up a Hallelujah that is to be followed by heaven and earth.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| An Invitation to Praise. | |
7 Praise the LORD from the earth, ye dragons, and all deeps: 8 Fire, and hail; snow, and vapour; stormy wind fulfilling his word: 9 Mountains, and all hills; fruitful trees, and all cedars: 10 Beasts, and all cattle; creeping things, and flying fowl: 11 Kings of the earth, and all people; princes, and all judges of the earth: 12 Both young men, and maidens; old men, and children: 13 Let them praise the name of the LORD: for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven. 14 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.
Considering that this earth, and the atmosphere that surrounds it, are the very sediment of the universe, it concerns us to enquire after those considerations that may be of use to reconcile us to our place in it; and I know none more likely than this (next to the visit which the Son of God once made to it), that even in this world, dark and as bad as it is, God is praised: Praise you the Lord from the earth, v. 7. As the rays of the sun, which are darted directly from heaven, reflect back (though more weakly) from the earth, so should the praises of God, with which this cold and infected world should be warmed and perfumed.
I. Even those creatures that are not dignified with the powers of reason are summoned into this concert, because God may be glorified in them, v. 7-10. Let the dragons or whales, that sport themselves in the mighty waters (Ps. civ. 26), dance before the Lord, to his glory, who largely proves his own omnipotence by his dominion over the leviathan or whale, Job xli. 1, c. All deeps, and their inhabitants, praise God–the sea, and the animals there–the bowels of the earth, and the animals there. Out of the depths God may be praised as well as prayed unto. If we look up into the atmosphere we meet with a great variety of meteors, which, being a king of new productions (and some of them unaccountable), do in a special manner magnify the power of the great Creator. There are fiery meteors lightning is fire, and there are other blazes sometimes kindled which may be so called. There are watery meteors, hail, and snow, and the vapours of which they are gendered. There are airy meteors, stormy winds; we know not whence they come nor whither they go, whence their mighty force comes nor how it is spent; but this we know, that, be they ever so strong, so stormy, they fulfil God’s word, and do that, and no more than that, which he appoints them; and by this Christ showed himself to have a divine power, that he commanded even the winds and the seas, and they obeyed him. Those that will not fulfil God’s word, but rise up in rebellion against it, show themselves to be more violent and headstrong than even the stormy winds, for they fulfil it. Take a view of the surface of the earth (v. 9), and there are presented to our view the exalted grounds, mountains and all hills, from the barren tops of some of which, and the fruitful tops of others, we may fetch matter for praise; there are the exalted plants, some that are exalted by their usefulness, as the fruitful trees of various kinds, for the fruits of which God is to be praised, others by their stateliness, as all cedars, those trees of the Lord, Ps. civ. 16. Cedars, the high trees, are not the fruitful trees, yet they had their use even in God’s temple. Pass we next to the animal kingdom, and there we find God glorified, even by the beasts that run wild, and all cattle that are tame and in the service of man, v. 10. Nay, even the creeping things have not sunk so low, nor do the flying fowl soar so high, as not to be called upon to praise the Lord. Much of the wisdom, power, and goodness of the Creator appears in the several capacities and instincts of the creatures, in the provision made for them and the use made of them. When we see all so very strange, and all so very good, surely we cannot but acknowledge God with wonder and thankfulness.
II. Much more those creatures that are dignified with the powers of reason ought to employ them in praising God: Kings of the earth and all people,Psa 148:11; Psa 148:12. 1. God is to be glorified in and for these, as in and for the inferior creatures, for their hearts are in the hand of the Lord and he makes what use he pleases of them. God is to be praised in the order and constitution of kingdoms, the pars imperans–the part that commands, and the pars subdita–the part that is subject: Kings of the earth and all people. It is by him that kings reign, and people are subject to them; the princes and judges of the earth have their wisdom and their commission from him, and we, to whom they are blessings, ought to bless God for them. God is to be praised also in the constitution of families, for he is the founder of them; and for all the comfort of relations, the comfort that parents and children, brothers and sisters, have in each other, God is to be praised. 2. God is to be glorified by these. Let all manner of persons praise God. (1.) Those of each rank, high and low. The praises of kings, and princes, and judges, are demanded; those on whom God has put honour must honour him with it, and the power they are entrusted with, and the figure they make in the world, put them in a capacity of bringing more glory to God and doing him more service than others. Yet the praises of the people are expected also, and God will graciously accept of them; Christ despised not the hosannas of the multitude. (2.) Those of each sex, young men and maidens, who are accustomed to make merry together; let them turn their mirth into this channel; let it be sacred, that it may be pure. (3.) Those of each age. Old men must still bring forth this fruit in old age, and not think that either the gravity or the infirmity of their age will excuse them from it; and children too must begin betimes to praise God; even out of the mouth of babes and sucklings this good work is perfected. A good reason is given (v. 13) why all these should praise the name of the Lord, because his name alone is excellent and worthy to be praised; it is a name above every name, no name, no nature, but his, has in it all excellency. His glory is above both the earth and the heaven, and let all inhabitants both of earth and heaven praise him and yet acknowledge his name to be exalted far above all blessing and praise.
III. Most of all his own people, who are dignified with peculiar privileges, must in a peculiar manner give glory to him, v. 14. Observe, 1. The dignity God has put upon his people, even the children of Israel, typical of the honour reserved for all true believers, who are God’s spiritual Israel. He exalts their horn, their brightness, their plenty, their power. The people of Israel were, in many respects, honoured above any other nation, for to them pertained the adoption, the glory, and the covenants, Rom. ix. 4. It was their own honour that they were a people near unto God, his Segulla, his peculiar treasure; they were admitted into his courts, when a stranger that came nigh must be put to death. They had him nigh to them in all that which they called upon him for. This blessing has not come upon the Gentiles, through Christ, for those that were afar off are by his blood made nigh, Eph. ii. 13. It is the greatest honour that can be put upon a man to be brought near to god, the nearer the better; and it will be best of all when nearest of all in the kingdom of glory. 2. The duty God expects from them in consideration of this. Let those whom God honours honour him: Praise you the Lord. Let him be the praise of all his saints, the object of their praise; for he is a praise to them. He is thy praise, and he is thy God, Deut. x. 21. Some by the horn of his people understand David, as a type of Christ, whom God has exalted to be a prince and a Saviour, who is indeed the praise of all his saints and will be so for ever; for it is through him that they are a people near to God.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
7. Praise Jehovah, etc. He now comes to the lower parts of the world; although deviating at the same time from the exact order, he mixes up such things as are produced in the air — lightning’s, snow, ice, and storms. These should rather have been placed among the former class, but he has respect to the common apprehension of men. The scope of the whole is, that wherever we turn our eyes we meet with evidences of the power of God. He speaks first of the whales; for, as he mentions the abysses or deeps immediately afterwards, I have no doubt that by תנינים, tanninim, he means fishes of the sea, such as whales. It is only reasonable to think that matter for praising God should be taken from the sea, which is fraught with so many wonders. He then ascends to hail, snows, and storms, which he says fulfill the word of God; for it is not by an effect of chance that the heavens are clouded, or that a single drop of rain falls from the clouds, or that the thunders rage, but one and all of these changes depend upon the secret will of God, whether he will show his goodness to the children of men in irrigating the earth, or punish their sins by tempest, hail, or other calamities. The passage contains instruction of various kinds, as, for example, that when dearth impends, however parched the earth may be by long continued heat, God can promptly send rain which will remove the drought at his pleasure. If from incessant rains, on the other hand, the seed rot in the ground, or the crops do not come to maturity, we should pray for fair weather. If we are alarmed by thunder, we are taught to pray to God, for as it is he who sends it in his anger, so he can still all the troubled elements. And we are not to take up the narrow view of this truth which irreligious men advocate, that things in nature merely move according to the laws impressed upon them from the beginning, while God stands by idle, but are to hold firmly that God watches over his creatures, and that nothing can take place without his present disposal, as we have seen, Psa 104:4 that
“
he maketh the winds his messengers, and his ministers a flaming fire.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(7) EarthThe invocation now passes downwards, and the first sound of terrestrial praise is to come, according to the order of Creation in Genesis 1, from the sea-monsters (for which see Note, Psa. 74:13; Psa. 91:13), the deeps being added to include all great waters in which such creatures are found.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
7. Praise the Lord from the earth Here begins the second division of the psalm. Having summoned the celestial beings and worlds to the grand chorus of the universe, the author now calls upon the earth. But he reverses the order. In the former he began with the highest heavens; in the latter, with the lowest depths.
Dragons, and all deeps Sea monsters and all unfathomed abysses of the ocean.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Psa 148:7. Praise the Lord from the earth Praise the Lord, ye [or ye creatures] of the earth; ye sea-animals, or crocodiles, or whales, &c. And so the first verse should be rendered, praise the Lord, ye [or ye inhabitants] of the heavens; which are first enumerated, and then from this verse, the inhabitants of the earth. See Delaney’s Life of David, book 1: chap. 17.
REFLECTIONS.1st, The Psalmist calls on heaven to begin the hallelujah, and earth must echo back the sound.
1. The heavens, and angelic hosts who them inhabit, the first of God’s creation, who in the heights of glory nearest approach his throne of light inaccessible, are addressed, as those who with the most exalted praises should lead the song. Not that these bright spirits are backward to the work, or silent, day or night, in the delightful service; but the Psalmist would express the fervency of his own desires, that God should be glorified by the highest and noblest of his creatures; and would stir up himself and others to the work, which is the happiness and employment of all these sons of God in glory. Note; We in nothing more resemble angels, than when we sing the high praises of our God.
2. Not only the intellectual beings of the upper world, but the creatures void of reason, must shew forth his praise. Those orbs of light, that shed on this earth their benign influences; the sun, the moon, and glittering stars, shine audibly, and in the ear of enlightened reason proclaim aloud the glory of their great Creator. Praise him, ye heaven of heavens; and, ye waters that be above the heavens, divided by the firmament from the waters beneath, all must praise the name of the Lord; for by his power they were made, by his providence they are upheld, and their duration is fixed by him.
2nd, From the celestial world and upper regions the Psalmist descends to this terrestrial globe, from which a tribute of praise should ascend from every creature, whether intelligent, irrational, or inanimate.
1. The sea and its inhabitants are called on to praise the Lord. The dragons, or whales, and all deeps; the shoals of fish that swim beneath the waters, from the least unto the greatest, declare their Maker’s work.
2. The meteors of the sky, and exhalations, fire, hail, snow, vapours, stormy winds, all fulfil his word, go forth at his bidding, and are stayed at his command.
3. The earth, and all that dwell therein; mountains, hills, fruitful trees, and cedars; creatures though inanimate, rise up to praise him; while every beast of the forest, the lowing herds, the bleating flocks, and every reptile, and every flying fowl, join in their adoration, all admirably suited for the station they fill, and corresponding with their Maker’s great design.
4. The rational creatures, endowed with speech, that as the tongue of this lower world they might present the tribute of all the creatures, are enjoined to raise the song. High and low, rich and poor, young and old, of either sex, must unite their praises. None so great as to be excused, none so low as to be despised, from lisping infancy to decrepit age. And reason good there is for so doing; for his name alone is excellent; none like him, none to compare with him: his glory is above the earth and heaven, exalted far above all blessing and praise which the creatures in both can render.
5. From his Israel he hath especial demands of gratitude. They are his people, exalted to the highest state of dignity, even to be called saints, and brought near unto him, in a covenant of grace through the Redeemer; admitted into a state of communion with him, and enjoying the distinguishing tokens of his favour; and therefore most justly doth he deserve to be their praise, the great and glorious object of it in time and in eternity. Amen. Hallelujah.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
From heaven, the sacred writer descends to the earth, and calls upon everything, and every object he meets with, or can recall to his mind, to join the hymn, in honour of the One glorious Lord and Maker of all.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 148:7 Praise the LORD from the earth, ye dragons, and all deeps:
Ver. 7. Praise the Lord from the earth ] The psalmist proceedeth to factor for God among the inferior creatures; beginning with the lowest in the waters beneath, as the dragons or great whales; and then coming to rain and snow, &c., which are made out of the waters above.
Ye dragons, and all deeps
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Psa 148:7-12
7Praise the Lord from the earth,
Sea monsters and all deeps;
8Fire and hail, snow and clouds;
Stormy wind, fulfilling His word;
9Mountains and all hills;
Fruit trees and all cedars;
10Beasts and all cattle;
Creeping things and winged fowl;
11Kings of the earth and all peoples;
Princes and all judges of the earth;
12Both young men and virgins;
Old men and children.
Psa 148:7-12 This strophe focuses on the praise (one verb covers Psa 148:7-12, each line assumes praise) of living things on this planet.
1. sea monsters (BDB 1072) – this is used in several senses
a. snake – Exo 7:9-10; Exo 7:12; Deu 32:33; Psa 91:13
b. dragon – Jer 51:34 (also note name of the gate in Neh 2:13)
c. sea monsters – see online notes at Gen 1:21; Isa 27:1
2. all deeps (BDB 1062) – this is used in several senses
a. subterranean waters (salt), cf. Gen 7:11; Gen 8:2; Job 28:4; Job 38:16; Psa 33:7; Psa 107:23-26; Psa 135:6; Isa 51:10; Amo 7:4
b. fresh water – usually in reference to crossing of the Red Sea, cf. Exo 15:5; Exo 15:8; Psa 77:17; Psa 78:15; Psa 106:9; Isa 63:13
c. primeval waters – Gen 1:2; Psa 104:6-7; Pro 8:27, see Special Topic: Waters (water is never said to be spoken into existence in Genesis 1)
d. Sheol – Psa 71:20 (see Special Topic: Sheol)
3. Psa 148:7-8 lists weather and topological features of the earth
4. Psa 148:10 covers all created animal life
5. Psa 148:11-12 lists human beings of all social levels and ages
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
the earth. Note the change and see Structure above.
dragons = sea monsters.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
from the earth: Psa 148:1
ye dragons: Psa 74:13, Psa 74:14, Psa 104:25, Psa 104:26, Gen 1:21, Job 41:1-34, Isa 27:1, Isa 43:20, Isa 51:9, Isa 51:10
Reciprocal: 1Ki 13:28 – the lion had Psa 150:6 – Let every thing Son 2:12 – time
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 148:7. Praise the Lord from the earth, ye dragons, and all deeps From heaven above the psalmist descends to the deep beneath, which, while it proclaims the power, observes the laws and decrees of him who made it, and poured it abroad. And the same may be said of its enormous inhabitants, which are under the command of Jehovah, and of none but him. By dragons here, we may either understand serpents, which abide in the deep caverns or holes of the earth; or, rather, whales, crocodiles, and other sea monsters, which dwell in the depths of the sea, or of rivers, and are often intended by the word , here rendered dragons.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
148:7 Praise the LORD from the earth, ye {e} dragons, and all deeps:
(e) Meaning the great and monstrous fishes, as whales and such like.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
2. Praise for exalting Israel 148:7-14
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Parallel to the heavenly multitudes, the psalmist next called on all of the earthly multitudes to praise Yahweh. Again he personified inanimate objects and listed various representative groups. Some merisms express the totality of the group, such as "old men and children" (Psa 148:12), an expression that represents people of all ages. The pagans also worshipped creatures and natural formations, which this psalm shows are Yahweh’s creations. [Note: On the subject of God’s direct responsibility for all destructive windstorms, see Robert B. Chisholm Jr., "How a Hermeneutical Virus Can Corrupt Theological Systems," Bibliotheca Sacra 166:663 (July-September 2009):267-69.]