Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 148:5
Let them praise the name of the LORD: for he commanded, and they were created.
5. for HE commanded ] HE is emphatically expressed. Cp. Psa 33:9, whence also comes the addition of the LXX, which is retained in P.B.V., HE spake the word, and they were made.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Let them praise the name of the Lord – That is, Let them praise Yahweh himself – the name being often put for the person or thing referred to.
For he commanded, and they were created – He showed his great power by merely speaking, and they came at once into being. Compare Psa 33:6, note; Psa 33:9, note.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 5. He commanded, and they were created.] He spake the word expressive of the idea in his infinite mind; and they sprang into being according to that idea.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
They owe their being wholly to Gods good will.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
5. praise the nameasrepresenting His perfections.
he commanded“He”is emphatic, ascribing creation to God alone.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Let them praise the name of the Lord,…. Set forth the glory of the nature and perfections of God, and celebrate the praise of them; even all celestial creatures, the angels, the hosts of heaven, the sun, moon, and stars; the heavens, and the haven of heavens, and the waters above them; and that for the following reasons;
for he commanded, and they were created; they are all his creatures, and therefore should praise him: he is the “Father of spirits”, of angelic spirits, as well as the spirits of men; and the “Father of lights”, of all the luminaries of the heavens; and he has made the heavens themselves, and all their hosts, and the firmament dividing the waters above and below; and all this by an almighty “fiat”, at a word of command; he spoke, and they came into being at once, Heb 12:9 Jas 1:17.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
5. Let them praise the name, etc. As he speaks of things wanting intelligence, he passes to the third person, from which we infer that his reason for having spoken in the second person hitherto, was to make a deeper impression upon men. And he asks no other praise than that which may teach us that the stars did not make themselves, nor the rains spring from chance; for notwithstanding the signal proofs we constantly have before our eyes of the divine power, we with shameful carelessness overlook the great author. He says emphatically — for He Himself created, intimating that the world is not eternal, as wicked men conjecture, nor made by a concourse of atoms, but that this fair order of things which we see, suddenly sprang forth upon the commandment of God. And, speaking of the creation, he adds what is even more worthy of observation, that he gave that law to them which remains inviolable. For many, while they grant that the world was made by God, lapse from this into the senseless notion that now the order of nature stands of itself, and that God sits idle in the heavens. The Psalmist very properly insists, therefore, that the works of God above us in the heavens were not only made by him, but even now move forward at his disposal; and that not only was a secret power communicated to them at first, but while they go through their assigned parts, their operation and ministry to their various ends is dependent upon God.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
Psa 148:5 Let them praise the name of the LORD: for he commanded, and they were created.
Ver. 5. For he commanded, and they were created ] His fiat only made all; this is celebrated by that heavenly choir, Rev 4:11 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
for he: Psa 33:6-9, Psa 95:5, Gen 1:1, Gen 1:2, Gen 1:6, Jer 10:11-13, Amo 9:6, Rev 4:11
Reciprocal: Gen 1:3 – God Gen 1:16 – to rule 1Ch 16:30 – stable Psa 33:9 – For Psa 119:91 – They continue this Psa 146:6 – made heaven Isa 48:13 – when Jer 10:12 – hath made
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 148:5-6. Let them praise the name of the Lord Who hath set forth his most transcendent wisdom, power, and magnificence in such a variety of stupendous works, that there is not the smallest of them, but ministers such matter of praise and admiration to those who attentively consider them, that they cannot but wish, with the psalmist here, that every one of them were able to tell us how much skill he hath shown in its contrivance; or that we were able to find it out and comprehend it. He commanded, and they were created They owe their existence wholly to his will and pleasure. He hath also established them for ever and ever To the end of the world. They are, by his superintending and watchful providence, constantly preserved and continued. He made a decree, &c. That is, prescribed rules to the heavens, the stars, and other creatures, as to their situation, motion, and influence; which, though inanimate, they never transgress. Dodd.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
These heavenly entities should praise Yahweh because He created them all by His command. The order of creation in this psalm generally follows the order of Genesis 1, though the writer took some poetic liberty. Furthermore, these created things continue to exist as they do because God made a decree that they should endure as long as He wills. The Canaanites worshipped the stars and planets, so this psalm would have been a polemic against their idolatry.