Hallelujah!
Praise the Lord from the heavens; give praise in the heights.
Praise him, all you angels; give praise, all you hosts.
Praise him, sun and moon; give praise all shining stars.
Praise him, highest heavens, you waters above the heavens.
Let them all praise the Lord's name; for the Lord commanded and they were created,
Assigned them duties forever, gave them tasks that will never change.
Praise
the Lord from the earth, you sea monsters and all deep waters;
You lightning and hail, snow and clouds, storm winds that fulfill his command;
You mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars;
You animals wild and tame, you creatures that crawl and fly;
You kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all who govern the earth;
Young men and women too, old and young alike.
Let them all praise the Lord's name, for his name alone is exalted, majestic above earth and heaven.
The Lord has lifted high the horn of his people, to the glory of all the faithful, of Israel, the people near to their God.
Hallelujah!
The New American Bible, copyright © 1970
(including the Revised New Testament © 1986). All rights reserved.
Calling them by name, the psalmist arranges everything in order: The sky is above, with two heavenly bodies according to the time of day, together with the stars; the fruit trees are on one side and the cedars on the other; the reptiles are on the ground and the birds are in the sky; the princes are in one place and the people are in another; young men and women form two lines, perhaps holding hands.... God has established them, giving each their place and purpose; man receives them, giving them their names in his language, so that he can present them in a liturgical celebration. Man is the "shepherd" and the "liturgist" of creation.
-Luis Alonso Schokel, Trenta salmi: poesia e preghiera, Bologna, 1982, p. 499. Quoted by Pope John Paul II in his general audience address of July 17, 2002.
Psalm 148, which we have just prayed, is truly a "canticle of the creatures," a kind of Old Testament Te Deum and cosmic alleluia in which everything and everyone is praising God.... Let us also join in this universal chorus, which resounds in the heavens and for which the entire universe is a temple. Let this breath of praise that rises from all creatures to their Creator conquer our hearts....
We meet these singers from the universe of the stars in the heavens: the distant heavenly bodies, the choirs of angels, the sun and moon, the shining starts, the "highest heavens", which refers to outer space, as well as the waters from above, which biblical man thought were stored in reservoirs before falling like rain on the earth.
The invitation to "praise the Lord" resounds at least eight times, ultimately aiming toward order and harmony among the heavenly beings: The Lord "gave them tasks that will never change."
Our gaze then turns to the earth, where a procession of at least 22 singers passes by in a sort of alphabet of praise spread over our planet. We hear about sea monsters and deep waters, which are symbols of the aquatic chaos on which the earth was founded according to an ancient Semite concept of the universe.
As St. Basil, one of the fathers of the Church, observed: "Not even the psalmist felt that the deep waters were something to be despised, since he included them in the general chorus of creation. Moreover, they have their own language, which harmoniously completes the hymn to the Creator" (Homiliae in hexaemeron, III, 9: p. 29, 75).
The procession continues with creatures from the atmosphere: lightning and hail, snow and clouds, as well as stormy winds, which were considered to be God's speedy messenger (see Psalm 148:8).
Then the mountains and hills appear, which people regarded as the most ancient creatures of the earth. The plant kingdom is represented by fruit trees and cedars. The animal world, on the other hand, is represented by beasts and cattle, and by reptiles and birds that fly.
Finally, man appears to preside over this liturgy of creation. He is represented by people of all ages and classes: young men and women, the elderly, princes, kings, and nations....
We, too, are invited to join this immense chorus, becoming a clear voice for every creature and praising God in the two fundamental dimensions of his mystery. On one hand, we must adore his transcendent greatness, "for his name alone is exalted; majestic above earth and heaven," as the psalm says. On the other hand, let us acknowledge his condescending goodness, because God is close to his creatures and comes in a special way to help his people: "The Lord has lifted high the horn of his people ... the people near to their God," as the psalmist once again affirms.
As we stand before our almighty and merciful Creator, let us accept St. Augustine's invitation of praise, exalt and celebrate him through his works: "When you observe these creatures and delight in them, when you look to the Architect of all things, and when you contemplate his invisible attributes in things created through the intellect, then let us confess his name over the earth and in the heavens.... If the creatures are beautiful, how much more beautiful must the Creator be?" (Esposizioni sui Salmi, IV, Rome, 1977, pp. 887-889).
--Excerpts from the General audience address of July 17, 2002.
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