Why read Psalm 148?
Psalm 148 invites praise together with the whole of creation. Angels, the natural world and people of every age are called to glorify the Lord's name.
You can read this psalm when its themes speak to your circumstances, or as part of your regular reading of the Psalter. This explanation draws on the text itself; the psalm is not reserved for one particular need.
Psalm 148 opens the heart with the cry "Praise ye the Lord from the heavens, praise ye Him...". It is one of the 14-verse psalms of the Twentieth Kathisma, and it is said both at the services and in prayer at home — the Psalter being the constant companion of the Orthodox Christian.
The text of Psalm 148
1. Praise ye the Lord from the heavens; praise Him in the highest.
2. Praise Him, all ye His angels; praise Him, all ye His hosts.
3. Praise Him, sun and moon; praise Him, all ye stars and light.
4. Praise Him, ye heavens of heavens, and the water that is above the heavens;
5. Let them praise the name of the Lord, for He spake and they were made, He commanded and they were created.
6. He established them for ever, even for ever and ever; He hath set an ordinance, and they shall not pass it.
7. Praise the Lord from the earth, ye dragons and all ye deeps;
8. Fire, hail, snow, ice, the stormy wind, all fulfil His word;
9. The mountains and all the hills, the fruitful trees and all the cedars;
10. The beasts and all the cattle, the creeping things and the fowls of the air;
11. The kings of the earth and all the peoples, the princes and all the judges of the earth;
12. The young men and the virgins, the elders with the younger;
13. Let them praise the name of the Lord, for His name alone is exalted. His praise is upon earth and in heaven.
14. And He shall exalt the horn of His people. A hymn for all His saints, for the children of Israel, the people that draw nigh unto Him.
When Psalm 148 is read
- It belongs to the Twentieth Kathisma and is read in the course of the Psalter at the services; the faithful read it during fasts and in times of need.
- At the end of each psalm, the tradition adds: "Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen."
Neighbouring psalms
Read also
The numbering follows the Orthodox Psalter (Septuagint). The same psalm may have a different number in other Bible editions.
