Psalms 148:10

Psa 148:10 Beasts, and all cattle; creeping things, and flying fowl:

Ver. 10. Beasts] i.e. Wild beasts, that are fullest of life; and therehence have their name in the Hebrew tongue.

And all cattle] Domestic and tame beasts, even to the elephant; which is said to turn up the first sprig towards heaven, in token of thankfulness, by a natural instinct, when he comes to feed.

Creeping things] Whether in earth or sea; all these are summoned in by the psalmist to pay their tribute of praise, and to do their homage to the Most High.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

10. (Psa 148:10) The wild (beast) and all cattle, creeping thing and flying fowl. The contrast in the first clause is analogous to that between fruit-trees and cedars in Psa 148:9. The Hebrew wordtranslated creeping thing has no exact equivalent in English. It seems strictly to denote animal or vital motion, or as a concrete term whatever so moves, and is even applied to aquatic animals, Psa 104:25. But when used distinctively, it denotes the smaller classes of terrestrial animals, including insects, reptiles, and the smallest quadrupeds. It is here added simply to complete the expression of the general idea, all animals whatever. Flying fowl, literally bird of wing. The first of the Hebrew words is specially applied to the smaller birds, and sometimes specifically to the sparrow. See above, on Psa 11:1; Psa 84:3; Psa 104:17; Psa 124:7. This and the preceding item in the catalogue, suggesting the idea of the smallest animals, may possibly have been used to denote the universality of the call here made upon all creatures, from the greatest to the smallest, to praise God their maker.

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Psalms Translated and Explained (1850) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verse 10. Beasts] החיה hachaiyah, wild beasts of every kind.

All cattle] בהמה behemah, all domestic animals; those used for the service of the house, and those for agricultural purposes.

Creeping things] All the class of reptiles, from the boa constrictor, that can combat, kill, and swallow whole the royal tiger, to the cobra de manille, a poisonous reptile as small as a fine needle; with those still smaller animals that are found in water, and require the power of the microscope to bring them to view. In the production, preservation, habits, and properties of all these, there is a profusion of wisdom and economy that would require ages to exhibit.

Flying fowl] The structure of fowls is astonishing; and the exact mathematical manner in which flying fowls swim the air, and steer their course wheresoever they will; the feathers, and their construction, with the muscles which give them motion; strike the observer of nature with astonishment and delight.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(10) So here we have wild animals and domesticated animals. (See Note, Psa_50:10.)

Creeping things.—This seems to include all the smaller creatures that move on the ground, in contrast with the birds that fly above it.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

10. All kinds of living creatures: animals, wild and tame; reptiles and birds. Cp. Gen_1:24-25; Gen_1:21.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Beasts, and all cattle,.... Wild and tame; the beasts of the field, and the cattle on a thousand hills, which are all the Lord's, made, supported, and supplied by him; he gives them their food and drink, which they wait for and receive from him, and in their manner praise him for the same; and these are useful to men for labour or for food, and therefore should praise the Lord for them; see Isa 43:20;

creeping things, and flying fowl: of "creeping things" some belong to the sea and others to the land; see Psa 104:25; and there is not the least creature on the sea or land, the meanest reptile or worthless worm, but is of such exquisite workmanship as gives praise and glory to the Creator; and so do every fly and every insect, as well as "flying fowl" of the greatest size, as the eagle, vulture, &c. these, though they fly in the air, had their original from the waters, Gen 1:20.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Beasts, and all cattle - Wild beasts and tame; those which roam the forest, and those which have been domesticated for the service of man. As fruitful trees and cedars might include all the trees, so the “beasts and cattle” here might include the whole of those that were wild and tamed.

Creeping things, and flying fowl - Margin, as in Hebrew, Birds of wing. These are grouped together for a reason similar to that for which fruitful trees and cedars, and beasts and cattle, are grouped together, to embrace the whole. The expression embraces the loftiest and lowest; those which ascend farthest above the earth, and those which creep upon its surface. The word rendered creeping things would properly embrace the smaller animals which creep along upon the ground; both those which have four feet or more, as mice, lizards, crabs, etc., and those without feet, which glide or drag themselves upon the ground, as worms and serpents. (Gesenius, Lexicon) These, in their lowly condition, and in their humble way, are called on to unite in the general chorus of praise. Accomplishing the purpose for which they are made, they will, with the most lofty of created beings, contribute to proclaim the wisdom, the power, and the goodness of God.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Ver. 10. Beasts, and all cattle. Animals fierce or tame; wild beasts and domestic cattle; let all these show forth the praises of Jehovah. Those are worse than beasts who do not praise our God. More than brutish are those who are wilfully dumb concerning their Maker.

Creeping things, and flying fowl. The multitudes that throng the earth and the air; insects of every form and birds of every wing are called upon to join the universal worship. No one can become familiar with insect and bird life without feeling that they constitute a wonderful chapter in the history of divine wisdom. The minute insect marvellously proclaims the Lord's handiwork: when placed under the microscope it tells a wondrous tale. So, too, the bird which soars aloft displays in its adaptation for an aerial life an amount of skill which our balloonists have in vain attempted to emulate. True devotion not only hears the praises of God in the sweet song of feathered minstrels, but even discovers it in the croaking from the marsh, or in the buzz of "the blue fly which singeth in the window pane." More base than reptiles, more insignificant than insects, are songless men.

Ver. 10. Creeping things. In public worship all should join. The little strings go to make up a concert, as well as the great. Thomas Goodwin.

Ver. 10. Flying fowl. Thus the air is vocal. It has a hallelujah of its own. The "flying fowl" praise him; whether it be "the stork that knoweth her appointed time" (Jer 8:7), or "the sparrow alone upon the housetop" (Ps 102:7), or "the raven of the valley" (Pr 30:17), or the eagle "stirring up her nest, and fluttering over her young" (De 32:11), or the turtle making its voice to be heard in the land (So 2:12), or the dove winging its way to the wilderness (Ps 105:6). This is creation's harp (truer and sweeter than Memnon's) which each sunrise awakens, "turning all the air to music." Horatius Bonar, in "Earth's Morning; or, Thoughts on Genesis", 1875.

Ver. 10. The wildest, the quietest, the most depressed, and the most aspiring should each have its song.

Psalms 148:11*

Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Beasts, and all cattle. There is a gradual ascent from inanimate to animate things, from the "beasts" of the field to domesticated animals; from such animals to man (vers. 11, 12). Creeping things. (comp. Gen_1:24, Gen_1:25, 30 Psa_104:25) And flying fowl; literally, bird of wing. The intention is to include, under a few heads, all animate creation.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.