Psalms 148:2

Psa 148:2 Praise ye him, all his angels: praise ye him, all his hosts.

Ver. 2. Praise ye him, all his angels] Whose proper office it is to adore and praise God, Job 38:7 Isa 6:3 Heb 1:6, which also they do constantly and completely; as those that both perfectly know him and love him. Jacob saw them, 1. Ascending, to contemplate and praise the Lord, and minister to him, Luk 2:13 Dan 7:10 Mat 18:10 Psa 103:20. 2. Descending, to execute God’s will upon men, for mercy to some, and for judgment to others; which tendeth much to his praise. And David, by calling upon these heavenly courtiers, provoketh and pricketh on himself to praise God.

Praise ye him, all his hosts] i.e. His creatures (those above especially, which are as his cavalry), called his hosts for their, 1. Number 2. Order; 3. Obedience.

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.

2. (Psa 148:2) Praise ye him, all his angels! Praise ye him, all his hosts! As this last expression is applied both to the angels and the heavenly bodies, it here affords a natural transition from the one to the other. See above, on Psa 24:10; Psa 29:1; Psa 103:21.

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

Because they are members of the same body, he setteth them before our eyes, which are most willing hereunto, and by their prompt obedience teach us to do our duty.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

hosts--(compare Psa 103:21).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

2. Cp. Psa_103:20 a, 21 a. Hosts may include both heavenly beings and heavenly bodies, and in Job_38:7 angels and stars join in praise: but here as in Psa_103:21 the angels only seem to be meant (cp. 1Ki_22:19; Neh_9:6); the heavenly bodies follow in Psa_148:3. The Q’rç and all the Versions read the plur. hosts; the K’thîbh has the sing. host.

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.

Praise ye him, all his angels,.... The Targum adds, who minister before him: the ministering spirits, the angels of Jehovah, even of Christ, who are his creatures, and at his command; and whom he sends forth to minister to others, Heb 1:7. And great numbers there are of them, thousands and tens of thousands, yea, an innumerable company; and all of them are under obligation to praise the Lord for their creation: for invisible spirits, as well as visible bodies, even the celestial thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers, were created by him, by Christ, Col 1:16. And for their preservation in their beings, and confirmation in that happy estate in which they were created; being chosen and secured in Christ, the head of all principality and power, and so stood while others fell: and also for the various excellent powers, and faculties and properties, they are endowed with; they excel in strength, are possessed of great agility and swiftness; have a large share of knowledge, of things natural, civil, moral, spiritual, and evangelical; are perfectly holy, and without sin; and happy in the enjoyment of God, in whose presence they always are, and whose face they continually behold; and will ever remain in this state, being immaterial and immortal beings. And as praise is their duty, it is their work; in this they were employed at the creation of all things, then these sons of God and morning stars sang and shouted for joy; and at the incarnation of Christ, when they worshipped him; at the conversion of every sinner; and frequently join the church in this service, and will be concerned in it to all eternity: and when the psalmist calls upon them to engage in it, it does not suppose that they were deficient in it, or backward to it, or that he had any authority over them to require it of them; but it shows his great desire that the Lord might be praised by the noblest creatures, and in the best manner that could be, and how much his heart was in this work; and he does it to stir up himself and others the more unto it, from this consideration; that if those heavenly creatures should praise the Lord, then much more such as he and others, who were so very unworthy of the divine favours, and so much beholden to the Lord for them;

praise ye him, all his hosts; meaning either the angels as before, sometimes called the hosts of heaven, and the heavenly host; there being armies and legions of them, and these encamping about the saints in a military way; see Kg2 19:35; or else the celestial bodies, the sun, moon, and stars, as follow, sometimes called the host of heaven; and who are represented as militant, Gen 2:1, Kg2 21:3.

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

Praise ye him, all his angels - Dwelling in the heavens. Compare the notes at Psa 103:20.

Praise ye him, all his hosts - See the notes at Psa 103:21 and the notes at Isa 1:9. All his armies - referring to the angels considered as marshalled into hosts, of which God is the Head and Leader.

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

He inviteth the angels here, and the senseless creatures afterward, to praise God; not as if the former needed, or the latter were capable of, his exhortation, but only by a poetical rapture; the design whereof is, that men by this means might be more provoked to this duty. The angels are called

hosts, here and 1Ki 22:19, for their vast numbers, exquisite order, and perfect subjection to their General, the Lord of hosts.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Ver. 2. Praise ye him, all his angels. Living intelligences, perfect in character and in bliss, lift up your loudest music to your Lord, each one, of you. Not one bright spirit is exempted from this consecrated service. However many ye be, O angels, ye are all his angels, and therefore ye are bound, all of you, to render service to your Lord. Ye have all seen enough of him to be able to praise him, and ye have all abundant reasons for so doing. Whether ye be named Gabriel, or Michael, or by whatever other titles ye are known, praise ye the Lord. Whether ye bow before him, or fly on his errands, or desire to look into his covenant, or behold his Son, cease not, ye messengers of Jehovah, to sound forth his praise while ye move at his bidding.

Praise ye him, all his hosts. This includes angelic armies, but groups with them all the heavenly bodies. Though they be inanimate, the stars, the clouds, the lightnings, have their ways of praising Jehovah. Let each one of the countless legions of the Lord of hosts show forth his glory; for the countless armies are all his, his by creation, and preservation, and consequent obligation. Both these sentences claim unanimity of praise from those in the upper regions who are called upon to commence the strain"all his angels, all his hosts." That same hearty oneness must pervade the whole orchestra of praising ones; hence, further on, we read of all stars of light, all deeps, all hills, all cedars, and all people. How well the concert begins when all angels, and all the heavenly host, strike the first joyful notes! In that concert our souls would at once take their part.

Ver. 2. Praise ye him, all his angels. Angels are first invoked, because they can praise God with humility, reverence, and purity. The highest are the humblest, the leaders of all created hosts are the most ready themselves to obey. Thomas Le Blanc.

Ver. 2. Praise ye him, all his angels. The angels of God were his first creatures; it has even been thought that they existed prior to the inanimate universe. They were already praising their Maker before the light of day, and they have never ceased their holy song. Angels praise God best in their holy service. They praised Christ as God when they sang their Gloria in Excelsis at the Incarnation, and they praised him as man when they ministered to him after his temptation and before his crucifixion. So also now angels praise the Lord by their alacrity in ministering to his saints. John Lorinus.

Ver. 2. Praise ye him, all his hosts. That is, his creatures (those above especially which are as his cavalry) called his "hosts", for, 1. Their number; 2, their order; 3, their obedience. John Trapp.

Ver. 2.

1. The angels as praiseful servants.

2. The other hosts of God, and how they praise him.

3. The rule without exception: "allall." Imagine one heavenly being living without praising the Lord!

Psalms 148:3*

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

2. Angels—The highest order of holy created beings in heaven, who immediately war on God.

Hosts—Hebrew, Sab’aoth; literally, armies. The title primarily applies to the national army of Israel, whose captain and leader was God. Hence, the frequent title, “God of hosts,” or armies. The idea of the word is not merely that of multitude, but of order, organization, and active martial service. The psalmist seems to use it here for the inhabitants of heaven generally, under whatsoever title they may be revealed to us—as of angel, archangel, seraph, cherub, principality, or power. As he mentions the “stars” in Psa_148:3, it would seem they were not here included in the Sab’aoth, as they often are.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Praise ye him, all his angels. (comp. Psa_103:20, Psa_103:21) As the angels occupy the first rank in creation, and have the most to praise God for, they are fitly called upon to commence the song of jubilation. The praises of God must form their chief occupation through all eternity. Praise ye him, all his hosts; rather, all his host. In the "host of God" are included beings of inferior rank to angels of his that do his pleasure". (Psa_103:21)

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

angels

(See Scofield "Heb 1:4") .

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.