THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION

Psalms: Living By Faith In God

CXLVIII. Resting In God’s Complete Security

(Psalm 148:1-14)

Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

Security in many ways and in many realms is in great demand today:

(1) National security is needed for all of our citizens: Clifford May, founder and president of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies think tank wrote in his column, “All about Trump’s revised National Security Strategy” (Republican-American, January 2, 2026, p. A6), “(W)e have long recognized China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea as constituting an ‘Axis of Aggressors.’ Together, over time, they plan to make American greatness a distant memory within a transformed international order in which they make the rules and we obey them . . .”

(2) Domestic security is a need: “Scores of demonstrators rallied across Connecticut Thursday in protest of the fatal shooting of a . . . woman in Minneapolis by a U. S. (ICE) officer, joining protests in cities around the country.” (Peter Yaknowski, Eric Bedner, Richard Chumney and Brian Zahn, “Protesters rally in Conn. over fatal ICE shooting in Minn.,” op. cit., January 9, 2026, p. A1) Though the woman “was obstructing ICE agents as they attempted to enforce immigration law” and “ignored ICE agents’ commands to exit her vehicle” and even “accelerated her vehicle toward the agent and struck him with it . . . prominent Democrats have called the ICE agent a murderer . . . inciting more violence against law enforcement.” (“An avoidable tragedy in Minneapolis,” op. cit., January 9, 2026, p. A6)

(3) Financial security is needed by many people: The government’s “Consumer Financial Protection Bureau” has a “‘5 Financial New Year’s Resolutions’ page” urging “us to set a budget and stick to it. We should: Track spending to identify areas where we can cut back . . . Create a cash-flow budget that accounts for bills, savings and . . . expenses. Manage debt better . . . That’s excellent . . . except that the federal government doesn’t stick to a budget, plan ahead for unexpected expenses and has achieved GOAT (greatest of all time) status . . . for ignoring debt problems.” (Tom Purcell, “Uncle Sam schools us on New Year’s resolutions,” op. cit., December 31, 2025, p. A7)

(4) Spiritual security is a great need in even key religious realms: “Pope Leo XIV” just presided “over a two-day meeting of the entire College of Cardinals . . . to seek their counsel on how to govern the 1.4 billion-strong Catholic Church.” (Nicole Winfield, “Pope opens 2026 with plan for peace in countries bloodied by war,” op. cit., January 2, 2026, p. B8) Consider the vast spiritual insecurity involved: The head of the Roman Catholic Church, the alleged “Vicar” or “Substitute” of Christ on earth, looks to the College of Cardinals that chose him to be Christ’s Substitute on earth for advice from a body that is not Christ’s Substitute on how to govern his 1.4 billion-strong flock!

Need: So we ask, “How should we deal with today’s great needs for security?”

I. Psalm 148:1-14 in its historical context is a praise to God for His total security for the entire universe:

A. Israel’s pagan Gentile neighbors believed that in the beginning, a repressive monster restrained creation, and that a hero god slew that monster, releasing the forces vital for life, and the hero god then controlled those forces to produce the ordered universe. (Bruce K. Waltke, Creation and Chaos, 1974, p. 6, citing Mary K. Wakeman, God’s Battle with the Monster: A Study in Biblical Imagery (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1973), p. 4-6).

B. To guard against the monster’s regaining its former dominion and producing universal, destructive chaos, the pagans performed annual rituals to repeat and thus actualize the passage of the cosmos from its initial state of chaos to its present ordered state. (Waltke, op. cit., p. 57, citing J. Gray, The Legacy of Canaan (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1965), p. 20 and Mircea Eliade, Cosmos and History: The Myth of the Eternal Return, trans. by Willard Trask (New York: Harper Torchback, 1954), p. 56)

C. Pagan man thus lived in constant fear that the ordered universe and thus his very existence could be destroyed!

D. Psalm 148:1-14 then presented a critique of this pagan insecurity, teaching that God is owed praised since the Genesis 1-2 record claimed He did not have to defeat a monster to create the universe, nor did He need help to retain its order, but that He sovereignly spoke mere words that made and sustains the current ordered universe!

II. We thus note the psalmist’s praise of Scripture’s Creator for His comprehensive security of the universe:

A. The psalmist called for God to be praised from the heavens and in the heights of the earth in great honor, v. 1!

B. All God’s angels whom He had created before He created the material universe and who shouted for joy at the creation of the material universe (cf. Job 38:4-7) were to praise Him, Psalm 148:2.

C. The sun, moon, stars, the heaven of heavens where God dwelt beyond the visible heavens (2 Cor. 12:2), the waters above the visible heavens over the earth (Genesis 1:6-7) – all were to praise the Lord, Psalm 148:3-4.

D. These entities were to praise the name of the Lord, for in contrast to pagan Gentile beliefs, Scripture’s God merely called them into existence, so they were created and were sustained in their existence by means of God’s sovereign spoken creative decrees, Psalm 148:5-6; Genesis 1:2-8, 14-19.

E. God was to be praised from the earth by its sea monsters and deep oceans, along with fire, hail, snow, vapors, stormy wind that fulfill His creative decrees for them to be in sustained existence, Psalm 148:7-8.

F. Mountains, hills, fruitful trees, cedars, animals, all livestock, creeping things, flying birds, kings of the earth, all people, princes, judges of the earth, young men, maidens, old men and children were all brought into existence by Scripture’s Creator God and were called by the psalmist to praise the Lord, Psalm 148:9-13a.

G. The Lord’s name alone as opposed to pagan hero gods was exalted; His glory was above the earth and heaven, that is, above the created universe as He was utterly sovereign as the Creator of it all in sharp contrast to the pagan Gentile hero gods who allegedly had to fight a repressive monster to create the universe, v. 13b.

H. Finally, the psalmist called for Israel’s saints to praise the Lord, for in contrast to the pagan Gentile nations who lived in constant fear of the destruction of their universe, Scripture’s God as the sovereign Creator of all had raised up a figurative horn, a symbol of a strong one, namely, a king (cf. Psalm 89:17; 132:17) for His beloved Israel,” Psalm 148:14. (Bible Knowledge Commentary, Old Testament, p. 897)

Lesson: Since Scripture’s Creator sovereignly spoke into existence and thus continues to sustain the entire ordered universe by His mere spoken word, God’s people were to praise Him for their divinely totally secured existence.

Application: (1) May we trust in Christ Who died as our Atoning Sacrifice for sin that we might receive God's gift of eternal life, John 3:16; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11. (2) As believers in the Creator God and Sustainer of the universe, may we praise Him for His divine security of our existence formed by His mere spoken word and so rely on Him for all the security needs we have that we might fulfill His assignments for us in the universe.

Conclusion: (To illustrate the message and/or provide additional guidance . . .)

God provides assurances by His Word that produced our secured existence on the needs in our introduction:

(1) On our national security and the nationwide protests over the woman who was shot in Minneapolis for repeatedly disobeying an order by ICE agents to where he accelerated her vehicle into hitting an ICE agent with it, with prominent Democrats calling the incident a murder by the ICE agent who shot her, Daniel 2:41-44 predicted that Western nations before and after the Church is raptured would be composed of partly strong and partly weak government and military entities, and that their people groups would not mix. The national security and immigration issues we face were thus foretold in Daniel 2. However, 2 Thessalonians 2:1-17 noted that God would keep enough order in the world until the rapture that we believers might stay comforted and productive for Christ. Our duty then as believers is to remain comforted by these Bible prophecies so that we keep on serving the Lord until the rapture.

(2) On our financial security amid the government’s financial shortcomings, Philippians 4:16-19 promised God would provide all of our material needs as we do His will, and 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 directs that we focus on working independently to maintain a good testimony and not be in any material need. So, if we obey God, regardless what financial errors the government commits, God will meet our material needs so we can fulfill His calling for us.

(3) On the great spiritual insecurity of Pope Leo XIV’s oversight of his 1.4 billion flock as Christ’s alleged Substitute on earth and yet his seeking counsel for leading that flock from the College of Cardinals that is not Christ’s Substitute on earth, 2 Timothy 3:15-17 teaches that a man of God has all the advice he needs in Scripture for every good work. Then, he can read that Ephesians 2:8-9 in Scripture claims one is saved by grace through faith alone, that 1 Peter 5:1-4 claims church leaders should not “lord” it over God’s flock in a hierarchy but lead by example and that Jesus in Matthew 5:18 interpreted Scripture, including prophecy there, with the literal interpretation, what leads to dispensational, pretribulational, premillennial theology. Then, for the spiritual security of himself and of his flock, any Christian pastor can apply these teachings (as follows): He can publicly teach that salvation from sin and hell unto eternal life is by faith alone in Christ alone, that he cannot “lord” it over his flock by belonging to a hierarchy and that dispensational, pretribulational, premillennial theology is the right theology. He can then make adjustments that apply these statements to life. In Pope Leo XIV’s case, he might proclaim his adoption of these beliefs so that was resigning as pope and withdrawing from the Roman Catholic Church, that he was planning to be re-trained and re-ordained to pastor a Bible teaching church, and that he would then preach Scripture and heed the pastoral epistles on pastoring a local church! If his flock would heed his lead, 1.4 billion people would become spiritually secure!

May we trust in Christ Who died as our Atoning Sacrifice for sin that we might receive God’s gift of eternal life. May we then praise God for His security of our entire existence and obey His Word for blessing.