Psalm 103:20

Psalm 103:20

Praise the Lord, you His angels

This Psalm is, sadly, drawing to a close and it is ending as it began, on a note of praise. In the opening verses it was the writer, David, who urged his soul to praise the Lord, this was his personal tribute to the Lord who had blessed him so abundantly throughout his life. After verses 1-5 the responsibility for praise moved to the whole earth, embracing mere mortals who are encouraged to take stock of themselves in the light of the eternal power and glory of the Lord. Now, at the end, the scene shifts to the heavenly realms and in this verse, the angels are commanded to praise the Lord. 

There are numerous beings that occupy the heavens and angels are certainly amongst them; the Hebrew word for angel is “malakh” which means messenger. In Aramaic the term used speaks of “watchers”, in other words these beings are God’s attendants who are also depicted as guardians of humans. “Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?” Hebrews 1:14. In fact, Hebrews 1 goes to great lengths to demonstrate how much Yeshua, as a Son, far exceeds the angels in His power and His authority and in His relationship with the Lord God. So, when David describes them as “you mighty ones who do His bidding” he is still only talking about heavenly creatures who are far outstripped in their might by Jesus Christ Himself. 

You may have noted that this call to praise is not aimed at all the angels, it is for those who obey God’s word. The Scriptures leave us in little doubt that there are heavenly beings who have disobeyed and followed the Satan. It was obedient angels who filled the heavens with their praises when Christ was born. It is the obedient angels who sing their anthems in the presence of the Lord as described in Revelation 5, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,” they cry, “to receive power and strength and honour and glory and praise!” Take note David, the angels are doing exactly as you hoped!

 

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