Read Psalm 148 at Bible Gateway.
The paragraph divisions:
1a Praise the Lord! {n}
1b Praise the Lord from the heavens; Praise Him in the heights!
2 Praise Him, all His angels; Praise Him, all His hosts!
3 Praise Him, sun and moon; Praise Him, all you stars of light!
4 Praise Him, you heavens of heavens, and you waters above the heavens!
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord, for He commanded and they were created.
6 He also established them forever and ever; He made a decree which shall not pass away.
7 Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all the depths;
8 Fire and hail, snow and clouds; stormy wind, fulfilling His word;
9 Mountains and all hills; fruitful trees and all cedars;
10 Beasts and all cattle; creeping things and flying fowl;
11 Kings of the earth and all peoples; princes and all judges of the earth;
12 Both young men and maidens; old men and children.
13a Let them praise the name of the Lord, for His name alone is exalted; {n}
13b His glory is above the earth and heaven.
14a And He has exalted a horn for His people, the praise of all His saints— {n}
14b Of the children of Israel, a people near to Him. {n}
14c Praise the Lord!
There has not been a strong paragraph division since the end of Psa 145.
The reverse parallelism:
1a) Psa 148:1a, Praise the Lord! {n}
1b) Psa 148:1b-6, The heavens declare His praise;
1) Psa 148:1b-4, Praise the LORD from the heavens;
1b Praise the Lord from the heavens; Praise Him in the heights!
2 Praise Him, all His angels; Praise Him, all His hosts!
3 Praise Him, sun and moon; Praise Him, all you stars of light!
4 Praise Him, you heavens of heavens, and you waters above the heavens!
2) Psa 148:5-6, Let them praise the name of the LORD;
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord, for He commanded and they were created;
6 He also established them forever and ever; He made a decree which shall not pass away;
2b) Psa 148:7-14b, The earth declares His praise;
1) Psa 148:7-12, Praise the LORD from the earth;
7 Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all the depths;
8 Fire and hail, snow and clouds; stormy wind, fulfilling His word;
9 Mountains and all hills; fruitful trees and all cedars;
10 Beasts and all cattle; creeping things and flying fowl;
11 Kings of the earth and all peoples; princes and all judges of the earth;
12 Both young men and maidens; old men and children;
2) Psa 148:13-14b, Let them praise the name of the LORD;
1a) Psa 148:13a, Let them praise the name of the Lord;
1b) Psa 148:13b, For His name alone is exalted; {n}
central axis) Psa 148:13c, His glory is above the earth and heaven;
2b) Psa 148:14a, And He has exalted a horn for His people;
2a) Psa 148:14b, The praise of all His saints— {n} even for the children of Israel, a people near to Him; {n}
2a) Psa 148:14c, Praise the Lord!
In the 2B pair, the 2nd element, which forms its own chiastic structure: the A pair speaks of what and who is being praised: the name of the LORD, and the horn of His people. “Horn” in biblical usage is power, might, strength, and when Daniel saw a vision of beasts with horns, the angel told him outright that the horns he saw were kings (Dan 7:24, Dan 8:20-21). So if we let Scripture explain Scripture, we can conclude that the horn God has exalted for His people, is a king, whose praise compares to the praise of the name of the LORD. The B pair speaks of what is exalted. His name alone, and His king. If it is only His name which is exalted, then why in the next verse does it proclaim that His king is likewise exalted? This is not a biblical contradiction, as the atheists like to claim, but one way the teaching tools of Scripture often employs to suggest an equality between the two – that it is the LORD who is the King who has been exalted — even Messiah Yeshua! ♥
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