Praise ye the Lord
Or, hallelujah: which, in some versions, and with some interpreters, is the title of the psalm; expressive of the subject matter of it, the praise of the Lord; and is an exhortation of all creatures to it;
praise ye the Lord from the heavens;
that is, those that are of the heavens; let their praises of the Lord, of his perfections, works, and benefits, resound from thence; the angels of heaven particularly, who have their habitation and residence there, and sometimes descend from thence on special business, by the order and appointment of their great Creator and Master: so the Targum,
``praise the Lord, ye holy creatures from heaven.''Though some take the phrase, "from heaven", to be descriptive of the Lord, the object of praise, who is the Lord from heaven; the character of Christ, the second Adam, ( 1 Corinthians 15:47 ) ; who is from above; came down from heaven to do the will of God; and was in heaven, as to his divine Person, while here on earth in human nature, working out the salvation of men; for which he justly deserves the praise of all in heaven and in earth. But as all creatures are distinguished in this psalm into celestial and terrestrial, called upon to praise the Lord; this seems to be the general character of the celestial ones, persons, bodies, and things; as the phrase "from the earth", ( Psalms 148:7 ) , includes all in the terraqueous globe;
praise him in the heights;
either in the highest heavens where he dwells, or with the highest notes of praise that can be raised; see ( Psalms 149:6 ) ( Luke 2:14 ) . The Targum is,
``praise him, all the hosts of angels on high:''or the high hosts of angels: but these are particularly mentioned in ( Psalms 148:2 ) .