Psalms 148:3
Praise ye him, O sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars and light.
Open Psalms 148:3 in the Motif Searcher, word by word across all five texts →Show on the spiral →The verse in its languages
- Vulgate (Clementine)
- Laudate eum, sol et luna ; laudate eum, omnes stellæ et lumen.
- Septuagint (Swete)
- αἰνεῖτε αὐτόν, ἥλιος καὶ σελήνη· αἰνεῖτε αὐτόν, πάντα τὰ ἄστρα καὶ τὸ φῶς.
- Hebrew (WLC)
- הַֽ֭לְלוּהוּ שֶׁ֣מֶשׁ וְיָרֵ֑חַ הַ֝לְל֗וּהוּ כָּל כּ֥וֹכְבֵי אֽוֹר
Haydock's commentary
And light. Hebrew, "of light," meaning the planets. (Kimchi)
The harmony of these things invites us to praise the Lord. Origen and St. Hilary seem to represent them as intelligent. But (Calmet) when God is praised on their account....they all praise him. (St. Augustine)
Irrational things shew forth the excellence of their Creator. (Worthington)
From Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary, 1859, in the transcription made by Todd Easton and kept online by John Paul Wohlschied at johnblood.gitlab.io/haydock.
The Fathers on this verse
Origen Origen Against Celsus, Chapter LXVI
Then Celsus, following the example of those who are under the influence of demons, at one time recovering, at another relapsing, as though he were again becoming sensible, says: “If, however, any worshipper of God should be ordered to do anything impious, or to say anything base, such a command should in no wise be regarded; but we must encounter all kinds of torment, or submit to any kind of death, rather than say or even think anything unworthy of God.” Again, however, from ignorance of our principles, and in entire confusion of thought, he says: “But if any one commands you to celebrate the sun, or to sing a joyful triumphal song in praise of Minerva, you will by celebrating their praises seem to render the higher praise to God; for piety, in extending to all things, becomes more perfect.” To this our answer is, that we do not wait for any command to celebrate the praises of the sun; …
St Augustine Book VII, Chapter XIII
19. And to Thee is there nothing at all evil, and not only to Thee, but to Thy whole creation; because there is nothing without which can break in, and mar that order which Thou hast appointed it. But in the parts thereof, some things, because they harmonize not with others, are considered evil; whereas those very things harmonize with others, and are good, and in themselves are good. And all these things which do not harmonize together harmonize with the inferior part which we call earth, having its own cloudy and windy sky concordant to it. …
St Augustine City of God, What the Scriptures Teach Us to Believe Concerning the Creation of the Angels
At present, since I have undertaken to treat of the origin of the holy city, and first of the holy angels, who constitute a large part of this city, and indeed the more blessed part, since they have never been expatriated, I will give myself to the task of explaining, by God’s help, and as far as seems suitable, the Scriptures which relate to this point. Where Scripture speaks of the world’s creation, it is not plainly said whether or when the angels were created; but if mention of them is made, it is implicitly under the name of “heaven,” when it is said, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,” or perhaps rather under the name of “light,” of which presently. …
St Augustine Expositions on the Book of Psalms, Psalm CXLVIII
5. “Praise Him, all ye angels of His, praise Him, all His powers” ( ver. 2 ). “Praise Him, sun and moon; praise Him, all ye stars and light” ( ver. 3 ). “Praise Him, ye heaven of heavens, and waters that are above the heavens” ( ver. 4 ). “Let them praise the Name of the Lord” ( ver. 5 ). When can he unfold all in his enumeration? Yet he hath in a manner touched upon them all summarily, and included all things in heaven praising their Creator. And as though it were said to him, “Why do they praise Him? what hath He conferred on them, that they should praise Him?” he goeth on, “for He spake, and they were made; He commanded, and they were created.” No wonder if the works praise the Worker, no wonder if the things that are made praise the Maker, no wonder if creation praise its Creator. …
St Ambrose Exposition of the Christian Faith, Chapter II. Since it has been proved that the Son is true God, and in that is not inferior to the Father, it is shown that by the word solus (alone) when used of the Father in the Scriptures, the Son is not excluded; nay, that this expression befits Him above all, and Him alone. The Trinity is alone, not amongst all, but above all. The Son alone does what the Father does, and alone has immortality. But we must not for this reason separate Him from the Father in our controversies. We may, however, understand that passage of the Incarnation. Lastly the Father is shut out from a share in the redemption of men by those who would have the Son to be separated from Him
32. But they say that the sun can be said to be alone, because there is no second sun. But the sun himself has many things in common with the stars, for he travels across the heavens, he is of that ethereal and heavenly substance, he is a creature, and is reckoned amongst all the works of God. He serves God in union with all, blesses Him with all, praises Him with all. Therefore he cannot accurately be said to be alone, for he is not set apart from the rest.