Read
Psalm 148:4
Praise him, you heavens of heavens, you waters that are above the heavens.
2Praise him, all his angels! Praise him, all his army!
3Praise him, sun and moon! Praise him, all you shining stars!
4Praise him, you heavens of heavens, you waters that are above the heavens.
5Let them praise the LORD’s name, for he commanded, and they were created.
6He has also established them forever and ever. He has made a decree which will not pass away.
Notice
The “heavens of heavens” stretch the scope of praise beyond what you can see, toward heights that still owe their existence to God.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What changes in your praise when even the heavens of heavens are addressed?
Write on thisWhat do you find striking or puzzling about waters above the heavens being told to praise God?
Write on thisConnect
Where else Scripture says this
11 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.
This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Genesis 1:7God made the expanse, and divided the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so.Both name waters above the heavens or expanse, with Genesis describing their separation and the psalm summoning them to praise.
Genesis 1:6God said, “Let there be an expanse in the middle of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.”Both speak of waters in relation to the heavens or expanse, with Genesis describing God's command to divide them.
1 Kings 8:27But will God in very deed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens can’t contain you; how much less this house that I have built!Both name the heaven of heavens: the psalm commands its praise, while Solomon says even this cannot contain God.
Deuteronomy 10:14Behold, to the LORD your God belongs heaven, the heaven of heavens, and the earth, with all that is therein.Both name heaven and the heaven of heavens, which Deuteronomy declares belong to the LORD and the psalm summons to praise.
Psalm 115:16The heavens are the LORD’s heavens, but he has given the earth to the children of men.Both speak of the heavens in relation to the LORD, as his possession in one and summoned to praise in the other.
Nehemiah 9:6You are the LORD, even you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their army, the earth and all things that are on it, the seas and all …Both name the heaven of heavens in a setting of worship directed to the LORD, who made them.
Psalm 113:6who stoops down to see in heaven and on the earth?Both speak of heaven in relation to God: one summons its praise, while the other describes God stooping to see it.
Psalm 104:3He lays the beams of his rooms in the waters. He makes the clouds his chariot. He walks on the wings of the wind.Both speak of waters in a heavenly setting, though Psalm 104 describes God's rooms rather than commanding those waters to praise.
Genesis 7:11In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst open, …The shared thread is the sky: Psalm 148 names waters above it, while Genesis describes its windows opening during the flood.
Psalm 68:33to him who rides on the heaven of heavens, which are of old; behold, he utters his voice, a mighty voice.Both name the heaven of heavens, with one summoning it to praise and the other describing God riding upon it.
2 Corinthians 12:2I know a man in Christ who was caught up into the third heaven fourteen years ago—whether in the body, I don’t know, or whether out of the body, I don’t know; …Both speak of heavenly heights, though Paul's account of the third heaven does not explain the psalm's heavens of heavens.
Where this verse fits
Praise and worship. sermon or Bible study notes.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
Your praise joins a call that reaches beyond the visible sky. Even the highest heavens belong among the created things commanded to praise God.
Now put it in your words.
Start an entry on Psalm 148:4. Write what it stirs. Psalmlog sets your words beside Scripture and gives you one next step. Your first entry is free, no account needed.
Keep goingPsalm 148 · the whole chapter with its connection mapPsalms · every chapterBuild a reading plan through Psalms
Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).