“Halleluiah!” C
Scriptures: Isa 6, Num 16, etc.
Praise the LORD from (in) the earth,
you great sea creatures and all ocean depths, fire and hail, snow and smoke,
storm wind that does his word (vv. 7-8, partially trans. mine), …
Last time, we learned about the difference between the first half of this psalm, which calls to praise the Lord “in heaven,” and the second half, “in (on) earth.” The differences can be summarized in the following two points.
1. The verb “praise (halelu)” is used nine times in the first half, but only twice in the second half. This suggests that the Lord is rarely praised on earth, while he is always praised in heaven.
2. In the first half, the angels, the hosts, the sun, the moon, the stars, and other things in heaven praise the good Lord by fulfilling their original purpose of existence, whereas in the second half, his glory is displayed, as the righteous and holy nature of the Lord is revealed through the sea monsters, chaotic depths, fire, hail, snow, smoke, and stormy winds that symbolize the Lord’s wrath and judgment.
We have discussed the second point of difference in relation to the vision Isaiah saw in the temple. The seraphs (seraphim) that Isaiah saw correspond to the “fire (‘esh)” mentioned in this psalm, and the “smoke (‘ashan)” that filled the temple, as the voice of the seraphs echoed in the sky, corresponds to the “smoke (qitor)” mentioned in this psalm. Both ‘ashan and qitor mean smoke, but the former denotes anger, and the latter the smell of smoke when a sacrifice is burned on the altar and that of incense burned in the temple. God exhales the former smoke as his anger, while the latter smoke appeases it. The former concept of smoke caused the people who had just come out of Egypt to fear the presence of the Lord when he descended on Mount Sinai.
