Psalm 182 from Beyond Psalm 150
The next nine psalms come from the book of Isaiah. Isaiah writes in Judah during the reigns of kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.
During Isaiah’s lengthy time as a prophet, Assyria conquers the nation of Israel and exiles most of the people. Only the nation of Judah remains, which split from Israel a couple centuries before.
In less than one hundred years, the nation of Babylon will likewise conquer Judah and exile them too. (Which we will see when we explore the psalms in the book of Jeremiah.)
Both nations fall due to their repeated disregard of God and his commands.
This is the context for Isaiah’s and Jeremiah’s writing and the psalms that their books contain. With this background, let’s consider Isaiah’s first contribution to our collection.
Not all psalms of praise need to come from people. Angels can praise God too.
Isaiah relates an experience of hearing angels chant their adoration to their Creator.
We don’t know if this comes to Isaiah in the form of a vision or if his spirit ascends for a time into heaven to witness this.
What we do know is how the angels worship God in an interactive form of adulation, repeating this phrase to one another:
Holy, holy, holy, is Yahweh of Armies!
The whole earth is full of his glory!
Isaiah 6:3 (WEB)
Reflections on Angels Sing Praise
Imagine the angels chanting this to one another. These words could come at various volumes, with different timing, and harmonizing with all the vocal ranges.
The mantra rises and falls, building to a crescendo where the angels turn as one to Yahweh and offer their praise to him as he listens.
At this point, the temple on earth rattles and fills with smoke. Overwhelmed, Isaiah says, “Woe is me. I’ve seen the Lord God.” He feels unworthy, a man of unclean lips.
Though we may never have an experience like Isaiah’s, how might we respond to the presence of God’s overwhelming glory? Do we see ourselves joining the angels in praise or pulling back as undeserving and with overwhelming fear?
May we elevate our worship of Yahweh to acknowledge and praise his holiness, just like these angels.
Explore the other psalms—sacred songs of praise, petition, and lament—scattered throughout the Bible in Peter’s book Beyond Psalm 150.
Discover more sacred songs of praise, petition, and lament throughout the Bible.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront a status quo faith and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
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