Midrash sa Mga Awit 148:2: Midrash Tehillim

The righteous rejoice in the Lord. As it says (Song of Songs 4:11), "Your lips drip nectar, my bride; honey and milk are under your tongue." The Holy One, blessed be He, said, "I love to hear your voice. Whether in praise or in joyous exultation, do not withhold your voice." (Exodus 15:14) "For your voice is sweet." They said before the Holy One, blessed be He, "Jacob rejoices over whom? Not over me." It is joyous to me whether in praise or in joyous exultation. And so it says (Jeremiah 31:6), "Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob." And it also says (Song of Songs 4:11), "Your lips drip nectar, my bride; honey and milk are under your tongue." Your speech is so sweet, like honey and milk. In your palate (Song of Songs 7:10), "And your palate is like the best wine." In your throat (Psalm 149:6), "May the high praises of God be in their throats." Everything is rejoicing. The righteous rejoice, as it says, "The righteous rejoice in the Lord." And the wicked rejoice as well. Pharaoh rejoiced when Moses and Aaron came, and he began to say, "The Lord is righteous, and I and my people are wicked." But the wicked do not rejoice before Him until He brings punishment upon them. But the righteous do rejoice in the Lord, as it says, "The righteous rejoice in the Lord." Here it is written "in the Lord," not "to the Lord." While they were seeing, they immediately sang, as it says (Shemot 15:1), "Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord." And similarly, it says (Vayikra 9:23-24), "Moses and Aaron then went into the Tent of Meeting. When they came out, they blessed the people, and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. Fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar. And when all the people saw it, they shouted for joy and fell facedown." And likewise, it says (Divrei Hayamim 2:7:3), "When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the Lord above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, 'He is good; his love endures forever.'" Therefore, David said, "Sing to the Lord, you who are righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him" (Tehillim 33:1). Everything sings before Him, the heavens and the earth, the sun and the moon, and the stars of light. The angels also sing, as it says (Tehillim 103:20), "Praise the Lord, you his angels." Although everything sings before Him, the singing of the righteous and the upright is more pleasing than anything else, as it says (Tehillim 33:1), "Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him." Give thanks to the Lord with the harp; make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre. Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy (Tehillim 33:2-3). This is for the One who made something new, who laid the heavens and established the earth, as it says (Shemot 25:8), "And let them make me a sanctuary."

I bless the Lord, my God, with great exaltation, splendor and majesty. The King of flesh and blood cannot clothe himself in His garments, but the Holy One, blessed be He, clothes human beings in His garments, as it is said (Psalm 21:6): "You endow him with eternal blessings; You gladden him with the joy of Your presence." This is what the verse (1 Chronicles 29:11) means when it says, "Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty; for all that is in the heavens and on the earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and You are exalted as head over all." Rabbi Huna said: What does it mean that God is exalted as head over all? It means that everything praises the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is said (Psalm 113:3): "From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is praised." And there is no greater praise for the Holy One, blessed be He, than the praise of Israel, as it is said (Isaiah 43:21): "This people I have formed for Myself, that they might declare My praise." You should know that it is written above, "Bless the Lord, all His hosts, you ministers of His, who do His will" (Psalm 103:21). "Mighty ones who do His bidding, obedient to His spoken command" (Psalm 103:20). If it was necessary to say that what a person hears he should do, why is it written so? Rather, regarding Israel, the verse speaks of their standing at Sinai and placing their actions before their hearing, as it is said (Exodus 24:7): "All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will hear." Just as Israel praises the Holy One, blessed be He, the angels also praise Him after Israel, as it is said (Psalm 148:2): "Praise Him, all His angels; praise Him, all His hosts." And what is written after that? "Praise Him, sun and moon; praise Him, all you shining stars" (Psalm 148:3). These are the angels, as it is said (Isaiah 24:21): "On high, the Lord will punish the hosts of heaven, and on earth, the kings of the earth." "He is exalted as head over all." And there is no head other than Israel, as it is said (Exodus 30:12): "When you take a census of the Israelite people according to their enrollment, each shall pay the Lord a ransom for himself." And it says (Jeremiah 2:3): "Israel was holy to the Lord, the first fruits of His harvest." Another interpretation of "exalted as head over all" is that Rabbi Simon said: "You are the head of all those who praise You." And You are exalted above all blessings and praises, as it is said (Psalm 89:6): "Who in the skies can compare with the Lord? Who among the heavenly beings is like the Lord?" Who can recount the Lord's mighty acts or declare His praises? If a person tries to express the Lord's praises, he will become tongue-tied, as it is said (Job 37:19): "Teach us what we shall say to Him, for we cannot order our words because of darkness." You should know that this is what David meant when he composed one hundred and forty-five psalms of praise the Lord, as it is said (Psalm 145:21) 'My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord, and let all flesh bless His holy name forever and ever.' All things culminate in the number 248, which is the number of limbs in a person, as it is said (ibid. 35) 'All my bones shall say: Lord, who is like unto Thee?' David did not leave out any limb in his praise of the Lord. He said to them, 'What do you think? Because I culminated in the praise of the Lord in all these things, perhaps I touched one of the myriad praises due to Him? Now I am at the top of the culminations' (Psalm 145:1) 'I will exalt Thee, my God, O King, and bless Thy name forever and ever.' Rabbi Af also said, even when the mouths of the righteous in the future will speak like a stream that never ceases, never will they exhaust the praise of the Holy One, blessed be He. Rather, it should be said that in memory of Your great goodness they will say, there is no writing here, only they will pour forth their praises like a stream. Let it be for all to the head. Even so, David said (Psalm 145:3) 'Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised...'"...

Hallelujah, sing praises to our God, for He is good. Isaiah said, "How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace" (Isaiah 52:7). But even in the heavens, they fear me, as it says, "Praise Him, all his angels; praise Him, all His heavenly hosts" (Psalm 148:2). When is God exalted? When the horn of Israel is lifted up, as it says, "I will cut off all the horns of the wicked, but the horns of the righteous will be lifted up" (Psalm 75:11). Therefore it is said, "And He exalted the horn of His people" (Psalm 148:14). Why is Israel compared to a horn? Just as a horn is placed at the top of the head, so too is Israel appointed as the head over all nations, as it says, "The Lord will make you the head, not the tail" (Deuteronomy 28:13). Therefore, "He exalted the horn of His people." Who are His close people? The people who draw near to Him through the commandments, the people who are closer to God than any other nation, as it says, "But as for me, it is good to be near God" (Psalm 73:28). Therefore it is said to the children of Israel, "His close people."