All Creation Exhorted to Praise the LORD

1481 Hallelujah! Praise God from heaven, praise him from the mountaintops; 2 Praise him, all you his angels, praise him, all you his warriors, 3 Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, you morning stars; 4 Praise him, high heaven, praise him, heavenly rain clouds; 5 Praise, oh let them praise the name of God - he spoke the word, and there they were! 6 He set them in place from all time to eternity; He gave his orders, and that's it!

7 Praise God from earth, you sea dragons, you fathomless ocean deeps; 8 Fire and hail, snow and ice, hurricanes obeying his orders; 9 Mountains and all hills, apple orchards and cedar forests; 10 Wild beasts and herds of cattle, snakes, and birds in flight; 11 Earth's kings and all races, leaders and important people, 12 Robust men and women in their prime, and yes, graybeards and little children. 13 Let them praise the name of God - it's the only Name worth praising. His radiance exceeds anything in earth and sky; 14 he's built a monument - his very own people! Praise from all who love God! Israel's children, intimate friends of God. Hallelujah!

Israel Exhorted to Praise the LORD

1491 Hallelujah! Sing to God a brand-new song, praise him in the company of all who love him. 2 Let all Israel celebrate their Sovereign Creator, Zion's children exult in their King. 3 Let them praise his name in dance; strike up the band and make great music! 4 And why? Because God delights in his people, festoons plain folk with salvation garlands! 5 Let true lovers break out in praise, sing out from wherever they're sitting,

6 Shout the high praises of God, brandish their swords in the wild sword-dance - 7 A portent of vengeance on the God-defying nations, a signal that punishment's coming, 8 Their kings chained and hauled off to jail, their leaders behind bars for good, 9 The judgment on them carried out to the letter - and all who love God in the seat of honor! Hallelujah!

A Call to Praise God with Musical Instruments

1501 Hallelujah! Praise God in his holy house of worship, praise him under the open skies; 2 Praise him for his acts of power, praise him for his magnificent greatness; 3 Praise with a blast on the trumpet, praise by strumming soft strings; 4 Praise him with castanets and dance, praise him with banjo and flute; 5 Praise him with cymbals and a big bass drum, praise him with fiddles and mandolin. 6 Let every living, breathing creature praise God! Hallelujah!

29 Why do you think people offer themselves to be baptized for those already in the grave? If there's no chance of resurrection for a corpse, if God's power stops at the cemetery gates, why do we keep doing things that suggest he's going to clean the place out someday, pulling everyone up on their feet alive? 30 And why do you think I keep risking my neck in this dangerous work? 31 I look death in the face practically every day I live. Do you think I'd do this if I wasn't convinced of your resurrection and mine as guaranteed by the resurrected Messiah Jesus? 32 Do you think I was just trying to act heroic when I fought the wild beasts at Ephesus, hoping it wouldn't be the end of me? Not on your life! It's resurrection, resurrection, always resurrection, that undergirds what I do and say, the way I live. If there's no resurrection, "We eat, we drink, the next day we die," and that's all there is to it. 33 But don't fool yourselves. Don't let yourselves be poisoned by this anti-resurrection loose talk. "Bad company ruins good manners." 34 Think straight. Awaken to the holiness of life. No more playing fast and loose with resurrection facts. Ignorance of God is a luxury you can't afford in times like these. Aren't you embarrassed that you've let this kind of thing go on as long as you have?

35 Some skeptic is sure to ask, "Show me how resurrection works. Give me a diagram; draw me a picture. What does this 'resurrection body' look like?" 36 If you look at this question closely, you realize how absurd it is. There are no diagrams for this kind of thing. 37 We do have a parallel experience in gardening. You plant a "dead" seed; soon there is a flourishing plant. There is no visual likeness between seed and plant. 38 You could never guess what a tomato would look like by looking at a tomato seed. What we plant in the soil and what grows out of it don't look anything alike. The dead body that we bury in the ground and the resurrection body that comes from it will be dramatically different. 39 You will notice that the variety of bodies is stunning. Just as there are different kinds of seeds, there are different kinds of bodies - humans, animals, birds, fish - each unprecedented in its form. 40 You get a hint at the diversity of resurrection glory by looking at the diversity of bodies not only on earth but in the skies - sun, moon, stars - all these varieties of beauty and brightness. And we're only looking at pre-resurrection "seeds" - who can imagine what the resurrection "plants" will be like! 42 This image of planting a dead seed and raising a live plant is a mere sketch at best, but perhaps it will help in approaching the mystery of the resurrection body - but only if you keep in mind that when we're raised, we're raised for good, alive forever! 43 The corpse that's planted is no beauty, but when it's raised, it's glorious. Put in the ground weak, it comes up powerful. 44 The seed sown is natural; the seed grown is supernatural - same seed, same body, but what a difference from when it goes down in physical mortality to when it is raised up in spiritual immortality! 45 We follow this sequence in Scripture: The First Adam received life, the Last Adam is a life-giving Spirit. 46 Physical life comes first, then spiritual - 47 a firm base shaped from the earth, a final completion coming out of heaven. 48 The First Man was made out of earth, and people since then are earthy; the Second Man was made out of heaven, and people now can be heavenly. 49 In the same way that we've worked from our earthy origins, let's embrace our heavenly ends. 50 I need to emphasize, friends, that our natural, earthy lives don't in themselves lead us by their very nature into the kingdom of God. Their very "nature" is to die, so how could they "naturally" end up in the Life kingdom?

51 But let me tell you something wonderful, a mystery I'll probably never fully understand. We're not all going to die - but we are all going to be changed. 52 You hear a blast to end all blasts from a trumpet, and in the time that you look up and blink your eyes - it's over. On signal from that trumpet from heaven, the dead will be up and out of their graves, beyond the reach of death, never to die again. At the same moment and in the same way, we'll all be changed. 53 In the resurrection scheme of things, this has to happen: everything perishable taken off the shelves and replaced by the imperishable, this mortal replaced by the immortal. 54 Then the saying will come true: Death swallowed by triumphant Life! 55 Who got the last word, oh, Death? Oh, Death, who's afraid of you now? 56 It was sin that made death so frightening and law-code guilt that gave sin its leverage, its destructive power. 57 But now in a single victorious stroke of Life, all three - sin, guilt, death - are gone, the gift of our Master, Jesus Christ. Thank God!

58 With all this going for us, my dear, dear friends, stand your ground. And don't hold back. Throw yourselves into the work of the Master, confident that nothing you do for him is a waste of time or effort.

Matthew Henry's Commentary on 1 Corinthians 15:29-58

Commentary on 1 Corinthians 15:20-34

(Read 1 Corinthians 15:20-34)

All that are by faith united to Christ, are by his resurrection assured of their own. As through the sin of the first Adam, all men became mortal, because all had from him the same sinful nature, so, through the resurrection of Christ, shall all who are made to partake of the Spirit, and the spiritual nature, revive, and live for ever. There will be an order in the resurrection. Christ himself has been the first-fruits; at his coming, his redeemed people will be raised before others; at the last the wicked will rise also. Then will be the end of this present state of things. Would we triumph in that solemn and important season, we must now submit to his rule, accept his salvation, and live to his glory. Then shall we rejoice in the completion of his undertaking, that God may receive the whole glory of our salvation, that we may for ever serve him, and enjoy his favour. What shall those do, who are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? Perhaps baptism is used here in a figure, for afflictions, sufferings, and martyrdom, as Matthew 20:22,23. What is, or will become of those who have suffered many and great injuries, and have even lost their lives, for this doctrine of the resurrection, if the dead rise not at all? Whatever the meaning may be, doubtless the apostle's argument was understood by the Corinthians. And it is as plain to us that Christianity would be a foolish profession, if it proposed advantage to themselves by their faithfulness to God; and to have our fruit to holiness, that our end may be everlasting life. But we must not live like beasts, as we do not die like them. It must be ignorance of God that leads any to disbelieve the resurrection and future life. Those who own a God and a providence, and observe how unequal things are in the present life, how frequently the best men fare worst, cannot doubt as to an after-state, where every thing will be set to rights. Let us not be joined with ungodly men; but warn all around us, especially children and young persons, to shun them as a pestilence. Let us awake to righteousness, and not sin.

Commentary on 1 Corinthians 15:35-50

(Read 1 Corinthians 15:35-50)

1. How are the dead raised up? that is, by what means? How can they be raised? 2. As to the bodies which shall rise. Will it be with the like shape, and form, and stature, and members, and qualities? The former objection is that of those who opposed the doctrine, the latter of curious doubters. To the first the answer is, This was to be brought about by Divine power; that power which all may see does somewhat like it, year after year, in the death and revival of the corn. It is foolish to question the Almighty power of God to raise the dead, when we see it every day quickening and reviving things that are dead. To the second inquiry; The grain undergoes a great change; and so will the dead, when they rise and live again. The seed dies, though a part of it springs into new life, though how it is we cannot fully understand. The works of creation and providence daily teach us to be humble, as well as to admire the Creator's wisdom and goodness. There is a great variety among other bodies, as there is among plants. There is a variety of glory among heavenly bodies. The bodies of the dead, when they rise, will be fitted for the heavenly bodies. The bodies of the dead, when they rise, will be fitted for the heavenly state; and there will be a variety of glories among them. Burying the dead, is like committing seed to the earth, that it may spring out of it again. Nothing is more loathsome than a dead body. But believers shall at the resurrection have bodies, made fit to be for ever united with spirits made perfect. To God all things are possible. He is the Author and Source of spiritual life and holiness, unto all his people, by the supply of his Holy Spirit to the soul; and he will also quicken and change the body by his Spirit. The dead in Christ shall not only rise, but shall rise thus gloriously changed. The bodies of the saints, when they rise again, will be changed. They will be then glorious and spiritual bodies, fitted to the heavenly world and state, where they are ever afterwards to dwell. The human body in its present form, and with its wants and weaknesses, cannot enter or enjoy the kingdom of God. Then let us not sow to the flesh, of which we can only reap corruption. And the body follows the state of the soul. He, therefore, who neglects the life of the soul, casts away his present good; he who refuses to live to God, squanders all he has.

Commentary on 1 Corinthians 15:51-58

(Read 1 Corinthians 15:51-58)

All the saints should not die, but all would be changed. In the gospel, many truths, before hidden in mystery, are made known. Death never shall appear in the regions to which our Lord will bear his risen saints. Therefore let us seek the full assurance of faith and hope, that in the midst of pain, and in the prospect of death, we may think calmly on the horrors of the tomb; assured that our bodies will there sleep, and in the mean time our souls will be present with the Redeemer. Sin gives death all its hurtful power. The sting of death is sin; but Christ, by dying, has taken out this sting; he has made atonement for sin, he has obtained remission of it. The strength of sin is the law. None can answer its demands, endure its curse, or do away his own transgressions. Hence terror and anguish. And hence death is terrible to the unbelieving and the impenitent. Death may seize a believer, but it cannot hold him in its power. How many springs of joy to the saints, and of thanksgiving to God, are opened by the death and resurrection, the sufferings and conquests of the Redeemer! In verse 58, we have an exhortation, that believers should be stedfast, firm in the faith of that gospel which the apostle preached, and they received. Also, to be unmovable in their hope and expectation of this great privilege, of being raised incorruptible and immortal. And to abound in the work of the Lord, always doing the Lord's service, and obeying the Lord's commands. May Christ give us faith, and increase our faith, that we may not only be safe, but joyful and triumphant.