The passage’s explicit claim is a summons: these parts of creation are addressed as if they can “praise.” A further explicit claim is that “stormy wind” is “fulfilling his word,” portraying even violent weather as operating under Yahweh’s direction.

Where interpretation differs

One difference is how “praise” works here. Some read it as fully figurative: creation “praises” by existing as it was made and by displaying Yahweh’s power and order. Others think the poetry implies more than metaphor—creation is addressed as if it has a real, though non-human, responsiveness to God.

Another difference is what “great sea creatures” refers to. Some take it as ordinary large sea animals. Others think it echoes ancient images of the sea as a place of threatening powers, so the phrase intentionally includes what people feared most in the natural world.

A smaller difference concerns “all depths”: some hear it as the ocean depths specifically, while others hear a broader sweep toward any “deep places,” emphasizing total coverage of the created world.

Why the disagreement exists

The verses use direct address and vivid imagery, which can be read either as poetic personification or as a claim about how creation relates to its maker. Also, the sea and its creatures carried symbolic weight in Israel’s environment and imagination, so readers differ on how much that background is intended.

What this passage clearly contributes

It reinforces a key theme of Psalm 148: nothing in creation lies outside the sphere of Yahweh’s rightful honor—especially the parts humans cannot manage. It also contributes a strong statement about divine rule over nature: the “stormy wind” is not random or independent in ultimate terms but is depicted as carrying out Yahweh’s “word” (word), even when it appears chaotic.

word (ḏə·ḇā·rōw)