Read Psalm 150
1 Praise the Lord.
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens.
2 Praise him for his acts of power;
praise him for his surpassing greatness.
3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,
praise him with the harp and lyre,
4 praise him with timbrel and dancing,
praise him with the strings and pipe,
5 praise him with the clash of cymbals,
praise him with resounding cymbals.
6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord.
Go Deeper
Psalm 150 provides a short, but fitting end to the collection of Psalms. The last sentence of the last Psalm encourages us to “Praise the Lord.” In fact, the reader is encouraged to “praise” 13 times in these six verses. The Psalmist isn’t shy or unclear about the “call to action” that comes from Psalm 150. In this Psalm, we learn where to praise God, why to praise God, how to praise God, and who should praise God.
In verse 1 the Psalmist tells us where to praise God: Both in His sanctuary and in his mighty heavens. In other words, there’s not a place in the universe where we shouldn’t praise Him! We can praise Him in the physical location of His sanctuary (tabernacle, temple) and we can praise Him in the heavens. Everything in the heavens and earth is his (1 Chronicles 29:11)—it’s appropriate to praise God anywhere and everywhere.
Verse 2 tells us why we can praise God: for both His acts of power and for His surpassing greatness. We worship God for both who He is (His greatness) and what He’s done (His acts of power). We praise Him for His attributes and for His work. We will never run out of reasons to praise Him.
As far as how we praise God, the Psalmist lists out all the instruments in the praise band—trumpet, harp, cymbals, and the timbrel (if you’re wondering, a timbrel is like a tambourine). We can make a joyful noise to the Lord (Psalm 100), and praise Him both with instruments and with our voices.
And who should praise God? Anyone and everyone who has breath in their lungs should praise the Lord. The psalmist makes it very clear that if you have breath, then you are to praise Him. If you’re breathing, then your heart is pumping, and you can praise Him. May we be people who praise God all the days He lets our hearts beat and our bodies produce breath. Praise the Lord!
Questions
- How do you choose to praise God? What does this look like for you in your day-to-day life and activities?
- Take some time to praise God for who He is (His attributes) and for His works (His acts of power). Write down three attributes and two evidences of His power.
- What happens if we don’t praise the Lord (see Luke 19:39-40)? How does this challenge you?
Pray this
God,
I pray that we would be people who praise you for as long as you give us breath in our lungs. Thank you that you give us breath and that you allow us to worship and praise you. Help us to not take a beating heart and breathing lungs for granted, and instead help us to give you the honor and glory that you are due. May we be people who are marked not by complaints, whining, and grumbling, but rather be a people who praise and worship you with our thoughts, actions, and words. Amen.
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6 thoughts on “Psalms of Praise: Psalm 150”
Listen to the lyrics of “Gratitude” by Brandon Lake:
https://youtu.be/dQdfs5S6jyA?si=zQIeXfB9ehGNEub8
I love this praise song of Brandons.
Breathe
I had a tramitic experience with breathing. Due to that breathing is such an amazing wonder and in my thoughts often. All the praise and worship songs we sing at HC with every breath we take has special meaning for me. There is something called breathwork and it has been around for years, with Yoga. The benefits from doing breathwork are amazing, mentally, physically and spiritually. This is a link from web MD if you want to read more. https://www.webmd.com/balance/what-is-breathwork
Physical health benefits of breathwork may include:
Balanced blood pressure
More time in deep sleep
Reduction of PTSD and feelings of trauma
Stronger respiratory function
Better immune system
Release of stress hormones from your body
Emotional benefits may include:
Fewer feelings of depression and anxiety
Better mental focus
Decrease in addictive behaviors
Allowing emotional scars to heal
Better outlook on life
Contentment and joy
So due to the results from physical and emotional benefits therein lies spiritual, especially if you are praying and seeking God during those breathing exercises.
God thank You for the ability to praise You. Thank You for praising You in ALL aspects of my life. God thank You for breath life. Thank You for the breathing in being Ya and the out being Wah, so that every breath is You Ya-wah!!!!!!!!!!!! God I Praise You!! I Praise You in Your sanctuary of this world. I praise You in Your mighty heavens. I Praise You for Your acts of power; and I praise You for Your surpassing greatness. With music and dance I praise You. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. I give You Praise, Lord!!! Thank You for loving, giving, sharing, joy, peace, grace, mercy and more that You so graciously give me every minute of this day. God I give You praise back with every breath in these minutes today, in Jesus name amen.
WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Great point! Connecting praise to breathing demonstrates how essential it is!
6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Throughout the bible, the number 150 is associated with completion, praise and worship. It represents a fullness and abundance in our devotion to God.
Each morning, when I wake with a new breath, I praise Him. He is worthy!
5 “praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals.”
I am perfectly comfortable making noise when at a fun concert or sporting event, but I need to up my noise-making when it comes to praising God.
If I don’t, the rocks will cry out instead . . . can’t let some rocks outdo me!