Psalm 150 is the final psalm. And while chronologically we will be seeing some others on our journey, it is important to remember how the book starts, and compare it to how it ends. Psalm 1 begins with the realization that God is in control and blessing happens when we delight in God and His Word. It is about the relationship we can have with Him. And the last book, the last words, are still focused on God. “Praise the Lord”. There is a picture of what our life should reflect. God as we begin, and God as we end. It is all about Him!
We continue to get a lesson in praise. Check it out:
1. Where
“Praise God in his sanctuary
praise him in his mighty heavens”
2. Why
“Praise him for his mighty deeds
praise him according to his excellent greatness”
3. How
“Praise him with trumpet sound
praise him with lute and harp
Praise him with tambourine and dance
praise him with strings and pipe
Praise him with sounding cymbals
praise him with loud clashing cymbals”
4. Who
“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord”
That pretty well sums it up. We are to praise God everywhere. We are to praise Him because He is, and was, and will be. He has done everything. We are to praise him with lots of sound. Praise is not a quiet – definitely not silent activity. It doesn’t happen sitting on our hands quietly in a pew at church. Praise is action. It is exalting Him. It is filled with sound and life. And the ‘who’ is probably most important. It is all encompassing. It is for everyone. There are no exceptions, except dead people, and they probably will be praising Him too.
It isn’t even tied to being a human. “Let everything that has breath” is pretty inclusive. That takes in the smallest of creation to the largest. The reality is that God is God of all of it. We sometimes think life is all about us, even broadly as human beings. We are special. We were created in His image. But we weren’t the first thing He created. We certainly were not the only thing He created. And the reality is that all things will praise Him. We need to make sure we are living that way. It ends like this: “Praise the Lord”. That is our charge. That is what we are to do – the lifestyle we must live!
