Let Everything Praise: Psalm 150

Praise the Lord.

Hallelujah. The final psalm begins as the Psalter should end—with praise. No lament. No petition. No complaint. Pure praise.

Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens.

Where to praise? The sanctuary—the earthly temple. The mighty heavens—the cosmic expanse. Both locations. All locations.

Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness.

Why praise? His acts—what he has done. His greatness—who he is. Deeds and nature. History and character.

Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet.

How to praise? The instruments roll out. Trumpet—the shofar, ram's horn, calling assembly, announcing victory.

Praise him with the harp and lyre.

Stringed instruments. Harp and lyre—the instruments of David, of temple worship, of intimate melody.

Praise him with timbrel and dancing.

Timbrel—the hand drum. Dancing—the body in worship. Not just voices and instruments but physical movement. The whole self in praise.

Praise him with the strings and pipe.

More strings. The pipe—wind instruments. The orchestra expands.

Praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals.

Cymbals—crashing, clashing, resounding. Not quiet worship but thunderous celebration. The volume rises.

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

The final command. Everything with breath. Not just Israel. Not just humans. Everything breathing—every creature, every life, every lung.

The breath that came from God returns to God as praise.

Praise the Lord.

Hallelujah. The Psalter ends where it must end. One hundred fifty psalms of lament, praise, confession, wisdom, prophecy—all concluding in one word, one command, one invitation.

Praise the Lord.