Context No. 3733 of 4322 · Psalms

Psalms 150:1-6: in context

1Praise the LORD! Praise God in his sanctuary! Praise him in his heavens for his acts of power! 2Praise him for his mighty acts! Praise him according to his excellent greatness! 3Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet! Praise him with harp and lyre! 4Praise him with tambourine and dancing! Praise him with stringed instruments and flute! 5Praise him with loud cymbals! Praise him with resounding cymbals! 6Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!

The book of Psalms ends where it always tends, in praise, and Psalm 150 is one great crescendo of it. Praise God in his sanctuary and in his heavens; praise him for his acts of power and his surpassing greatness; praise him with every instrument, trumpet and harp, tambourine and strings and flute and cymbals; and finally, let everything that has breath praise the LORD.

Two things stand out. Praise is the fitting climax of everything; after all the laments and struggles of the Psalms, the last word is unrestrained praise. And praise is universal and full-bodied: every instrument, every voice, everything that breathes is summoned to join in. The very breath God gives us is meant, above all, to praise him; to breathe is to have both the means and the reason for praise. The Psalms end by calling the whole of creation, and each of us, into the joy of praising God with everything we have and everything we are.

Am I using the very breath God gives me, above all, to praise him, joining the whole of creation in the unrestrained worship that is our truest calling?

Sources

Psalm 150:6: "Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!"
Psalm 150:1: "Praise God in his sanctuary! Praise him in his heavens for his acts of power!"
Psalm 150:2: "Praise him for his mighty acts! Praise him according to his excellent greatness!"