Praising God is the bottom line
Psalm 150
1 Praise the Lord!
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heaven!
2 Praise him for his mighty works;
praise his unequaled greatness!
3 Praise him with a blast of the ram’s horn;
praise him with the lyre and harp!
4 Praise him with the tambourine and dancing;
praise him with strings and flutes!
5 Praise him with a clash of cymbals;
praise him with loud clanging cymbals.
6 Let everything that breathes sing praises to the Lord!
Praise the Lord!
This is the last song in the Psalter, so it sums up everything that has been said before it. We have seen King David and other writers cry out to God, express frustration, anger, thanks and joy, but the bottom line is to praise God.
The Psalm begins and ends with a simple call to “Praise the Lord”, but in the middle it outlines where, why and how to praise Him.
Where should we praise Him? Everywhere! On the earth, in His sanctuary and throughout the heavens. In Romans 8:38-39 we are reminded that nothing can separate us from the love of God. In the same way, nothing should separate us from praising Him.
Why should we praise Him? The psalmist gives us two answers. “For His mighty works” means for everything he does. God “causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” (Romans 8:28) Sometimes, that good is to change our circumstances, but sometimes, it is to change us in our circumstances. Either way, we know that God’s mighty works are for us and not against us, and we can praise Him for them. The second reason to praise God is for his character. Here, the psalmist calls it “His unequalled greatness”, summing up God’s power, love, saving grace etc. Many reasons to praise!
Finally, how do we praise God? The answer is with words, music and exuberance! I love the contrasts here. Praise him with the piercing volume of a ram’s horn, clashing cymbals and tambourines and with the melodic softness of a harp, lyre, strings and flutes. King David “danced before the Lord with all his might” (2 Sam 6:14). I am challenged to hold nothing back when praising God, too.
Heavenly Father, I worship you. Help me to be unrestrained in the where, how and why of my praise to you. “Praise the Lord!” Amen
Written by Megan Cornell