Psalm 150 Commentary
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A couple of housekeeping issues: Psalm 150 terminates Book 5 of the volume of Psalms. It also terminates the entire Book of Psalms.
To say this psalm summarizes and concludes the entire book would be to minimize the many stormy issues raised in the Book. But that is exactly the point. The praise of the name of the LORD overshadows everything. The praise of the LORD makes everything else insignificant.
The admiration for God translates into an effort to imitate or a desire to be like Him. This is praise. You easily understand when some believers say praise is all there is to the Christian walk. It is a trip to what life was like back in the Garden of peace and tranquility.
To terminate the volume of psalms on this note is to announce the commencement of the trip into wonderland. It is a world where men and women begin to discover who they really are. They are sheep and not goats. They discover their menu. Desires change. Purpose is discovered.
In Psalm 51, for example, David discovered he was sheep and not a goat. He desperately needed to put things right. And only the LORD could. And so he prays, “Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise.” Psalm 51 verse 15. This is David’s repentance after a moment of sin with Bathsheba. What has praise to do with repentance? Everything. Sin is actually the absence of praise.
The works of the LORD and the greatness of the LORD permeate everything. There is no parallel reign. The LORD is in control, absolutely and eternally. The throne has never been vacant.
While the world may not see things this way, owing to blindness, let the household of faith resound with praise. They can see it. They experience grace after grace. They gaze in wonder. The Almighty speaks; they hear His voice. Let the saint praise the LORD.
The Sanctuary is a reference to the Body of Christ. Let them live in praise.
Let them use instruments in the worship of the LORD. It is practical. The worship of the LORD goes beyond self. It affects even objects around the saint. Let the echo of your voice carry praise to the outer world. Let the objects around you hear you praise the LORD. Let them respond in tandem with your praise. Make music with nature! Beat the drum, strum the strings, and blow your breath in praise. Manipulate the objects to respond to God’s call for praise.
The lesson is this: let creation praise the LORD. So the worship of the LORD is reflected in the objects around you: your dressing, your possessions, your thoughts, your words, and your actions, among many other physical interactions. Hands are lifted up to God in praise while the body is manipulated in a dance of joy. Let the LORD cover your ‘everything’. This is the meaning of praise.
It should be enough to say out your praises. To manipulate objects around you for praise is actually an instruction to the saint for holiness in their interactions with the material world around them. To shout it out and to be seen doing it is yet another instruction for the saint to sanctify his or her relationships.
“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.” Verse 6a. This is a call to humanity. Let there be praise. It is also a statement that at one point only the praise of the LORD shall remain. Could it be a reference to the following? “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2 verses 10 to 11.
Regardless, Praise the LORD. Indeed, praise the LORD.
Thanks for loving the scriptures! The Book of Proverbs is up next.
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