Praise

1 Praise ye the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power.

2 Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness.

3 Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp.

4 Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs.

5 Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.

6 Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord.

Psalm 150:1-6.

“What” are we talking about today? 1 Praise ye the Lord.

Psalm 150 is the culmination, the crescendo, the grand finale of the book of Psalms. It closes the section on Praise which begins with Psalm 146. These five Psalms are a unique tribute to God as they all begin with the command, Praise ye the Lord. And they all end with the command, Praise ye the Lord. And in between the beginning and the end of each Psalm is an extensive study on Praise. I believe it is incumbent on every believer to understand the necessity of Praise.

In another Psalm, Praise is extolled as an exercise for the living.

Psalm 115:17,18: The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence.

It is safe to assume non-praisers are not of the living kind. No one should be so reserved or emotionally subdued that they cannot lift their voice in praise. Especially in the sanctuary.

That is the first place we are directed to praise the Lord. That is part of the “Where?” of Praise.

1b Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power.

The sanctuary is the place God’s people gather. Where He is lifted up. Praise should flow from our hearts and our lips in this opportune location. Not a mumbled expression but a shout of joy, thanksgiving, and recognition of our True God.

Then, God is everywhere. Anywhere we are is his sanctuary by virtue of his Omnipresence; and because we are His temple and we take Him everywhere.

Another location where there is ongoing praise to God is in heaven. That is the firmament of his power.

Genesis 1:8: And God called the firmament Heaven.

When we praise on earth we join in with the celestial chorus, the 24/7 realm of praise. Best to get in practice if you plan on going there.

Then there is the “Why?” of praise.

2 Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness.

Ahh. Then we come to the “How?” of praise.

3 Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp.

4 Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs.

5 Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.

Does not sound like a quiet church to me. Or a stoic religious experience. Sounds like the true happy hour, or two. We need some Holy Spirit anointed musicians and dancers. A good set of drums would certainly be included. Like the song says, Crank up the music, let’s have church.

And finally the “Who?” of praise.

6 Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord.

Are you breathing?

Praise ye the Lord. -PJF-

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