Psalm 150

Today I’m posting the Musings of a friend who writes about Psalm 150. Enjoy!

Lessons from Our Grammar Studies

By William F. Powers

Psalm 150:1-6 “Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power. Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness. Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp. Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs. Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals. Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.”

This is the last of the psalms. Like the four psalms preceding it, Psalm 150 begins with the words “Praise ye the LORD” and ends with the same phrase.

I recently came across this psalm in one of the Bibles I haven’t used in a while. While reading, I saw the notes I had written, and they prompted me to recall one of my school lessons from many years ago. Perhaps you too might recall the five questions to be answered in an announcement: Who, What, Where, When and Why. However, in this psalm, the questions are What, Where, Why, How, and Who.

WHAT? Praise ye the LORD (verse 1).

WHERE? Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power (verse 1).

WHY? Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness (verse 2).

HOW? Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp. Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs. Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals (verses 3-5).

WHO? Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD (verse 6).

Perhaps verse 6 also answers the question “When.” As long as we have breath in us, we are to praise the Lord.

Oh, and one last thing … Praise ye the LORD!