Read Psalm 150

Psalm 150 closes the entire Psalter in a sort of doxology. There is no teaching, no explaining, just Hallelu Yah.

We have now reached the last summit of the mountain chain of the Psalms. It rises high into the clear azure, and its brow is bathed in the sunlight of the eternal world of worship, it is a rapture.

Charles Spurgeon, English preacher, 1834-1892

Titled, Let Everything Praise the LORD (ESV); Praise the LORD with Music (ICB); A Psalm of Praise (NASB); and simply, Praise the LORD (HCSB).

There is no doubt about the meaning behind this beautiful little poem- it closes the entire book of Psalms with a call for all to continue, now and forever, singing of the goodness of the Lord.

Psalm 150 is also the last of what scholars call the “Hallelujah Psalms.” The Hebrew word Halleluyah is translated as: praise (Hallelu) and the LORD (Yah– a shortened form of Yahweh). The Hebrew word translated in English as the “LORD” (in all caps) throughout the Old Testament is known as the Tetragrammaton or YHWH, Yahweh or Jehovah. The name is the most sacred name of God and so revered that the Jewish people wouldn’t say it out loud and some still don’t.

The psalms themselves were meant be sung in the tabernacle, the temple, the synagogue, and the sanctuary, anywhere people gather to worship God. As we will see later in Psalm 150, the LORD (YHWH) is replaced with another name for God, Adonai, so that the Jewish people could sing this song without saying the Name they held so dear to their hearts. In the Orthodox Jewish Bible (below), even Hallelu Yah is changed as to not use this most revered name of God,

Hallelu El (Praise G-d) in His Kodesh; Hallelu Him in the raki'a of His might.
Tehillim (Psalm) 150:1 TOJB2011

Halleluyah! Praise God in his holy place! Praise him in the heavenly dome of his power!
Tehillim (Psalm) 150:1 CJB

Praise the LORD! Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in His mighty firmament!
Psalm 150:1 NKJV

The final call of the Psalter is that God is praised, now and forever. In His sanctuary. In His home even. Make no doubt about it, the place where God resides now is filled with beings singing these praises. In the heavens, where God sits on His throne, the heavenly beings sing praise to Him, Hallelu Yah, even now.

In His sanctuary, praise God.

sanctuary– the “holiest of holy places” can refer to a temple or church, but also includes anywhere people go for peaceful tranquility and introspection, where people feel safe and secure (vocabularly.com).

From His sanctuary- the place where we can find peace and tranquility- let praise begin and end. When we stand in the sanctuary of our church, we are in His presence, and we are called there to praise Him.

Why should we praise the Lord from these places? The psalm answers this question.

Praise Him for His mighty acts; praise Him according to His excellent greatness!
Psalm 150:2 NKJV

Praise him for his mighty works; praise his unequaled greatness!
Psalm 150:2 NLT

Praise him for his strength. Praise him for his greatness.
Psalm 150:2 ICB

Two reasons.

One, praise the Lord for the things He has done for you, for us. The psalms are filled with reasons to praise the Lord. For example, Psalm 105 is a prayer of remembrance for all the things that God did for Israel in Egypt. Likewise, Psalm 106 is a song remembering God saving the people in the Red Sea from the Egyptian army and in the wanderings of the wilderness after, and God’s faithfulness through it all.

The psalms are a gigantic book of songs and prayers reminding us today of God’s faithfulness throughout the generations. So . . . “praise Him for His mighty works.”

Secondly, because He is great. It is right to praise God for what He’s done for you, but it’s an even greater thing to praise Him for Who He is.

Who is God to you? A Father. A Savior. A friend. A Provider. A Protector. Is He hard to understand and even harder to explain?

Even though we may only understand a tiny bit of who God is, it right to praise Him.

There is nothing little about our God, and there is nothing great apart from him.

Charles Spurgeon, English preacher, 1834-1892

How should we praise the Lord? Psalm 150 answers this as well, and lists all the things that the temple or tabernacle at that time used for worship,

Praise him with a blast of the ram's horn; praise him with the lyre and harp! Praise him with the tambourine and dancing; praise him with strings and flutes! Praise him with a clash of cymbals; praise him with loud clanging cymbals.
Psalm 150:3-4 NLT

The point? It doesn’t matter how it sounds or what method is used, all that matters is that praise comes from the heart. Praise the Lord with whatever you have. Whatever you have right now, praise Him. Words, song, dance, instruments- all of it should be used to praise God.

Whatever your gift, use it to praise the Lord. Is it music? Is it art? Is it poetry? Is it dance?

Let everything that breathes sing praises to the LORD! Praise the LORD!
Psalm 150:6 NLT

The Psalter- the entirety of the Book of Psalms- begins with the word “Blessed” and ends with the word “Halleluyah.”

Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his law, day and night.
Psalm 1:1-2

Let everything that has breath praise Adonai!
Halleluyah!
Tehillim (Psalm) 150:6 Complete Jewish Bible

Praise the Lord because you are blessed and chosen. Not because of anything that you have done, but simply because of Who He is. If it is hard to begin this, simply close your eyes right now and tell Him, Thank you, Father.

The Book of Psalms has been a royal banquet to me, and in feasting upon its contents, I have seemed to eat angels’ food.

Charles Spurgeon, English preacher, 1834-1892

Father in heaven, may these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Heidi xoxo