The focus this month has been on Psalm 150 in which the word hallelujah occurs 13 times, translated as either “praise God,” “praise the Lord” or “praise Him.”
We have seen that the opening verse of the psalm deals with the “where” of praising God, namely, in the sanctuary and in the firmament. The second verse points to the “what” of this praise, namely, we praise God for His mighty acts and His excellent greatness.
This week our attention is directed in verses 3–5 to the “how” of praising the Lord.
Apart from this psalm, we would likely think of praising Him with our voices through singing and praying. However, in the setting of the psalm, the focus is on praising God through the use of musical instruments.
Instruments
Mention is made first of the use of wind instruments like the trumpet and flute, then of stringed instruments like the lute and harp. Then there is mention of percussion instruments like the timbrel and cymbals.
Furthermore, expressions of praise might include the use of the body through dance. The focus of this list is to alert us to the fact that praising the Lord may occur in a variety of ways. This list brings to mind the admonition of Psalm 100:1 which calls for God’s people to make a joyful noise unto the Lord.
Whole being
When we analyze the list of ways to praise God, we might summarize it as an invitation to praise Him with the whole body. To this we might add that we should praise the Lord without reservation and with a spirit of joy and enthusiasm. Our God deserves praise that is more than routine or mindless. Meaningful praise demands our focus and concentration on what we are expressing, as well as on Him to whom we are expressing it.
One way to summarize the “how” of praising the Lord is that it is to be done with our words, our worship and our walk. Psalm 150 summarizes it by declaring, “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord” (v. 6).
In a sense, the heavenly bodies offer silent praise by showing forth God’s handiwork. They do so with their regularity and faithfulness.
In a secondary sense, they do so by causing us mortals to stand by in awe of their majesty. If inanimate creation exists to the praise of God’s glory, how much more should those who bear His image as living creatures.
After all, God inhabits the praises of His people (Ps. 22:3).
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