Let Everything That Has Breath Praise The Lord

We could learn from the culture of others

Verse 4 combines the joyful sounds of the tambourine with strings and the flute

Strings refer to instruments similar to the violin or cello

The word “flute” represents the whole class of wind instruments and has been translated “organ” in some Latin translations.

Verse 5 kicks up the volume level: “Praise Him with the clash of cymbals, praise Him with resounding cymbals.”

These instruments were used in religious ceremonies and were played by the priests

They made a loud, distinctive sound when banged together

When the walls of Jerusalem were dedicated in Nehemiah 12:27, “…the Levites were sought out from where they lived and were brought to Jerusalem to celebrate joyfully the dedication with songs of thanksgiving and with the music of cymbals, harps, and lyres.”

The phrase, “resounding cymbals” can be translated, “the clamour of joy.”

God wants us to shout with joy

Spurgeon, in his commentary on the Psalms, captures the essence of Psalm 150: “Let the clash of the loudest music be the Lord’s: let the joyful clang of the loftiest notes be all for Him. Praise has beaten the tambourine, swept the harp, and sounded the trumpet, and now for a last effort, awakening the most heavy of slumberers, and startling the most indifferent of onlookers, she dashes together the disks of brass, and with sounds both loud and high proclaims the glories of the Lord.”

Who Is To Praise?

Verse 6 pulls it all together, “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord.”

Not merely the priests and Levites, nor just the congregation, but all living creatures are included in the choir of choirs

God has given each of us breath; we’re called now to breathe His praise.

This song begins and ends with the command to praise the Lord

We’re to praise Him everywhere, with every means possible because of His mighty acts, and because of who He is

And, we’re to praise Him with a wide variety of instrumentation and with triumphant expressions of worship

God desires for you and for me to live a lifestyle of spontaneous praise ¬ for the best instrument of praise is a man or woman, teenager, or child wholly committed to Him

We are to be a people of praise.

Conclusion

If you’re at all like me, when you think about how expressive and free worship was in the Old Testament, it makes you a little uncomfortable

We often think of Christianity as a reserved religion

But let’s begin to praise the Lord how the Bible shows us and how the Cameroon people do

With shouts of praise!