Ladies Day of Prayer
JCC 05.03.10
Psalm 150
Each of the last 5 Psalms begins with, “Praise the Lord,” and each Psalm increases in praise and joy until we come to the last one Psalm 150
For the psalmist, “praise the Lord” was definitely not a cliché but an ecstatic expression of uncontrollable joy!
In six short verses, we hear the phrase 13 times
Every sentence starts off with “Hallelujah” (which is the Hebrew way to say, “Praise the Lord”) and is very short ¬
It’s as if he can’t wait to get to the next opportunity to say, “Praise the Lord” again.
The word, “praise” is derived from a Latin word which means to prize.
When we praise, we are expressing our approval by valuing something or someone who has worth or merit
The word also means to “shine” or “make a show by raving and celebrating.” To praise the Lord is to prize Him and rave about Him as the only one worthy of glory and honour
The people of Cameroon have little to praise the Lord for in comparison to us here in the UK
We are a people who live in a country with good education, health care and living conditions
Yet what do we do?
We complain about the weather, the government and the younger generation
Yet the people of Cameroon, praise the Lord as if they have all the riches at their disposal
Act 16: The early disciples when thrown in prison for the name of Jesus didn’t sit about feeling sorry for themselves, but they praised the Lord despite their circumstances.
And what was the psalmist teaching us?
Where are we to praise God
Verse 1 begins with a bang: “Praise the Lord. Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in His mighty heavens.”
The word used here for “Lord” is “Jehovah,” which means, “the self-existent and eternal one.”
The psalmist than shifts his focus to another name and calls him, “God” or “El” in Hebrew, which means, “Strong and mighty.”
We are to praise the eternal, strong and mighty God in “His sanctuary,” which is a reference to the temple, where God used to dwell
Since Jesus died and rose again, God now “lives” within His people, choosing not to live in a building
The call to praise also extends to the “mighty heavens.”
The psalmist is calling the firmament, and everything above it, to break out into a celebration of praise
Verse 1 is really saying, “Praise God in heaven and on earth.”
And so, verse 1 answers the question, “Where are we to praise Him?”
We’re to do it everywhere
Verse 2 gives us the answer to the question, “Why are we to praise Him?”
Why We Praise
We’re called to be enthusiastic about God for at least two reasons
First, we praise Him for what He does
We see this in the first part of verse 2: “Praise Him for His acts of power.”
This is the theme of many of the psalms
The phrase, “acts of power” carries with it the idea of God as a champion because of the victory He has won
His acts of power are displayed in creation and in our own lives as we enjoy the benefits of His grace, forgiveness, and salvation
Some of you may have great reason to praise the Lord for some recent way in which He has demonstrated His acts of power in your life
You’ve seen Him restore a relationship, give you victory over a sin, renew your health, or answer a specific prayer request
You’re praising Him today for what He’s done in your life ¬ and so you should
But, we’re also to praise Him for who He is in the second part of verse 2: “Praise Him for His surpassing greatness.”
This is especially evident in the last group of praise psalms. Psalm 145:3 says, “Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; His greatness no one can fathom.” Psalm 147:5: “Great is our Lord and mighty in power; His understanding has no limit.”
When we praise God for who He is, we are recognizing his surpassing greatness, or as the Hebrew indicates, for His “greatness and abundant magnitude.”
This is a good reminder for us
When we praise Him, we should do it for what He’s done in our lives and we should praise Him simply for who He is
How should we Praise?
As we move to the next section in verses 3-5, we learn How to Praise God. Many of us would be a bit unsettled if we worshipped the way the Israelites did or the Cameroons
Their music is loud and boisterous
Psalm 150 describes an incredible praise band, one I’d love to see more in the Uk!
For us to throw out our inhibitions
Imagine it, the instruments in the orchestra sounding out their praise to God
Large choirs and worship teams sing their anthems heralding God’s greatness.
Let’s take a look at how they praise:
“Praise Him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise Him with the harp and lyre, praise Him with tambourine and dancing, praise Him with the strings and flute, praise Him with the clash of cymbals, praise Him with resounding cymbals.”
The Israelites used 3 types of musical instruments ¬ wind, string, and percussion ¬ and all three are used in this pinnacle of praise in Psalm 150
This list of instruments appears to be in a random order and it’s likely that each one was played when it was mentioned and continued to be heard through the last “Praise the Lord.”
The first one listed is the trumpet
This was also referred to as the shophar, or ram’s horn
It was the greatest of the Jewish instruments, and could be heard from a long distance away
The sound of the trumpet in the Old Testament is associated with the grandest and most solemn events, such as the giving of the Law, the proclamation of jubilee, the coronation of kings, and the raging of war.
The trumpet will also be heard again when Jesus returns and the dead are raised
1 Corinthians 15:51-52 says, “Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed - in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.”
Psalm 150 After the blast of the trumpet, verse 3 calls us to “praise Him with the harp and lyre.”
We go from an explosive expression of praise to the sweet sound of strings
The harp is mentioned more than any other instrument and was played powerfully by David
Scholars believe that the harp and the lyre were similar in function and design, but the harp was probably larger
Verse 4 gives us the next instruments of worship ¬ the tambourine and dancing
These were associated with the deliverance at the Red Sea
This form of praise was jubilant and expressive. Exodus 15:20-21 describes the scene: “Then Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women followed her, with tambourines and dancing. Miriam sang to them: ‘Sing to the LORD, for He is highly exalted. The horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea.’”
The playing of the tambourine was often accompanied with dancing
The Hebrew word for “dance” indicates a “twirl or a twist,” and was done in an attitude of prolonged praise and adoration
The hands and the feet were both used in motion and the entire body moved in response to God’s greatness and His mighty acts of power.
Are there not periods of life when we are so happy that we could dance for joy?
There is enough in our faith to create and justify the highest degree of joyful delight which breaks forth into melodious movement
But we are too reserved
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!
