The Instruments Of Worship Series

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 protracted praise and adoration. The hands and the feet were both set 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? Brothers and sisters, there is enough in our faith to create and justify the highest degree of euphoric delight which breaks forth into melodious movement.

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 clamor of joy.” I like that. God wants us to clamor 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.

There is nothing more majestic or more beautiful in the entire book of Psalms than this brief finale. Let’s shout it out together, vigilant to not ever let it become just a cliché. Repeat it after me: “Praise the Lord!” Let’s say it out loud three different times, emphasizing a different word each time.