What is the Praise Procedure?

Psalm 150

Let Everything Praise the Lord

1 Praise the Lord!
Praise God in His sanctuary;
praise Him in His mighty heavens!
2 Praise Him for His mighty deeds;
praise Him according to His excellent greatness!
3 Praise Him with trumpet sound;
praise Him with lute and harp!
4 Praise Him with tambourine and dance;
praise Him with strings and pipe!
5 Praise Him with sounding cymbals;
praise Him with loud clashing cymbals!
6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD!

The book of the Psalms ends with a call to action. A challenge. A summons for us to do something and to live a certain way. Within this last psalm, we are given the answer to six important questions:

1. What must we do (150:1a)?
2. Where must we do it (150:1b-c)?
3. Why must we do it (150:2)?
4. How are we to do it (150:3-5)?
5. Who is supposed to do it (150:6a)?
6. When should we do it (150:6b)?

From the very first statement you will discover that, after 150 different songs, if there is anything we are supposed to do, we are commanded to praise the LORD!

What must we do?

The Psalmist says to “Praise the LORD!” In fact, this call to action is so clear that the song both begins and ends with this charge.

Where must we do it?

The Psalmist not only reiterates what we must do but even tells us where we must do it. He says, “Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in His mighty heavens!” To be clear, the sanctuary is referring to the sacred and holy place in which He dwells. Depending upon when this Psalm was written, it could be referring to either the tabernacle or the temple, but the point is that God’s people are to worship God in this sacred place that He has established. However, our praise must not just remain in the temple (where the religious prescriptions would take place), but also in His mighty heavens. What the Psalmist is saying is that, no matter where we are located in the universe, we are called to praise our God because He fills all and is in all and has established all (cf. Psalm 139:7-8).

Why would we do it?

After clearly expressing what we must do and where we must do it, the Psalmist informs us of why we must do it. He says, “Praise Him for His mighty deeds; praise Him according to His excellent greatness!” There truly is no end to how mighty our God has acted throughout the generations and how great He has been! Check out Psalm 136 for a summary of what our God has done.

How are we do it?

The Psalmist now tells us how exactly we are to praise Him. This is not meant to be an exhaustive list or even the only way to do this, but we are called to praise God with music and dancing. He says, “Praise Him with trumpet sound; praise Him with lute and harp! Praise Him with tambourine and dance; praise Him with strings and pipe! Praise Him with sounding cymbals; praise Him with loud clashing cymbals!” What the Psalmist is saying is that our worship should be characterized by joy and gladness. After all, His greatness and mighty deeds have always been done on our behalf!

Who is supposed to do it?

The Psalmist says, “Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!” Thus, the answer is that literally every person is commanded to praise our God! And, in the end, everyone will (cf. Philippians. 2:9-11).

When should we do it?

Psalm 150 ends exactly as it began – with a call to praise the LORD! It answers the “what” while also addressing the “when” because our praise to God is to always be an ever-present reality. Regardless of what may come or what we may face, we are to love God, trust God, walk with God, and praise God!

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS

All that to say, let us end with the Psalmist by repeating his last charge which is made to each one of us, “Praise the LORD!”

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