Psalm 150
Praise the Lord With Music!
Intro
√ Praise the Lord with music
As we noted (sorry) in the introduction to Psalm 149, Psalm 150 is a companion song, a call to God’s people to praise the Lord with…
Singing ~ Psalm 149
Music ~ Psalm 150
As it is the last word in the Psalms I’d suggest that it is what God wants to emphasize in our hearts and minds.
Ap. Play!
Music, the playing of instruments, with or without lyrics, has always been a part of the worship experience.
While some people would like to argue that instruments have no place in Christian worship…
…the reality is that God must like music as testified by those inspired by the Holy Spirit who call us to use instruments, and the presence of instruments in heaven! (Ref. Rev. 14 & 15).
So, since God is the One who is blessed by the music we make for Him, let’s use all the instruments available to us to bless the Lord!
Inspiration for the music (vs. 1-2)
Psa. 150:1 Praise the LORD!
Praise God in His sanctuary;
Praise Him in His mighty firmament!
Psa. 150:2 Praise Him for His mighty acts;
Praise Him according to His excellent greatness!
√ Inspiration for the music
Every song has an inspiration, the inspiration for this song are the mighty works of God and the greatness of His character!
In view of these qualities the psalmist calls us to praise God where He lives…
…in His sanctuary and in His firmament.
“Sanctuary” literally means…
“holy place”
…which could be interpreted to mean the
Ex. Instruments in heaven
Rev. 14:2b …And I heard the sound of harpists playing their harps.
And…
Rev. 15:2 And I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who have the victory over the beast, over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God.
Those who argue against using instruments in Christian worship point out that these are the only verses in the New Testament that mention the use of instruments…
…and that it’s in heaven!
They suggest that instruments cause people to be distracted from worship, and that is why they’re not mentioned as being used by the early Church.
In heaven these folks say we won’t be distracted so instruments are okay!
√ Instruments are good for worship & praise
Couple of problems with the idea that we can’t use instruments for praise and worship…
1) Arguing from silence
Just because the New Testament doesn’t record the use of instruments by the Church doesn’t mean that they didn’t use them.
The Apostles taught the Church from the Old Testament scriptures (New Testament was not yet written!).
So guess what scriptures the Church was using for their model of worship…
…the Psalms!
2) Singing can be just as distracting
The denomination that is most ardently opposed to the use of instruments also prides itself in some of the most sophisticated vocal harmonies ever written!
The result is that people are just as distracted from worship by the multi-layered harmonies as they would be by an over-the-top instrumental solo!
So, the distraction argument doesn’t really hold any weight because it’s the presentation that is the problem, not whether it’s vocals or instruments.
3) Thy will be done
Jesus taught us to pray…
“Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”.
That is, God’s ultimate desire is that everything that goes on in heaven would also be done on earth.
Those who oppose the use of instruments in Church worship concede that instruments are used in heaven…
…ergo, must be God’s will.
Therefore, since we want God’s will done on earth we better get start using instruments in worship in the church!
Bottom line, we can use instruments in our worship services, and God likes it.
What kind of instruments? The psalmist names some that they used!
Instruments for the music (vs. 3-5)
Psa. 150:3 Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet;
Praise Him with the lute and harp!
Psa. 150:4 Praise Him with the timbrel and dance;
Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes!
Psa. 150:5 Praise Him with loud cymbals;
Praise Him with clashing cymbals!
√ Instruments for the music
Sounds fun! He names 8 different kinds of instruments, more if you recognize…
Stringed instruments
…as a class of instruments.
Guitar
Harp
Cello
Violin
Koto
The point is that the psalmist isn’t limiting us to 8 instruments as approved for worship…
Rather, he’s calling God’s people to use whatever instrument they play and use it to honor God with praise.
Case in point, three psalms were written specifically to be
accompanied by an instrument of
“To the Chief Musician. On the instrument of
We really have no idea what kind of an instrument it was! But, inspired by the Holy Spirit…
David
Asaph
Sons of Korah
…all wrote praise and worship music to by accompanied by this foreign instrument of the Philistines!
Ap. Use what you’ve got
A discarded Raid can filled with rocks will work!
Invitation to sing with the music (vs. 6)
Psa. 150:6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.
Praise the LORD!
√ Invitation to sing with the music
What a great verse to end the Book of Psalms with! The author calls every person, and every beast, anything that has breath…
…to lift up their voice and praise the Lord.
Ap. We’re all in the choir!
No one is exempt from singing praise to the Lord, especially Christians!
Rev. 5:9 And they sang a new song, saying:
“You are worthy to take the scroll,
And to open its seals;
For You were slain,
And have redeemed us to God by Your blood
Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
Rev. 5:10 And have made us kings and priests to our God;
And we shall reign on the earth.
Christian, you are the “they” who is singing to Jesus in heaven. You can’t argue that…
“That’s in heaven, when I get to heaven, then I’ll sing”
Remember,
“Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”.
Yeah, that means God wants you to sing while you’re still here on earth.
Close
√ Play that music
As we’ve seen in the scripture God likes music, so since God is the One who is blessed by the music we make for Him, let’s use all the instruments and our voices to us to bless the Lord!