Psalm 150

Psalm 150

Worthwhile Praise

I.                    Praising God is worthwhile, because only He’s worthy; so we must praise Him everywhere (v. 1)

a.       Praise the LORD! But where must we praise Him? The covenant making, promise keeping, God of all power must be praised in His “sanctuary”, or here on earth. He must also be praised in His “mighty expanse”, which is the heavenly realm. In other words the psalm commands that God must praised on earth and in heaven, or everywhere. The command to worship God on earth certainly pertains to corporate gathering of worship and praise, but more specifically we must remember that for those who belong to Christ, refers to the nature of our bodies as temples of the living God who dwells in us. As temples of the living God, we must praise Him wherever we are because He alone is worthy of all praise and our praise is glorifying to Him; but that also means that wherever we are is a worthwhile place to be because we’re always serving the greatest possible purpose of glorifying God through our praise. So often in life we feel as though wherever we are never seems to be as good or as important as where we want to be. However, that’s never case when we’re being obedient to praise God wherever we are. (v. 1; Ps. 100:4; Matt. 6:9-10; Acts 2:41-47; 1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19; 2 Cor. 6:16; Heb. 10:25)

II.                 Praising God is worthwhile, because only He’s worthy; so we must praise Him for who He is and what He does (v. 2)

a.       Next, the psalmist reminds us why we must praise God. God does what He does because of who He is. So we must praise Him for His “excellent greatness”, which means His nature and character. He alone is perfectly holy, righteous, just, merciful, gracious, and loving. We must also praise His “mighty deeds” which result from His nature and character. His mightiest deed, Christ’s self-sacrifice on the cross, is most indicative of all of who He is, as all His perfect nature and character on display in Jesus’ redemptive action. God’s great goodness touches every area of our lives at all times and in all places. Continually growing to know His greatness and see His great deeds by praising Him, reveals His all sovereign, all powerful, and all present nature. By praising Him, everything that happens in life becomes worthwhile in Him. (v. 2; Exod. 34:6-7; Ps. 22; 23; 100:3, 5; 106:1-2; 139; 145:11-12; John 3:16; 2 Cor. 5:21; Phil 1:6; 2:5-9; 1 Tim. 1:17; 6:15b-16; Rev. 4:11) 

III.              Praising God is worthwhile, because only He’s worthy; so we must praise Him with everything we have (Vv. 3-5)

a.       So God must be praised everywhere, because of how great He is, and because of the great things He does, but how should praise Him? Verses 3-5 calls us to praise God on all occasions and with all we have. The trumpet refers to the ram’s horn blown by priests in celebration of great festivals. The harp and lyre are string instruments played by the Levites in worship. The timbrel is basically a tambourine that woman played as they danced sacred dances during celebrations of joyous occasions and victories; and the psalmist lists two kinds of cymbals, one small and clear sounding and the other large and loud, which were sounded by anyone on similar occasions. The psalmist isn’t discounting the fitting and reverent worship which should accompany entering into the presence of the Lord on many circumstances, he’s describing an expectancy of praise that must be indicative of the lives of those who belong to Christ. When must live on the edge of our seat knowing that God is always working works befitting Him. Then we’ll continually respond in praise with whatever have and all that we are. That heart attitude of praise is borne out of an understanding that all that we have and all we are is from Him, through Him, and to Him, because He alone deserves glory, honor, and praise. As we look for Him expectantly, and praise Him with all we are and all we have, everything we have and are becomes valuable and worthwhile, because we know it was given to us by God expressly to praise and worship Him. (Vv. 3-5; Exod. 15:20-21; 1 Chron. 25:1; Ps. 47:6; 4-6; 100:1-2; Rom. 11:33-12:2; Eph. 5:15-20; Phil. 4:11-13; Rev. 19:1-9)

IV.               Praising God is worthwhile, because only He’s worthy; so all who have life must praise Him with all their life (v. 6)

a.       Who must praise God? “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord”, by which the psalmist calls everything and everyone to praise God! This isn’t a suggestion, nor merely a command, but a forgone conclusion. Every knee in every place will bow to the Lord and every tongue in every place will confess Jesus as Lord. The implication is that if we exist, we must praise God, and all will, but by doing so now, we assign significance and worth to our every breathe and whole existence by using it to praise God. Every breathe we take is significant, and we’ll be accountable. Dedicating them to God’s praise gives each one weight and worth. (v. 6; Ps. 98:7-9; 148:7-12; Isa. 55:12-13; Luke 19:37-40; Phil. 2:10-11; Rev. 5:8-14; 7:9-10)