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Let Every Breath

Nov 24, 2019

Give Thanks #4

Let Every Breath Praise the Lord

By Louie Marsh, 11-24-2015

 

Each of the five books of the Psalms closes with a doxology (Psalm 41:13, 72:18-19, 89:52, 106:48). This entire Psalm can be seen as a doxology that not only closes the fifth and final volume of the collected Psalms, but also closes the entire Book of Psalms.

Psalm 150 contains no argument, no real teaching, no real explanation. It is an eloquent, passionate cry to all creation to give Yahweh the praise due to Him.

 

Intro - video

 

1) I should praise the Lord EVERYWHERE.

 

1  Praise the LORD! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! Psalm 150:1 (ESV)

  • Jesus SERVES ME in a heavenly sanctuary.

1  Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, Hebrews 8:1 (ESV)

  • Jesus makes His sanctuary among BELIEVERS..

16  What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 2 Corinthians 6:16 (ESV)

  • Jesus sanctuary on earth is BELIEVERS BODIES.

16  Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? 1 Corinthians 3:16 (ESV)

  • JESUS HIMSELF will be my sanctuary in heaven.

22  And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. Revelation 21:22 (ESV)

 

2) Why should I praise the Lord?

 

2  Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! Psalm 150:2 (ESV)

 

  • His mighty

 

  • His excellent

 

3) HOW should I praise the Lord?

 

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! Psalm 150:3-5 (ESV)

 

  • * Trumpet: “Sophar, from its noble, cheering, and majestic sound.”
  • Lute: “Nebel; the nabla, a hollow stringed instrument; perhaps like the guitar.”
  • * Harp: “Kinnor, another stringedinstrument, played on with the hands or fingers.”
  • * Tambourine: “Toph, drum, tabret, or tomtom, or tympanumof the ancients; a skin stretched over a broad hoop; perhaps something like the tambarine.”
  • Dance: “Machol, the pipe… It never means dance; see note on Psalm 149:3.”
  • Stringed instruments: “Minnim. This literally signifies strings put in order; perhaps a triangular kind of hollow instrumenton which the strings were regularly placed, growing shorter and shorter till they came to a point.”
  • * Flutes: “Ugab. Very likely the syrinxor mouth organ; Pan’s pipe; both of the ancients and moderns.”
  • * Loud cymbals: “Tseltselim. Two hollow plates of brass, which, being struck together, produced a sharp clanging sound.”
  • Clashing cymbals: “What the high-sounding cymbalsmeant I know not; unless those of a larger make, struck above the head, and consequently emitting a louder sound.”

Show picture of me in band in college

“The list of instruments is not meant to be comprehensive, though it may be. We do not know what instruments the ancient Jews had. The point is actually that everything you have can be used to worship God.” (Boice)

The broad list of musical instruments tells us that God wants every class and group of people to praise Him, because these instruments were normally played by different types of people. “The horn was the curved ‘Shophar,’ blown by the priests; harp and psaltery were played by the Levites, timbrels were struck by women; and dancing, playing on stringed instruments and pipes and cymbals, were not reserved for the Levites.” (Maclaren)

 

4) WHO should praise the Lord?

 

6  Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!... Psalm 150:6a (ESV)

Derek Kidner noted that the literal phrase is, “Let all breath praise the Lord.” John Trapp wrote, “Or, Let every breath praise the Lord… We have all as much reason to praise God as we have need to draw breath.”

“The word nesamah [has breath] denotes all living creatures, endowed with life by the Creator (Genesis 1:24–25; 7:21–22), but always in distinction from the Creator.” (VanGemeren)

 

Show Mary Jane pics - explain

 

5) It ends as it begins in the LORD.

 

6  … Praise the LORD! Psalm 150:6b (ESV)

 

  • Praise the Lord = HALLELUJAH!

 

“Your life may resemble the psalter with its varying moods, its light and shadow, its sob and smile; but it will end with hallelujahs, if only you will keep true to the will and way and work of the Most Holy.” (Meyer)