Bird's-eye view
Psalm 150 is the grand, doxological fireworks display at the very end of the Psalter. It does not meander; it does not reflect or lament. It is a pure, unadulterated, and explosive command to praise God. This psalm functions as the final "amen" to the entire collection of 149 psalms that precede it. The central command, "Praise Yah," rings out ten times in just six verses. The structure is simple and all-encompassing. The psalmist tells us where to praise God (from the earthly sanctuary to the highest heavens), why to praise God (for His mighty acts and for His essential greatness), and how to praise God (with every conceivable instrument, culminating in every living thing). This is not a suggestion for quiet, respectable worship. This is a summons to a joyful, loud, and universal symphony of praise directed to the covenant God of Israel.
These first two verses set the stage for this grand finale. They establish the location and the basis for all worship. The location is everywhere, from the particular to the universal, from the church gathered to the cosmos itself. The basis is everything, from what God has done in history to who God is in His eternal being. It is a call to ground our worship in the objective reality of God's character and work, and to let that worship fill every sphere of existence.
Outline
- 1. The Final Summons (Ps 150:1-2)
- a. The Unabashed Command: Praise Yah! (Ps 150:1a)
- b. The Location of Praise: Everywhere (Ps 150:1b-c)
- c. The Reason for Praise: Who God Is and What He Has Done (Ps 150:2)
Context In Psalms
The book of Psalms is arranged into five books, each ending with a doxology. But the final five psalms (146-150) form a distinct and climactic "Hallelujah Chorus." Each one of these psalms begins and ends with the Hebrew phrase Hallelujah, which means "Praise Yah!" or "Praise the Lord!" Psalm 150 is the ultimate crescendo of this chorus. After journeying through psalms of deep lament, bitter complaint, historical reflection, messianic prophecy, and heartfelt thanksgiving, the book does not just end; it erupts. There are no more questions, no more enemies to be vanquished, no more sins to confess. All has been resolved, and the only fitting response left is pure, uninhibited praise. This psalm is the capstone on the entire hymnal of Israel, and by extension, the hymnal of the church.
Key Issues
- The Meaning of "Hallelujah"
- The Scope of Worship
- The Grounds of Worship: God's Acts and God's Attributes
- The Role of Music and Instruments in Worship
- The Universal Call to Praise
The Great Crescendo
The book of Psalms does not conclude with a gentle fade to black. It does not end with a quiet and contemplative whisper. It ends with a symphony, a cacophony, a universal roar of joyful praise. This is the final word. After everything that has been said, sung, and prayed in the previous 149 psalms, this is the conclusion of the whole matter: Praise the Lord. The command is not a polite suggestion. The Hebrew is an imperative. It is a summons, a call to arms, a directive from the King. And the one to be praised is not a generic deity or a vague higher power. He is Yah, the covenant-keeping God who has revealed His personal name to His people. This is the God of the Exodus, the God of Sinai, the God of David, and the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. The entire Psalter has been building to this point, and now the dam breaks.
Verse by Verse Commentary
1 Praise Yah! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty expanse.
The psalm opens with the great watchword, Hallelujah. Literally, "Praise Yah." This is the alpha of the psalm and its omega. It is the theme and the melody. Immediately, the psalmist answers the question of where this praise is to take place. And the answer is, in a word, everywhere. It begins in a specific location: "in His sanctuary." For the original audience, this meant the Temple in Jerusalem, the place where God had chosen to place His name and dwell among His people. Worship has a focal point. It has a center. For the new covenant church, the sanctuary is the gathered assembly of the saints, for we are the temple of the living God. Corporate worship is the epicenter from which all other praise radiates. But it does not stop there. From the sanctuary, praise is to fill "His mighty expanse," or the firmament of His power. This is the vastness of the heavens, the cosmos itself. From the church meeting on the corner to the farthest reaches of the Andromeda galaxy, there is no place where God is not present and glorious. Therefore, there is no place where He ought not to be praised. All creation is His cathedral, and our praise should fill it.
2 Praise Him for His mighty deeds; Praise Him according to the abundance of His greatness.
Having established the location of praise, the psalmist now gives us the reason for praise. Why should we praise Him? He gives two foundational reasons that cover all the ground there is. First, we praise Him "for His mighty deeds." Our worship is not based on a subjective feeling or a mystical whim. It is grounded in the objective, historical, verifiable acts of God. He is a God who does things. He spoke the world into existence. He delivered Israel from bondage with a mighty hand. He sent prophets. And climactically, He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to live a perfect life, die a substitutionary death, and rise again in glorious victory over sin and death. We praise God for the Gospel. Our praise has content; it tells the story of His mighty acts of salvation. Second, we praise Him "according to the abundance of His greatness." We praise Him not only for what He does, but for who He is. His deeds flow from His nature. His acts are mighty because He is mighty. His greatness is abundant, excellent, and measureless. We praise Him for His holiness, His wisdom, His justice, His goodness, His sovereignty, His faithfulness. And notice the measure of our praise: "according to" His greatness. This is an impossible standard, and that is the point. Because His greatness is infinite, our praise must be unending. We will spend all of eternity attempting to praise Him according to His excellent greatness, and we will never run out of material.
Application
This psalm is a direct command to every believer. First, we are commanded to praise. Worship is not an optional add-on to the Christian life; it is the very purpose for which we were created and redeemed. And this praise is to be directed specifically to Yahweh, the God of the Bible. We are not praising a generic force, but our covenant Father through Jesus Christ.
Second, our worship must be both gathered and scattered. It must have its white-hot center in the corporate gathering of the saints, the sanctuary. This is where we are equipped, encouraged, and realigned weekly. But from there, it must extend into the "mighty expanse" of our everyday lives. Your workshop, your kitchen, your office, your car, these are all part of the mighty expanse, and they must be filled with the praise of God.
Finally, our worship must be intelligent and grounded. We praise God for His mighty deeds, chief among them the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We must know the story of what God has done. And we praise Him for His abundant greatness. We must study His attributes. The more we know about who God is and what He has done, the deeper and more robust our praise will be. We do not praise God in a vacuum. We praise Him in response to His self-revelation in Scripture and in Christ. Therefore, let us be a people whose lives are a constant Hallelujah, a joyful noise to the God who is worthy of all praise.