The Noise of Heaven: The Instruments of Praise Text: Psalm 150:3-5
Introduction: Worship Against the World
We have come to the end of the Psalter, and the final word is not a whisper but a symphony. This is the grand crescendo of all the prayers, laments, and praises that have come before. Psalm 150 is not a polite suggestion; it is a fusillade of commands. The word "praise" appears thirteen times in six verses. This is total war, a full-throated, full-bodied, full-throated assault of joy against the gray, beige, and miserable world of the unbeliever.
Our age is deeply confused about worship because it is deeply confused about God, man, and the world. On the one hand, we have a strain of gnostic pietism that treats the body and the material world as unfortunate distractions from the "real" spiritual life. For these folks, worship is best when it is quiet, internal, and largely invisible. It is a faith that has been neutered, one that is embarrassed by loud noises and exuberant movement. On the other hand, we have a shallow, sentimental emotionalism that wants the noise but without the doctrinal substance, a concert experience that tickles the affections but never challenges the will or instructs the mind. Both are profound errors because both begin with man, his preferences, his comfort, his experience.
Psalm 150 corrects this by beginning and ending with God. The praise is directed to Him, in His sanctuary, and in His mighty heavens. The reason for the praise is His mighty acts and His excellent greatness. And the means of the praise, as we see in our text, is to be as robust and multifaceted as the creation He has made. This psalm gives us God's authorized arsenal for the joyful warfare of worship. It is a command to use every category of instrument, every part of our being, to declare the glory of the King. This is not about our tastes. This is about total, glad-hearted obedience.
The Text
Praise Him with trumpet blast; Praise Him with harp and lyre.
Praise Him with tambourine and dancing; Praise Him with stringed instruments and pipe.
Praise Him with resounding cymbals; Praise Him with clashing cymbals.
(Psalm 150:3-5 LSB)
Worship That Declares (v. 3)
We begin with the instruments of announcement and beauty.
"Praise Him with trumpet blast; Praise Him with harp and lyre." (Psalm 150:3 LSB)
The trumpet, or shofar, is the instrument of alarm, of announcement, of coronation. It is a military instrument. It calls the assembly to attention and announces that the King is present or that war has begun. Our praise, therefore, is to have a declarative, proclamatory quality. We are not mumbling to ourselves. We are heralding the reality of God's kingdom to a world in rebellion. When we praise God with a trumpet blast, we are saying, "Attention! The King is on the throne. The usurpers will be judged." This is not timid worship; it is the sound of God's invading army.
But this martial blast is immediately followed by the harp and the lyre. These are instruments of beauty, harmony, and thoughtful composition. If the trumpet declares God's power, the harp and lyre declare His wisdom and beauty. This is not just noise; it is ordered, skillful, and beautiful noise. God is the author of all harmony, all melody, all artistic structure. Our worship should reflect His character not just in its raw energy but in its thoughtful artistry. The world offers chaos and ugliness. The church is to offer a culture of profound and joyful order, a culture that sings and plays with skill because our God is a God of glorious and intricate design. We are to praise Him with the strength of the trumpet and the sweetness of the strings.
Worship That Moves (v. 4)
Next, the psalm commands a worship that is fully embodied and rhythmic.
"Praise Him with tambourine and dancing; Praise Him with stringed instruments and pipe." (Psalm 150:4 LSB)
Here is where our gnostic sensibilities get nervous. Tambourine and dancing. This is not just sound; it is percussive, rhythmic movement. This is a direct assault on the lie that the body is a distraction from true worship. No, the body is an instrument of worship. God created us as embodied souls, and He commands us to praise Him with our whole being. When Miriam led the women of Israel after the Red Sea crossing, she took a tambourine in her hand and led them in dancing. When David brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, he danced before the Lord with all his might, and it was his wife Michal, the sterile scoffer, who despised him for it.
Let us be very clear. A worship that has no room for the body, for rhythmic joy, for dancing, is a worship that has been truncated by a Greek philosophical dualism, not by Scripture. This is not a command for chaotic, individualistic flailing. The word for dancing here often refers to a corporate, ordered dance. It is the joyful, unified celebration of the people of God. It is masculine, robust, and celebratory. It is the opposite of the effeminate, disembodied piety that is so often mistaken for reverence.
And again, this is paired with more instruments: "stringed instruments and pipe." This points to the full range of musical expression. The strings carry the harmony, the pipe or flute carries the melody. God wants the whole orchestra. He wants the rhythm section, the strings, and the woodwinds. He created the capacity for all of it, and He commands that it all be brought into His service for His glory.
Worship That Crashes (v. 5)
Finally, we come to the loudest part of the orchestra, the percussion.
"Praise Him with resounding cymbals; Praise Him with clashing cymbals." (Psalm 150:5 LSB)
The psalm ends with a crash. Not just cymbals, but two kinds of cymbals. "Resounding cymbals" likely refers to cymbals that are struck to produce a sustained, ringing sound. "Clashing cymbals" are just what they sound like, the loud, sharp crash that marks a triumphant climax. This is the exclamation point at the end of the sentence. This is unapologetic, loud, triumphant joy.
This is spiritual warfare. This is the noise that drives out demons. This is the sound of victory. Our praise is meant to be a conquering sound. It is the sound of a people who know their God has won the victory, who know that Christ has crushed the serpent's head, and who are not afraid to make a scene about it. A quiet, timid, fearful church will never praise God with clashing cymbals. But a confident, victorious, and joyful church cannot help it.
Of course, this is not a command to be obnoxious or to worship without love. Paul warns that without love, we are nothing more than a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal (1 Cor. 13:1). The noise must be the overflow of a heart captivated by the love of God in Christ. But when that love is present, it is not silent. It is not ashamed. It crashes. It resounds. It makes a joyful noise.
Conclusion: The Symphony of the Redeemed
This psalm is more than just a list of ancient instruments. It is a theology of worship that embraces all of creation and all of our humanity. The trumpet is our proclamation. The harp and lyre are our artistry. The tambourine and dancing are our bodies. The strings and pipe are our melodies. And the cymbals are our victory shout.
All of this finds its ultimate fulfillment and meaning in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the great trumpeter, heralding the kingdom of God. He is the master musician, bringing harmony out of the chaos of our sin. He is the Lord of the dance, the one who leads us in the joyful procession of the redeemed. He is the victor whose triumph we celebrate with the clash of cymbals.
Because of His death and resurrection, we are no longer slaves to the silent, gray despair of sin. We have been brought into the kingdom of light, a kingdom filled with music and feasting and joyful noise. Therefore, we are commanded to praise Him. Not with a part of the orchestra, but with all of it. Not with some of our being, but with all of it. Let us obey, and let the world hear the noise of heaven.