Commonplace –
“Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord” (Psalm 150:6).
In this beautiful closing to the Psalter is a call to all living things to praise the Lord, whether we be in the sanctuary or in his creation. The psalmist lists reasons we have to praise God; Praise Him for His mighty acts and His excellent greatness. Then, he lists many musical ways to praise God:
- the sound of the trumpet
- the psaltery, which is an instrument of the string variety
- the harp
- the timbrel
- with dance
- with stringed instruments
- with organs, also known as an uggab, a pipe or flute
- with cymbals
- with our very breath
It is a perfect closing to the Book of Psalms, which have instructed us in prayer and praise, in good times and bad, in every season, to praise God at all times; it is our privilege and duty.
Matthew Henry gives vital insight to Psalm 150, connecting it to Psalm 1, so we will let him have the last word.
“The first and the last of the psalms have both the same number of verses, are both short, and very memorable. But the scope of them is very different: the first psalm is an elaborate instruction in our duty, to prepare us for the comforts of our devotions; this is all rapture and transport, and perhaps was penned on purpose to be the conclusion of these sacred songs, to show what is the design of them all, and that is to assist us in praising God” (645).
Works Cited
Henry, Matthew. “Psalm 150.” Matthew Henry’s Commentary On the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition. Volume 3 and Volume 6, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., March 1996.
Holy Bible: Giant Print with Study Aids. Dugan Publishers, Inc., 1984.
© 2025 Angela Hormberg
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