...begin and finish with praise...

“1 Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary;    

praise him in his mighty firmament! 

2 Praise him for his mighty deeds;    

praise him according to his surpassing greatness! 

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 clanging cymbals;    

praise him with loud clashing cymbals! 

6 Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord” Psalm 150!

Psalm 150, the final Psalm in the Psalter, is a final doxology, or word of praise, bringing the Psalter to a solemn and joyful conclusion. Now in Judaism, the law of God — the Torah — is revealed to Moses and recorded in the first five books of the Hebrew scriptures, called the Pentateuch. Psalm 150 is an appropriate conclusion, for it looks at the outcome of living life under Torah. Keeping the Torah for the Jews is always about obedience to the Torah, yet it means more than that. The goal of keeping the Torah — or Jewish instruction — is to live a holy life, repair the world, build a Godly community, and fulfill a Divine mission, focusing on ethics, kindness, justice, and a covenant relationship with God. Keeping the Torah not just ritual or keeping the religious laws, but about daily actions such as charity, family, and Sabbath observance to bring holiness into the world. Keeping the Torah serves as a blueprint for a meaningful existence, guiding individuals to act as God's agents in the world, fostering personal growth and communal responsibility.

This final psalm praises YHWH in verse 1, recites the reasons for praise of YHWH in verses 1-2, and in verses 3-5 explains the manner of praise, and in verse 6 it points just who should praise YHWH! Notice that this final psalm opens and closes with the same words: Praise the Lord! Then verse 2 praises the greatness of the the Lord! God’s deeds are so great and so worthy of our praise, that we can only praise Him for His “surpassing greatness”! So this leads us to pull out every stop and praise the Lord as intensely as we can. Thus, we dance and clang the tambourine and dance, pluck the strings and blow the pipes, clang the cymbals as loudly as we can!

Every living thing must praise the Lord!

Dear friends, this is how we are to live our lives, so join me today to make this our prayer for the remaining days and hours of our lives!

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner.