Let Everything That Has Breath Praise the Lord!
We have come now to the last psalm in the Psalter, Psalm 150. It is appropriate that the final psalm of the hymn book of Israel is a call to praise God. The psalm begins with a call to the angels to praise God in His sanctuary, in the expanse of the heavens. The call is to praise God (El), emphasising God’s sovereign control over all things (1). The psalm begins with a call to the angels and ends with a call to all created things on the earth to praise God.
The psalmist continues by giving two reasons that God should be praised. First, God should be praised for His mighty deeds (2). He has created all things and provided salvation to His people. His works include: creation, judgment, deliverance, redemption, forgiveness, etc.... The second reason to praise the Lord is because of His excellent greatness. This is praising God for His perfections: His goodness, lovingkindness, holiness, righteousness, omnipresence, etc... These are His perfections revealed to His people through His word.
The psalmist next focuses on the means that people should use in their praise the Lord (3-5). The Lord is to be praised by His people using many different means. There is singing, dancing, and musical instruments involved in the praise of God. The Leviticus priests would lead the people in their worship to ensure that these all are done in an orderly and God centred way. The worship of God was not always quiet and subdued in tone (5).
The last verse here can sum up the entire psalter (6). Let everything that has breath praise YHWH!