THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION

Psalms: God's Nurture Of The Inner Man In The Life Of Faith

CL: The Comprehensive Ministry Of Praising The Lord

(Psalm 150:1-6)

I. Introduction

A. One of the reasons why we in Christ have been saved is that we might exist for the praise of the glory of God's grace, His unmerited favor to us in Christ Jesus, Ephesians 1:6.

B. Accordingly, praising God is a key part of our ministry, and Psalm 150:1-6 presents this theme as a comprehensive ministry of the believer. We view the psalm for our insight and edification (as follows):

II. The Comprehensive Ministry Of Praising The Lord, Psalm 150:1-6.

A. The verse numbering system in the Hebrew text matches that of the English Bible (Kittel, Biblia Hebraica, p. 1103), so we stay with the numbering system of the English Bible for clarity with this lesson.

B. We then translate Psalm 150:1-6 as follows:

1. "Praise Jah(weh). Praise Elohim in His sanctuary; praise Him in His mighty heavens," Psalm 150:1.

2. "Praise Him for His acts of power; praise Him for His surpassing greatness," Psalm 150:2.

3. "Praise Him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise Him with the harp and lyre," Psalm 150:3.

4. "Praise Him with tambourine and dancing; praise Him with the strings and flute," Psalm 150:4.

5. "Praise Him with the clash of cymbals; praise Him with resounding cymbals," Psalm 150:5.

6. "Let everything that has breath (can make a sound) praise Jahweh. Praise Jah(weh)," Psalm 150:6.

C. We note significant observations regarding this psalm as follows:

1. This psalm is a fitting conclusion to the entire Psalter, for it describes the comprehensive ministry of praising the Lord, fulfilling a major purpose in the existence of believers. (a) We are to praise the Lord both in formal worship at the sanctuary (v. 1a) as well as in nature itself (v. 1b). (b) We are to praise the Lord both for His works (v. 2a) as well as for His personage (v. 2b). (c) We are to praise the Lord with every available instrument and art form in performing for God (v. 3-6). [We later qualify this statement.]

2. In application, (a) we need to praise the Lord both in formal worship in church services (v. 1a) as well as in natural settings in informal settings (v. 1b). (b) We need to praise the Lord for His great works (v. 2a) as well as for His Persons (Father, Son and Holy Spirit), v. 2b with Matthew 28:19, with special focus on our praise for the Second Person of the Trinity, the Son of God in alignment with John 16:13-14. (c) We need to use every available instrument or art form man can create to praise the Lord, but be careful to do so only in accord with the consciences of other believers, cf. 1 Corinthians 8:12-13. [Note: not all so-called "art" forms are actually artistically applicable to worship, for our worship needs to be expressed within the confines of the "Holy Spirit" according to Ephesians 5:18-19, and the Holy Spirit exhibits the characteristics of "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness" and "self-control," Galatians 5:22-23 ESV. Some so-called "art" forms function outside of these characteristics, so they cannot properly be termed "art" that God would accept.]

3. We must also keep in mind that God does not want us believers in the Church era to abandon worshiping Him in the local church for worshiping Him only in nature as some claim to do: Hebrews 10:25 calls us not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together in the local church. God accepts our worship of Him in informal settings out in nature, but not at the expense of abandoning our mutual fellowship with God's people in the local church setting.

4. [Note: Psalm 150:4a calls us to worship God with "dancing," and we must recall that the "dance" practiced by ancient Hebrews involved stately movements in grand worship attire much like a classical minuet, what contrasts sharply with today's secular dancing! There is room in some settings for praising God in the "dance" when the practice meets the test of the "fruit of the Spirit" in Galatians 5:22-23 as well as the issue of conscience, 1 Corinthians 8:12-13. Failure to meet such standards makes the "dance" unacceptable!]

Lesson: We believers should praise God in formal worship at His sanctuary as well as in nature, we should praise Him for His works and personage, we should praise him with every instrument we can invent and with every art form in accord with the filling of the Holy Spirit and protecting the consciences of each other.

Application: May we praise God in the church as well as in nature for His works and personage with every instrument we can invent and every art form that edifies in the filling of the Spirit and in line with conscience.