Hallelujah

Psalm 150

There’s an overwhelming message that rings throughout the psalm. God is greater than we can imagine and he deserves to be praised according to His Greatness.  

We don’t praise God just as a warm up before the sermon, we praise God because He is great and He deserves our praise.

Friends or family members who’ve achieved something, and you’ve congratulated or praised them for it.

Now take the praise that you feel that any human may deserve for whatever reason. Multiply it by infinity, and that is the praise that God deserves. That is the kind of praise that the writer of Psalm 150 is talking about.

Remember that this is the Psalm that closes off the book of Psalms. This is the last song in this great songbook.

Psalms is a very expressive book. Because it’s poetry and song, the writers are more inclined to express their emotions because of the type of literature / genre that it is. Happy, sad, joyful, mournful, apprehensive. There are Psalms where it comes across as if the Psalmist is going through some type of depression.

There are Psalms that celebrate God’s character. That praise God for who He is. There are Psalms that celebrate his characteristics, like His mercy, His faithfulness, His unfailing love. There are Psalms that celebrate the word of God and the law of the Lord. There are Psalms that celebrate Jesus, known as Messianic, because they are Psalms about the Messiah. They are Psalms about God’s king. Who we know is Jesus.  

So you’ve got the Psalms with all of it’s content, and fullness and range of emotions. It comes to this climactic end at Psalm 150. Like this crescendo when you read it.  Praise the Lord.

As I mentioned last week. The last 5 Psalms (146-150) are sometimes referred to as the Hallelujah Psalms. Because although it says ‘Praise the Lord’ in your English Bibles. It actually says “Hallelujah” in the Hebrew Bibles. Which is Hebrew for “Praise the Lord”.  And the for the last 5 Psalms, they all start and end with Hallelujah. And then Psalm 150 which ends them off. It’s only 6 verses, but 13 times we see the Praise the Lord.

So this Psalm that shows us that we need to give God the praise and glory that he is worthy of, the praise and glory that he deserves, answers 4 questions.  

Firstly: Where do we praise the Lord? So look at verse 1:

Praise the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens.

So the Psalmist is telling us to praise God in his sanctuary and praise God and praise God in his mighty heavens.

The sanctuary is the place where God’s people meet together. Sometimes church buildings, particularly the hall where they gather for church is called the sanctuary.  A very similar call to the previous Psalm. Remember at the beginning of Psalm 149, verse 1: Praise the Lord, Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of the saints.

There’s something about praising God together. There’s something about uniting around our saviour. When we sing together. When we praise God together, we are encouraging one another. We’re declaring the praises of God together.

It’s encouraging when you’re praising God, and you’re singing together with others. There’s a sense that you’re all on the same page. there’s a sense of God’s greatness.

In the Old Testament, the sanctuary was the temple. Praise God in the place that has been set aside for him to be praised. Praise God in the place where his presence is known. Remember the temple was where God dwelt. It’s where his people would come to approach him. So praise God there. Together with God’s people.

But then the psalmist says: praise Him in His mighty heavens.

So we praise God in the sanctuary and we praise him in His mighty heavens.

If you read some translations you’ll see that they use the word ‘firmament’. And that basically means the expanse of the sky. If you go outside and you look out. And you see the clouds (if there are any), that’s the outer expanse. At night when you look out and you see the stars, you’re looking out to the firmament. You’re looking out to the mighty heavens.

Which means that the psalmist is making the point that our praise of God is all encompassing.  So you praise God in the sanctuary. You praise God in the place that is dedicated to His Glory. The place that has been specifically set aside for that purpose. Back in the Old Testament that was the temple. After Jesus it’s more about the gathering of God’s people than it is about the place. Our gathering is determined more by who we are than by where we meet. In other words, we could meet in a hall somewhere and still be called St Matthews Church. We’re just fortunate enough to have a place, that has been set aside for that purpose. But we praise God as the church. If we can’t get that right when we’re together with God’s people, how are we going to get it right anywhere else.

So you praise God in the sanctuary. You praise God in church. You praise God when you gather with other Christians. But that’s not where the praise stops. The praise continues outside of the sanctuary. God’s glory goes beyond the walls of the temple. God’s glory goes beyond the walls of Jerusalem. Beyond the walls of St Matthews, and any other church for that matter. Therefore our praise should ring out over the whole world. We should praise him in his mighty heavens.

There are some who interpret mighty heavens as actually referring to heaven itself. Where the angels are, and where God rules from. So there’s a case for saying that the praise of God should extend from the saints in the sanctuary right through to the angels in heaven.

But here’s the point when we’re looking at where God should be praised. For God to get the praise that he rightfully deserves. For the praise of man to match His greatness, he needs to be praised from the sanctuary to the heavens. His praise should be evident throughout.

So God needs to be praised everywhere. Together with other believers in church, and when we gather and throughout creation in the vast expanse.  

The next question that is answered is ‘Why must God be praised?’ Look at verse 1 & 2.

Praise the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens. (2) Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness.

when the psalmist says Praise the Lord, we know in the Hebrew he says Hallelujah. The Jah part of Hallelujah is the name that is used for God. It’s short for Jahweh. And as we mentioned last week that is the name for the God of promise. The God of covenant. The God who has a covenant relationship with His people.

In other words, this God whom we are praising, is the God who has made a promise with his people. And for Israel, a God who has kept his promise with his people. Israel could look back in their history and they could see God’s hand at work. If we look back through the Old Testament, we can see God’s hand at work. From the promises that God had made to Abraham, to rescuing them from Egypt, leading them into the land.

As we sit here today, we have an even better perspective of the history of God with his people. We can see the overview of the Bible. We get to see a birds eye view of how God has worked with his people. How God has rescued his people. How God has kept his promises. And most of all we get to see the promise fulfilled in Christ. We get to see what God has done about the problem that exists between us and him. We get to see what God has done about the fact that we are sinful, and he his Holy. We get to see what God has done to make it possible for people like us to be able to approach a Holy God. We get to see how God has been able to give us what we don’t deserve. And how he has done that by sending his only Son to die on a cross for us. We get to see that God keeps his promises.

Whatever pain you might be feeling. This covenant God, this God of promises provides hope for you. It’s not the kind of hope that will immediately take all of your pain away. It’s not going to miraculously make your problems disappear, although God is capable of anything he can do that. But we have an eternal hope we can look forward to. Praise the Lord. Praise the covenant God. Praise the God who makes promises to his people. Praise the God who is faithful and keeps his promises with his people. Praise the God who in order to fulfil his promises has sent his only Son to die on a cross so that you and I could be forgiven, and enter into a relationship with him.

But also in verse 1, when the psalmist says ‘Praise God in his sanctuary’. He uses a different word for God. He uses the word El. Which is short for Elohim. Which is the word used for God being powerful. And being mighty. So the psalmist is saying ‘praise God almighty in the sanctuary’. Praise the all powerful God, praise the mighty God. When you praise him, be aware that the God whom you are praising is all powerful. What an encouragement that is by the way, when you look at those first 2 sentences together. The covenant, the God who makes promises to his people, is a mighty God. He is a powerful God. He has the power to keep his promises.

And so this all ties in with verse 2 as we look at why God must be praised. Verse 2 says: “Praise him for his acts of power, praise him for his surpassing Greatness”

Just think about Israel. Just think about God’s people. Just think about as a nation, how God would have worked amongst them over the years. If ever there was a nation that would have witnessed how powerful God was, it would have been them. The Exodus, the conquering of other nations, God’s physical presence among them. You can just read through the Old Testament to see those things.

And again, can I say that we see God’s power when we look at Jesus. Remember when Mike looked at the book of Mark earlier on this year. Just looking at those passages where we see Jesus having power over the wind and the waves. Over nature. Remember seeing Jesus having power of sickness when he healed people. Remember him having power over demons, when he cast the demons out of the demon possessed man. We see God’s power when we look to the cross. We see God’s great power when we see how Jesus overcame death and rose again.

The more we understand how powerful God is, and the more we praise him for it. I think the stronger our faith will be. The easier it will be to trust God. If you understood how powerful God is, you would know that in any situation, God is in control. And God has a purpose. And God is powerful enough to fulfil that purpose.

In Ephesians chapter 1, Paul prays for the Ephesians, and listen to what he says:

¹⁸ I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, ¹⁹ and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength ²⁰ he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, ²¹ far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.

Do you see what Paul is praying there? He’s praying that they may know the power of God. If we understand that God is powerful, it will impact our faith. It will impact how we view life. It will impact how we view. It will give me hope that the God who has made the promises that he has made, will carry them through. He has the power to do so. Knowing how powerful God is, will give you hope and assurance that His will will be done.

So we praise him for His acts of power, plus we praise him for his surpassing greatness. So not only do we need to realize how powerful God is. But we also need to realize how great He is. We praise him for his surpassing greatness. Or His excellent greatness as some translations put it. God is great. He is the creator. Remember in Psalm 149, Let Israel rejoice in their maker.

Also in Psalm 149, the psalmist says ‘Let Zion be glad in their king’. And it’s not just that God is the king of one particular nation. He is the King of kings. He is the Lord of lords. There is not a president, a queen, a king, a prime minister, a head of state, that won’t at some point have to stand before God and give an account for how they led their people.

As Christians, as people of God, we are told to submit to the governing authorities. We are told to submit to those whom God has put in charge of us. But our ultimate authority is God. In the book of Daniel, you see Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego, although willing to submit to the king. They draw the line, when they’re asked to bow down to his statue. They weren’t willing to make a statement saying that the king is their ultimate authority. Because God is surpassingly great.

So we praise God for his acts of power and his surpassing greatness.

How must God be praised?

Look at verse 3-5: praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and the lyre, (4) praise him with tambourine and dancing, praise him with the strings and flute, (5) praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals.

So there’s a whole variety of instruments mentioned. You’ve got trumpets, harps, lyres, tambourines, strings, flute, cymbals, which are clashing and resounding. The psalmist is basically saying God deserves a symphony. God deserves us to pull out all the stops. The trumpet that was used to make announcements and introduce kings and other dignitaries. The trumpet (or actually the shofar) used to rally the soldiers and used for a battle cry. We must praise God with this. And use all the other instruments.

God gave us music for a reason. Music is God’s gift to us. Let’s use it to praise him.

How about praising him with the tambourine and dancing?. Now the psalmist isn’t talking about a free for all. Where it’s like a some festival where everyone is just in some kind of frenzy. There was liturgical dancing back in those days. And the tambourine was used to accompany those who do these sacred dances. It was a very special and sacred offering back in the culture of the day. Those kinds of dances. Effort was put in. and the purpose wasn’t to entertain, but to praise God.

When we praise God. The God who is mighty, the God who is great, he deserves a symphony, he deserves our efforts. We are praising the God of the universe.

Who must praise God?

Verse 6: Let everything that has breath Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord.

Who must praise God. Everyone and every thing. For God to get the praise that he rightly deserves, Every thing that has breath should be praising him.

Anything that has life, owes it’s life to him. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

Listen to how one Bible commentator puts it:

The animals have breath; they are to praise the Lord. The birds have breath; they are to praise the Lord. Humans have breath; they are to praise the Lord. This is the purpose of breath—the spirit (rûah) which God breathed into us (Gen. 2:7). We are to breathe it back to Him in praise as we offer the essence of our life up to Him. Indeed, as the psalm ends, “Praise the LORD!”

You see, when we have an understanding of who God is. His power, His greatness, what he’s done for us, we cannot help but praise him. It should be what we long to do. We should not be able to stop talking about what God has done for us. And our lips should be full of praise for what he has done for us.

Home Group Questions

Read Psalm 150:

1. How would you summarize Psalm 150 in one sentence?
2. Where must we praise God?
3. Why must we praise God? (vs 1-2)
4. How must we praise God? (vs 3-5)
5. Who must praise God? (vs 6)
6. Pick a song of praise that the whole group knows and sing it together (even if you don’t have instruments).