The Final Psalm, Psalm 150, is a cascade of praise and worship. We started our journey through the Book of Psalms back in June 2022, with learning how to pray Psalms 1 and 2. I called it a “Meeting with God.” Psalm 1 talked about God blessing humans. Psalm 150 turns it around, and now we humans bless God with the praise and worship He deserves. Let’s dig in…
Psalm 150
Praise the Lord!
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heaven!
2 Praise him for his mighty works;
praise his unequaled greatness!
3 Praise him with a blast of the ram’s horn;
praise him with the lyre and harp!
4 Praise him with the tambourine and dancing;
praise him with strings and flutes!
5 Praise him with a clash of cymbals;
praise him with loud clanging cymbals.
6 Let everything that breathes sing praises to the Lord!Praise the Lord!
Psalm 150 NLT
God Appreciates and Encourages Praise and Worship
Who and Where?
There are Christian denominations that don’t play music to accompany worship songs. I don’t get it. Here it clearly states that we’re to praise the Lord with trumpets, stringed instruments, and drums. So, in the sanctuary, wherever you worship, praise God.
The Shofar
Pastor Sandy Adams explains how the shofar (trumpet) was used…
The trumpet was the “shofar” or the “ram’s horn.” This was the horn that the Hebrews blew when they made its final trip around the walls of Jericho, and they saw walls come tumbling down.
The Shofar was also used by the priest at the Feast of Trumpets to call the workers out of the fields, and up to the Temple to worship the Lord.
There are four traditional Jewish sounds made by the shofar. First, is the Tekiah. It’s one long blast that ends abruptly. Second, is the Shevarim. It’s three staccato blasts. Third is the Teruah. It’s nine broken blasts. This was alarm that sounded when there was an approaching enemy. Finally, the Tekiah Gadolah is one blast that increases in loudness.
Remember, the sound of the shofar is what we’ll hear at the rapture. 1 Thessalonians 4:16 (NKJV), when Jesus snatches away His Church the event is signaled by the shofar… “For the Lord Himself will descend with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.”
When you hear this sound… get ready for lift-off!
Pastor Sandy Adams
Listen to the Sound of the Shofar
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Let’s get back to the Psalm…
God’s Mighty Works
What are some of God’s mighty works?
- He created the Heavens, the Earth, the universe, and us, just by speaking Words! See Genesis 1-2, John 1.
- When Adam and Eve disobeyed and sinned, He promised us a Savior who would smash the head of the devil. See Genesis 3.
- Later, humans became so evil that God was sorry He made us. So, He fixed the problem by flooding the world and saving only a few righteous people. See Genesis 6-10. At the end, He gave us the rainbow as a sign of His promise to never flood the whole world. Next time you see a rainbow, praise God.
- He rescued the Israelites from Egypt. See the Book of Exodus.
- He used a Queen to prevent the Jews from being annihilated. See the Book of Ruth.
- God loved the Jews and wanted them to obey His commandments. However, they were influenced by the culture of the surrounding nations and sinned by worshiping worthless and non-existent gods and idols. Thus, He sent them off to Babylonian exile for 70 years, and He brought them back to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple. See Isaiah, Ezekiel, Ezra & Nehemiah, and the Minor Prophets.
- God was silent for 400 years between Malachi and Matthew.
- Then, because God loved the World so much, He sent His only begotten Son to save the world, take away our sins forever, and defeat death. See John 3, and Why did Jesus Have to Die?
And in the Future…
When we’re in Heaven, we shall be able to praise and worship Yeshua Hamashiach along with angels and the Saints, in the most unimaginably beautiful place. We find this promise in the Book of Revelation…
First After the Rapture and Before the Tribulation
8 Each of these living beings had six wings, and their wings were covered all over with eyes, inside and out. Day after day and night after night they keep on saying,
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty—
the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.”9 Whenever the living beings give glory and honor and thanks to the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever), 10 the twenty-four elders fall down and worship the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever). And they lay their crowns before the throne and say,
11 “You are worthy, O Lord our God,
Revelation 4:8-11 NLT
to receive glory and honor and power.
For you created all things,
and they exist because you created what you pleased.”
Then, After the Tribulation
It’s a song of the Wedding Feast of the Lamb.
6 Then I heard again what sounded like the shout of a vast crowd or the roar of mighty ocean waves or the crash of loud thunder:
“Praise the Lord!
Revelation 19:6-8 NLT
For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.
7 Let us be glad and rejoice,
and let us give honor to him.
For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb,
and his bride has prepared herself.
8 She has been given the finest of pure white linen to wear.”
Finally, in the New Heaven and the New Earth
22 I saw no temple in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 And the city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light. 24 The nations will walk in its light, and the kings of the world will enter the city in all their glory. 25 Its gates will never be closed at the end of day because there is no night there. 26 And all the nations will bring their glory and honor into the city. 27 Nothing evil will be allowed to enter, nor anyone who practices shameful idolatry and dishonesty—but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
Revelation 21:22-27 NLT
How do YOU Praise the Lord?
First, have you invited Jesus to be Lord and Savior of YOUR life? That’s the first step. Religious rituals and rites are nothing if you’re not a true, born-again believer. You can make all the motions, give all your money, do the greatest works, but if you’re not SAVED, you are LOST. You can NEVER be good enough to get into Heaven. It’s YOUR choice! Heaven or hell?
Isn’t it about time you let Him in?
Hallelujah Chorus from the Messiah by Handel
Praise
King of Kings
How Great Thou Art
Worthy of it All
The Sacrifice of Praise
Holy, Holy, Holy!
