Psalms 150 commentary

We are here stirred up to praise God. Praise God for his sanctuary, and the privileges we enjoy by having it among us; praise him because of his power and glory in the firmament. Those who praise the Lord in heaven, behold displays of his power and glory which we cannot now conceive. But the greatest of all his mighty acts is known in his earthly sanctuary. The holiness and the love of our God are more displayed in man's redemption, than in all his other works. Let us praise our God and Saviour for it. We need not care to know what instruments of music are mentioned. Hereby is meant that in serving God we should spare no cost or pains. Praise God with strong faith; praise him with holy love and delight; praise him with entire confidence in Christ; praise him with believing triumph over the powers of darkness; praise him by universal respect to all his commands; praise him by cheerful submission to all his disposals; praise him by rejoicing in his love, and comforting ourselves in his goodness; praise him by promoting the interests of the kingdom of his grace; praise him by lively hope and expectation of the kingdom of his glory. Since we must shortly breathe our last, while we have breath let us praise the Lord; then we shall breathe our last with comfort. Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord. Such is the very suitable end of a book inspired by the Spirit of God, written for the work of praise; a book which has supplied the songs of the church for more than three thousand years; a book which is quoted more frequently than any other by Christ and his apostles; a book which presents the loftiest ideas of God and his government, which is fitted to every state of human life, which sets forth every state of religious experience, and which bears simple and clear marks of its Divine origin.

PSALM 150.

The argument of this Psalm is the same with that of the former.

Hallelujah.

Psalm 150:1-6

1. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power. 2. Praise him in, his might; praise him for the plenitude of his greatness. 3. Praise him with sound of trumpet, “The trumpets of the last Temple were probably formed after the ancient model; and as these are represented among the spoils of that Temple on the Triumphal Arch of Titus at Rome, we are enabled to see that they were long straight trumpets, of a form which has always been and continues to be common... Trumpets and horns are the only instruments concerning which any directions are given in the law. ‘In the infancy of a state,’ says Burney, ‘a nation has but little leisure for cultivating music any otherwise than as it is connected with religious rites and the military art;’ and it is thus that he accounts for the fact, that (with the exception of Miriam’s timbrel) no instruments but horns and trumpets are noticed in the Law. And, indeed, it may be said that they are scarcely mentioned as musical instruments, but as suited to and employed for making signals, calls, and conveying instructions during the religious solemnities, and in the field of war... It is clear, however, that trumpets and cornets were introduced into the musical choirs in the time of David; while they still continued to be employed in their former service. The following particulars concerning the use of trumpets in the Temple will be useful, and are collected chiefly from Lightfoot’s ‘Temple Service.’ The trumpets were sounded exclusively by the priests who stood not in the Levitical choir, but apart and opposite to the Levites, on the other side of the altar, both parties looking towards it—the priests on the west side, and the Levites on the east. The trumpets did not join in the concert; but were sounded during certain regulated pauses in the vocal and instrumental music ”—Illustrated Commentary upon the Bible.. praise him with psaltry and harp. 4. Praise him with timbrel See footnote 293, Psalm 149:3. and pipe, See footnote 292, Psalm 149:3. praise him upon chords, The original word is במנים “This word occurring nowhere else, it is impossible to ascertain what kind of instrument this was, but as Edwards, upon the authority of Rabbi Hannase makes, it a stringed instrument, and the word is probably derived from מנה, to number, probably it was so called from the extraordinary number of strings which it had; and perhaps it was the decachord, mentioned in Psalm 33:2, which, having ten strings, might be called Minim, κατ ἐξοχὴν, as consisting of the greatest number of strings in use among the Jews.” — Dimock. and the organ. The Hebrew name is עגב, ougab. This instrument is equal in antiquity to the כנור, kinnor, both being mentioned in Genesis 4:21, as the invention of Jubal. These are the two first musical instruments the invention of which is recorded in Scripture, and the only ones mentioned before the deluge. Subsequently they are almost always mentioned in connection with each other. The ougab was not that complicated instrument which goes by the name of the organ in the present day. Calmet supposes it to have been a flute which consisted of a number of pipes, of unequal thickness and length, set close or joined together, which gave harmonious sound when blown into, by moving them successively under the lower lip. Such is the common opinion, and there seems no ground to dispute its correctness. This instrument was the small organ or syrinx, or fistula Panis of antiquity; its invention having been ascribed to Pan, the great sylvan god, who was usually figured with the instrument in his hands. According to the fable, he formed it of reeds which grew by the river, and played upon it while his goats were feeding on the banks; which shows that it was regarded as properly a pastoral instrument, and as such it seems to be mentioned by Job. (Job 21:11, 12.) The principle of its construction is so simple, that it is among the most widely diffused of musical instruments. It is in common use in the island of New Amsterdam, in the South Seas, as flutes and drums have been found in Otaheite and New Zealand, an uncontestable proof that these are instruments which tribes the most barbarous and the most remote from each other naturally invent. The number of tubes, as represented on ancient monuments, varies from seven to eleven. 5. Praise him upon cymbals of sound, praise him upon cymbals of jubilation Of the Hebrew musical instrument called צלצל, tsiltel, or “cymbal,” as Calvin here renders it, and as it is rendered in the Septuagint and Vulgate, two kinds are here mentioned — צלצלים, “tsiltelim,” or, “cymbals of sound,” and “tsiltelim,” or “cymbals of jubilation.” The specific difference between these two sorts of the same instrument is not accurately marked. The latter were probably of a larger size than the farmer, or made of such a shape or of such metals as to emit a louder sound. The former are translated by French and Skinner, “the soft cymbal.” The literal translation of the Hebrew is, “cymbals of hearing,” i.e., say these critics, “cymbals which when struck do not overpower the voices of the singers.” They translate the latter, “the loud cymbals.” The ancient cymbals were two convex or hollow plates of brass or other metal, as silver or copper, made in the form of cups, which were held in each hand, and which being struck against each other produced a sharp clanging. sound. Some, however, think that the word tsiltzel exclusively denotes the sistrum, and that cymbals, properly speaking, are denoted by the word שלישים shalishim, in 1 Samuel 18:6, which is, equally with the other, rendered cymbala by the Septuagint and the Vulgate, and which our authorized version translates “instruments of music.” It is difficult to decide as to these two opinions; but it seems admitted on all hands that both cymbals and sistrums were in use among the Jews. The sistrum was a concave plate of sonorous metal, and of an oval configuration, crossed by bars of the same metal with reverted ends. These bars moved freely in the holes through which they passed, and when the instrument was shaken by the handle to which it was fixed, the reverted ends striking upon the body of the instrument produced the sound. It had generally three or four transverse bars. It was much used by the Egyptians in their religious services, and actual specimens of it of an ancient date have been discovered. See volume 3 6. Whatsoever breathes, let it praise God. Hallelujah.

1. Praise God in his sanctuary. This psalm in general commends the spiritual worship of God, which consists in sacrifices of praise. By the sanctuary there is little doubt that heaven is here meant, as is often the case elsewhere. The second clause is exegetical, for the same thing is repeated. But for sanctuary we read רקיע, rekia, that is, the expanse of heaven, to which is added the epithet of power, because there we have a proof of the matchless power of God, so that we cannot look to the heavens without being lost in admiration. As to the interpretation which some give — Praise God, ye angels who inhabit the heavens, and ye men who dwell under the firmament, it is forced and unnatural; for the Psalmist, in order to awaken men who grow languid in God’s praises, bids them lift their eyes towards the heavenly sanctuary. That the majesty of God may be duly reverenced, the Psalmist represents him as presiding on his throne in the heavens; and he enlarges upon the same truth in the second verse, celebrating his power and his greatness, which he had brought under our notice in the heavens, which are a mirror in which they may be seen. If we would have our minds kindled, then, to engage in this religious service, let us meditate upon his power and greatness, which will speedily dispel all such insensibility. Though our minds can never take in this immensity, the mere taste of it will deeply affect us. And God will not reject such praises as we offer according to our capacity.

PSALM 150

Psa 150:1-6. This is a suitable doxology for the whole book, reciting the "place, theme, mode, and extent of God's high praise."

1. in his sanctuary--on earth.

firmament of his power--which illustrates His power.

2. mighty acts--(Psa 145:4).

excellent greatness--or, abundance of greatness.

3-4. trumpet--used to call religious assemblies;

5. cymbals--suited to loud praise (Ne 12:27).

6. Living voices shall take up the failing sounds of dead instruments, and as they cease on earth, those of intelligent ransomed spirits and holy angels, as with the sound of mighty thunders, will prolong eternally the praise, saying: "Alleluia! Salvation, and Glory, and Honor, and Power, unto the Lord our God;" "Alleluia! for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth." Amen!

Praise God in his sanctuary - In many places we have the compound word יה-הללו halelu-yah, praise ye Jehovah; but this is the first place in which we find אל-הללו halelu-el, praise God, or the strong God. Praise him who is Jehovah, the infinite and self-existent Being; and praise him who is God, El or Elohim, the great God in covenant with mankind, to bless and save them unto eternal life.

In his sanctuary - in the temple; in whatever place is dedicated to his service. Or, in his holiness - through his own holy influence in your hearts.

The firmament of his power - Through the whole expanse, to the utmost limits of his power. As רקיע rakia is the firmament of vast expanse that surrounds the globe, and probably that in which all the celestial bodies of the solar system are included, it may have that meaning here. Praise him whose power and goodness extend through all worlds; and let the inhabitants of all those worlds share in the grand chorus, that it may be universal.

For his mighty acts - Whether manifested in creation, government, mercy or justice.

His excellent greatness - כרב גדלו kerob gudlo, according to the multitude of his magnitude, or of his majesty. After the manyfoldness of his mickleness - Anglo-Saxon. After the mykelnes of his greathede - Old Psalter. Let the praise be such as is becoming so great, so holy, and so glorious a Being.

The sound of the trumpet - שופר sophar, from its noble, cheering, and majestic sound; for the original has this ideal meaning.

With the psaltery - נבל nebel; the nabla, a hollow stringed instrument; perhaps like the guitar, or the old symphony.

And harp - כנור kinnor, another stringed instrument, played on with the hands or fingers.

Praise him with the timbrel - תף toph, drum, tabret, or tomtom, or tympanum of the ancients; a skin stretched over a broad hoop; perhaps something like the tambarine. Anglo-Saxon; the glad pipe. Taburne; Old Psalter.

And dance - מחול machol, the pipe. The croude or crowthe: Old Psalter; a species of violin. It never means dance; see the note on Psa 149:3. Crwth signifies a fiddle in Welsh.

Stringed instruments - מנים minnim. This literally signifies strings put in order; perhaps a triangular kind of hollow instrument on which the strings were regularly placed, growing shorter and shorter till they came to a point. This would give a variety of sounds, from a deep bass to a high treble. In an ancient MS. Psalter before me, David is represented in two places, playing on such an instrument. It may be the sambuck, or psaltery, or some such instrument.

Organs - עוגב ugab. Very likely the syrinx or mouth organ; Pan's pope; both of the ancients and moderns. The fistula, septem, disparibus nodis conjuncta, made of seven pieces of cane or thick straw, of unequal lengths, applied to the lips, each blown into, according to the note intended to be expressed. This instrument is often met with in the ancient bucolic or pastoral writers.

Loud cymbals - צלצלים tseltselim. Two hollow plates of brass, which, being struck together, produced a sharp clanging sound. This instrument is still in use. What the high-sounding cymbals meant I know not; unless those of a larger make, struck above the head, and consequently emitting a louder sound.

Let every thing that hath breath - Either to make a vocal noise, or a sound by blowing into pipes, fifes, flutes, trumpets, etc. Let all join together, and put forth all your strength and all your skill in sounding the praises of Jehovah; and then let a universal burst with Hallelujah! close the grand ceremony. It is evident that this Psalm has no other meaning than merely the summoning up all the voices, and all the instruments, to complete the service in Full Chorus.

Of such peculiar importance did the Book of Psalms appear to our blessed Lord and his apostles, that they have quoted nearly fifty of them several times in the New Testament. There is scarcely a state in human life that is not distinctly marked in them; together with all the variety of experience which is found, not merely among pious Jews, but among Christians, the most deeply acquainted with the things of Christ.

The minister of God's word, who wishes to preach experimentally, should have frequent recourse to this sacred book; and by considering the various parts that refer to Jesus Christ and the Christian Church, he will be able to build up the people of God on their most holy faith; himself will grow in grace, and in the knowledge of God; and he will ever have an abundance of the most profitable matter for the edification of the Church of Christ.

Sanctuary - In his temple. The firmament - In heaven: there let the blessed angels praise him.

Also - Every living creature in heaven and in earth.

1 PRaise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary : praise him in the firmament of his power .

In his Temple, where this work was to be performed constantly and solemnly. Or, who dwelleth in his Sanctuary, So it describeth and limiteth the object of their praises. Or. for (as this particle is used in the next verse) his Sanctuary, for this great favour of placing his Sanctuary and dwelling place amongst men.

In his heavenly mansion, there let the blessed Angels praise him. Or, who dwelleth in the firmament, or spreading forth of his power, to wit, in the Heavens which were stretched out by his great power, and in which are the most glorious testimonies of his infinite power. Or, for the firmament, &c. for that glorious and astonishing piece of his workmanship.

Marginal references: Heb. Hallelujah.

2 Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness .

As his infinite Majesty deserves to be praised.

Marginal references: Psal. 145. 5, 6.

6 Let every thing that hath breath , praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.

Every living creature in heaven and in earth, [illegible: 1 word]. 5. 13. according to their several capacities, some objectively, others actively, as was noted before.

The final Hallalujah

The call to praise Jahve “with dance and with timbrel” in Psa 149:3 is put forth here anew in Psa 150:4, but with the introduction of all the instruments; and is addressed not merely to Israel, but to every individual soul.

Psa 150:1-5

The Synagogue reckons up thirteen divine attributes according to ex. Psa 34:6. (שׁלשׁ עשׂרה מדּות), to which, according to an observation of Kimchi, correspond the thirteen הלּל of this Psalm. It is, however, more probable that in the mind of the poet the tenfold halaluw encompassed by Hallelujah’s is significative; for ten is the number of rounding off, completeness, exclusiveness, and of the extreme of exhaustibleness. The local definitions in Psa 150:1 are related attributively to God, and designate that which is heavenly, belonging to the other world, as an object of praise. קדשוּ (the possible local meaning of which is proved by the קדשׁ and קדשׁ קדשׁים of the Tabernacle and of the Temple) is in this passage the heavenly היכל; and רקיע עזּו is the firmament spread out by God’s omnipotence and testifying of God’s omnipotence (Psa 68:35), not according to its front side, which is turned towards the earth, but according to the reverse or inner side, which is turned towards the celestial world, and which marks it off from the earthly world. The third and fourth hălalu give as the object of the praise that which is at the same time the ground of the praise: the tokens of His גּבוּרה, i.e., of His all-subduing strength, and the plenitude of His greatness (גּדלו = גּדלו), i.e., His absolute, infinite greatness. The fifth and sixth hălalu bring into the concert in praise of God the ram’s horn, שׁופר, the name of which came to be improperly used as the name also of the metallic חצצרה (vid., on Psa 81:4), and the two kinds of stringed instruments (vid., Psa 33:2), viz., the nabla (i.e., the harp and lyre) and the kinnor (the cithern), the ψαλτήριον and the κιθάρα (κινύρα). The seventh hălalu invites to the festive dance, of which the chief instrumental accompaniment is the תּף (Arabic duff, Spanish adufe, derived from the Moorish) or tambourine. The eighth hălalu brings on the stringed instruments in their widest compass, מנּים (cf. Psa 45:9) from מן, Syriac menı̂n, and the shepherd’s pipe, עגב (with the Gimel raphe = עוּגב); and the ninth and tenth, the two kinds of castanets (צלצלי, construct form of צלצלים, singular צלצל), viz., the smaller clear-sounding, and the larger deeper-toned, more noisy kinds (cf. κύμβαλον ἀλαλάζον, 1Co 13:1), as צלצלי שׁמע (pausal form of שׁמע = שׁמע, like סתר in Deu 27:15, and frequently, from סתר = סתר) and צלצלי תרוּעה are, with Schlultens, Pfeifer, Burk, Köster, and others, to be distinguished.

Psa 150:6

The call to praise has thus far been addressed to persons not mentioned by name, but, as the names of instruments thus heaped up show, to Israel especially. It is now generalized to “the totality of breath,” i.e., all the beings who are endowed by God with the breath of lie (Hebrew_Bible_נשׁמת חיּים), i.e., to all mankind.

With this full-toned Finale the Psalter closes. Having risen as it were by five steps, in this closing Psalm it hovers over the blissful summit of the end, where, as Gregory of Nyssa says, all creatures, after the disunion and disorder caused by sin have been removed, are harmoniously united for one choral dance (εἰς μίαν χοροστασίαν), and the chorus of mankind concerting with the angel chorus are become one cymbal of divine praise, and the final song of victory shall salute God, the triumphant Conqueror (τῷ τροπαιούχῳ), with shouts of joy. There is now no need for any special closing beracha. This whole closing Psalm is such. Nor is there any need even of an Amen (Psa 106:48, cf. 1Ch 16:36). The Hallelujah includes it within itself and exceeds it.

An Invitation to Praise God; All Creatures Called to Praise God.

1 Praise ye the Lord . Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power. 2 Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness. 3 Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp. 4 Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs. 5 Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals. 6 Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord . Praise ye the Lord .

We are here, with the greatest earnestness imaginable, excited to praise God; if, as some suppose, this psalm was primarily intended for the Levites, to stir them up to do their office in the house of the Lord, as singers and players on instruments, yet we must take it as speaking to us, who are made to our God spiritual priests. And the repeated inculcating of the call thus intimates that it is a great and necessary duty, a duty which we should be much employed and much enlarged in, but which we are naturally backward to and cold in, and therefore need to be brought to, and held to, by precept upon precept, and line upon line. Observe here,

I. Whence this tribute of praise arises, and out of what part of his dominion it especially issues. It comes, 1. From his sanctuary; praise him there. Let his priests, let his people, that attend there, attend him with their praises. Where should he be praised, but there where he does, in a special manner, both manifest his glory and communicate his grace? Praise God upon the account of his sanctuary, and the privileges which we enjoy by having that among us, Ezek. xxxvii. 26. Praise God in his holy ones (so some read it); we must take notice of the image of God as it appears on those that are sanctified, and love them for the sake of that image; and when we praise them we must praise God in them. 2. From the firmament of his power. Praise him because of his power and glory which appear in the firmament, its vastness, its brightness, and its splendid furniture; and because of the powerful influences it has upon this earth. Let those that have their dwelling in the firmament of his power, even the holy angels, lead in this good work. Some, by the sanctuary, as well as by the firmament of his power, understand the highest heavens, the residence of his glory; that is indeed his sanctuary, his holy temple, and there he is praised continually, in a far better manner than we can praise him. And it is a comfort to us, when we find we do it so poorly, that it is so well done there.

II. Upon what account this tribute of praise is due, upon many accounts, particularly, 1. The works of his power (v. 2): Praise him for his mighty acts; for his mightinesses (so the word is), for all the instances of his might, the power of his providence, the power of his grace, what he has done in the creation, government, and redemption of the world, for the children of men in general, for his own church and children in particular. 2. The glory and majesty of his being: Praise him according to his excellent greatness, according to the multitude of his magnificence (so Dr. Hammond reads it); not that our praises can bear any proportion to God's greatness, for it is infinite, but, since he is greater than we can express or conceive, we must raise our conceptions and expressions to the highest degree we can attain to. Be not afraid of saying too much in the praises of God, as we often do in praising even great and good men. Deus non patitur hyperbolum—We cannot speak hyperbolically of God; all the danger is of saying too little and therefore, when we have done our utmost, we must own that though we have praised him in consideration of, yet not in proportion to, his excellent greatness.

III. In what manner this tribute must be paid, with all the kinds of musical instruments that were then used in the temple-service, v. 3-5. It is well that we are not concerned to enquire what sort of instruments these were; it is enough that they were well known then. Our concern is to know, 1. That hereby is intimated how full the psalmist's heart was of the praises of God and how desirous he was that this good work might go on. 2. That in serving God we should spare no cost nor pains. 3. That the best music in God's ears is devout and pious affections, non musica chordula, sed cor—not a melodious string, but a melodious heart. Praise God with a strong faith; praise him with holy love and delight; praise him with an entire confidence in Christ; praise him with a believing triumph over the powers of darkness; praise him with an earnest desire towards him and a full satisfaction in him; praise him by a universal respect to all his commands; praise him by a cheerful submission to all his disposals; praise him by rejoicing in his love and solacing yourselves in his great goodness; praise him by promoting the interests of the kingdom of his grace; praise him by a lively hope and expectation of the kingdom of his glory. 4. That, various instruments being used in praising God, it should yet be done with an exact and perfect harmony; they must not hinder, but help one another. The New-Testament concert, instead of this, is with one mind and one mouth to glorify God, Rom. xv. 6.

IV. Who must pay this tribute (v. 6): Let every thing that has breath praise the Lord. He began with a call to those that had a place in his sanctuary and were employed in the temple-service; but he concludes with a call to all the children of men, in prospect of the time when the Gentiles should be taken into the church, and in every place, as acceptably as at Jerusalem, this incense should be offered, Mal. i. 11. Some think that in every thing that has breath here we must include the inferior creatures (as Gen. vii. 22), all in whose nostrils was the breath of life. They praise God according to their capacity. The singing of birds is a sort of praising God. The brutes do in effect say to man, "We would praise God if we could; do you do it for us." John in vision heard a song of praise from every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, Rev. v. 13. Others think that only the children of men are meant; for into them God has in a more peculiar manner breathed the breath of life, and they have become living souls, Gen. ii. 7. Now that the gospel is ordered to be preached to every creature, to every human creature, it is required that every human creature praise the Lord. What have we our breath, our spirit, for, but to spend it in praising God; and how can we spend it better? Prayers are called our breathings, Lam. iii. 56. Let every one that breathes towards God in prayer, finding the benefit of that, breathe forth his praises too. Having breath, let the praises of God perfume our breath; let us be in this work as in our element; let it be to us as the air we breathe in, which we could not live without. Having our breath in our nostrils, let us consider that it is still going forth, and will shortly go and not return. Since therefore we must shortly breathe our last, while we have breath let us praise the Lord, and then we shall breathe our last with comfort, and, when death runs us out of breath, we shall remove to a better state to breathe God's praises in a freer better air.

The first three of the five books of psalms (according to the Hebrew division) concluded with Amen and Amen, the fourth with Amen, Hallelujah, but the last, and in it the whole book, concludes with only Hallelujah, because the last six psalms are wholly taken up in praising God and there is not a word of complaint or petition in them. The nearer good Christians come to their end the fuller they should be of the praises of God. Some think that this last psalm is designed to represent to us the work of glorified saints in heaven, who are there continually praising God, and that the musical instruments here said to be used are no more to be understood literally than the gold, and pearls, and precious stones, which are said to adorn the New Jerusalem, Rev. xxi. 18, 19. But, as those intimate that the glories of heaven are the most excellent glories, so these intimate that the praises the saints offer there are the most excellent praises. Prayers will there be swallowed up in everlasting praises; there will be no intermission in praising God, and yet no weariness—hallelujahs for ever repeated, and yet still new songs. Let us often take a pleasure in thinking what glorified saints are doing in heaven, what those are doing whom we have been acquainted with on earth, but who have gone before us thither; and let it not only make us long to be among them, but quicken us to do this part of the will of God on earth as those do it that are in heaven. And let us spend as much of our time as may be in this good work because in it we hope to spend a joyful eternity. Hallelujah is the word there (Rev. xix. 1, 3); let us echo to it now, as those that hope to join in it shortly. Hallelujah, praise you the Lord.

PSAL. CL.

Halelu-jah.

PRaise ye God in his sanctity, praise him in the firmament of his strength. Praise him in his powers, praise him according to the multitude of his greatnesse. Praise him with the sound of the Trumpet, praise him with the psaltery and harpe. Praise him with Tymbrel and Flute, praise him with Virginals and Organ. Praise him with well sounding Cymbals, praise him with loud sounding Cymbals. Let all breath praise Iah; Halelu-jah.

Annotations. IN his sanctity] or, for his holinesse; his most holy being, Isa. 6. 3. the first argument of praise from Gods holy essence in himselfe: or, in his sanctitie, (his sanctuary) his holy place, meaning heaven, in the firmament of his strength] that is, for his strong firmament, (called heaven, Gen. 1. 8.) the second argument of praise, from the frame of the world, whereof heaven is chiefest: see Psal. 19. 2. or for the out-spreading of his strength, that is, for his strength spread out as the firmament. Vers. 2. in his powers] or, for his powerfull acts, as Ps. 145. 4. the third argument of praise from Gods mighty administration of all things since the creati on. of his greatnesse] or majestie, in speciall mercie towards his owne people and against their enemies; which is the fourth argument of his praise. Compare Deut. 3. 24. and 9. 26. and 32. 3. Ex. 15. 16. 1 Chro. 17. 19. Luke 1. 46, 49, 58. Act. 2. 11. Psal. 79. 11. and 145. 3. 6. Majesty hath the name of greatnesse, and is applied to the greatest state of Polities or Common-weales; which is to be minded here. Vers. 4. flute] or dance: Psal. 149. 3. Virginals] or, stringed instruments: this word is not else-where in Scripture. Organ] or, the Organon, as the Greeke translateth it: the Hebrew name signifieth a lovely (or delightfull) instrument: it is one of the ancientest of the world, invented by Iubal, Gen. 4. 21. and an instrument of joy, Iob 21. 12. & 30. 31. well sounding Cymbals] Hebr. Cymbals of hearing, that is, easie or delightfull to be heard, which the Greeke translateth well sounding. The Cymbals were of metall, as bels, and have their name of their shrill tinckling sound. loud sounding] or, joyfully sounding, or tinckling; as 1 Cor. 13. 1. Hebr. Cymbals of shouting sound. Vers. 6. all breath] or, every breath, that is, every thing that hath breath: this word is used for the breath that God inspired into man, Gen. 2. 7. and so for mans minde or immortall soule, Isa. 57. 16. and usually is applied to man, and to the breath of God, Psal. 18. 16. but in Gen. 7. 22. it seemeth to be spoken of all living things. Compare Rev. 5. 13. where every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, were heard, saying; Vnto him that sitteth upon the Throne, and unto the Lamb, be blessing, and honour, and glory, and power for ever and ever, Amen.

PSAL. CL.

VErſ. 1 Praiſe yee the Lord] See Pſal. 148.1.

Praiſe God in his Sanctuary] It is probable, ſaith Beza, that h[illegible: 1 letter]c Pſalm[illegible: 1 letter] mirifici ardoris plen[illegible: 1 letter], by this Pſalm which is ſo full of wonderfull ardour, the holy ſingers of the Sanctuary did mutually ſtir up one another to praiſe the Lord. It hath been noted before, that here wee have in ſix verſes twelve Hallelujahs. Some by Sanctuary underſtand Heaven; Others, the hearts of beleevers.

Praiſe him in the firmament of his power] Or, for the firmament wherein appeareth his power, Pſal. 19.1. Or, for the Church, and the firmament of faith.

Verſ. 2 Praiſe him for his mighty acts] Thoſe wonderfull effects of his creative, and providentiall omnipotencie.

Praiſe him according to his excellent greatneſſe] Or, Greatneſs of greatneſs; which yet can never be done, but muſt be indeavoured. Propound the higheſt pitch and beſt patterns.

Verſ. 3 Praiſe him with the ſound of the trumpet] With all your might and members, with utmoſt joy and jollity in the Lord. Lord I am a muſicall inſtrument, ſaith Nazianzen, Orat. de Baſilio. for thee to touch, that I may ſound forth thy glory and praiſe.

Verſ. 4 Praiſe him with the Timbrel and dance] Or, Pipe. But theſe are antient things (as it is ſaid in another caſe, Juſtin. Ma[illegible: 1 letter]tyr. muſices uſum reprehendit qu. 107. ad Orthodox. Sic Theodoret. lib. de ſacrific. 1 Chron. 4.22.) and now out of date. When the uſe of theſe muſicall inſtruments crept into the Chriſtian Churches (which was not till alate neither) great abuſes crept in with it: the preaching of the word was changed into ſongs & Anthems, little underſtood by thoſe that ſang them, and that grave and ſimple Pſalmodie or ſinging of Pſalms (ſo much uſed of old, and by this bleſſed Reformation reſtored to the Church) was juſtled out or rather turned in turpiſſimum len[illegible: 1 letter]c[illegible: 2 letters]ium (as one juſtly complaineth) ſuch as Nebuchadnezzar made before his golden image, Dan. 2. When Ariſtotle was asked what he thought of muſick he anſwered, [illegible: 1 span], nec cithar[illegible: 2 letters] [illegible: 1 word]; thinking it an unprofitable Art to men, that was no more delightfull to God. Plato told the Muſicians who preſſed into his company, that Philoſophers could do well enough without them. There is (no doubt) a lawfull uſe of muſick, and great power it hath to move mens minds one way or another, 2 King. 3.15. 1 Sam. 16.23. But in Gods publick-worſhip it is dangerous to do any thing without his ſpeciall warrant, though we intend never ſo well in ſo doing as wee ſee in Ʋzza. Temple-muſick was part of the Jewiſh pedagogie, of the leviticall-worſhip; and therefore cannot bee retained without injury to Chriſt.

Verſ. [illegible: 2 letters] Piſon. 5 Praiſe him upon the loud Cymbals] Theſe were, ſaith Cicero, inſtrumenta are[illegible: 1 letter], [illegible: 1 span] in matris [illegible: 1 word] ſacris uſurpata: bells, ſome render it. The Apoſtle ſpeaketh of a tinkling Cymbal; And a grave Divine complaineth, that God cannot pleaſe ſome hearers, D. S[illegible: 1 letter]ough. [illegible: 2 letters] 2 Tim. [illegible: 1 letter]1.13. [illegible: 1 span] unleſs hee ſpeak tinkling and tickling words.

Verſ. 6 Let every thing that hath breath praiſe the Lord] Or, Let every breath praiſe the Lord. T[illegible: 2 letters] Dei [illegible: 1 span], ſaith a Father: We have all as much reaſon to praiſe God, as we have need to draw breath; our breath ſhould bee like the ſmoak of the Tabernacle, or thoſe pillars of incenſe therehence aſcending [illegible: 1 word] rendreth it [illegible: 1 span], Let the very whole ſoul of us praiſe the Lord,

[illegible: 1 word] the Lord] The Pſalmiſt had made an end, and [illegible: 1 span] hath [illegible: 1 span]. When [illegible: 1 span] ſaid [illegible: 1 word] utmoſt for Gods praiſe [illegible: 1 word] muſt reſt [illegible: 1 span].

Praise ye the LORD. Hallelujah! The exhortation is to all things in earth or in heaven. Should they not all declare the glory of him for whose glory they are, and were created? Jehovah, the one God, should be the one object of adoration. To give the least particle of his honour to another is shameful treason; to refuse to render it to him is heartless robbery. Praise God in his sanctuary. Praise El, or the strong one, in his holy place. See how power is mentioned with holiness in this change of names. Praise begins at home. "In God's own house pronounce his praise." The holy place should be filled with praise, even as of old the high priest filled the sanctum sanctorum with the smoke of sweet smelling incense. In his church below and in his courts above hallelujahs should be continually presented. In the person of Jesus God finds a holy dwelling or sanctuary, and there he is greatly to be praised. He may also be said to dwell in holiness, for all his ways are right and good; for this we ought to extol him with heart and with voice. Whenever we assemble for holy purposes our main work should be to present praises unto the Lord our God. Praise him in the firmament of his power. It is a blessed thing that in our God holiness and power are united. Power without righteousness would be oppression, and righteousness without power would be too weak for usefulness; but put the two together in an infinite degree and we have God. What an expanse we have in the boundless firmament of divine power! Let it all be filled with praise. Let the heavens, so great and strong, echo with the praise of the thrice holy Jehovah, while the sanctuaries of earth magnify the Almighty One.

Praise him for his mighty acts. Here is a reason for praise. In these deeds of power we see himself. These doings of his omnipotence are always on behalf of truth and righteousness. His works of creation, providence, and redemption, all call for praise; they are his acts, and his acts of might, therefore let him be praised for them. Praise him according to his excellent greatness. His being is unlimited, and his praise should correspond therewith. He possesses a multitude or a plenitude of greatness, and therefore he should be greatly praised. There is nothing little about God, and there is nothing great apart from him. If we were always careful to make our worship fit and appropriate for our great Lord how much better should we sing! How much more reverently should we adore! Such excellent deeds should have excellent praise.

Praise him with the sound of the trumpet. With the loudest, clearest note call the people together. Make all men to know that we are not ashamed to worship. Summon them with unmistakable sound to bow before their God. The sound of trumpet is associated with the grandest and most solemn events, such as the giving of the law, the proclamation of jubilee, the coronation of Jewish kings, and the raging of war. It is to be thought of in reference to the coming of our Lord in his second advent and the raising of the dead. If we cannot give voice to this martial instrument, at least let our praise be as decided and bold as if we could give a blast upon the horn. Let us never sound a trumpet before us to our own honour, but reserve all our trumpeting for God's glory. When the people have been gathered by blast of trumpet, then proceed to praise him with the psaltery and harp. Stringed instruments are to be used as well as those which are rendered vocal by wind. Dulcet notes are to be consecrated as well as more startling sounds. The gospel meaning is that all powers and faculties should praise the Lord —all sorts of persons, under all circumstances, and with differing constitutions, should do honour unto the Lord of all. If there be any virtue, if there be any talent, if there be any influence, let all be consecrated to the service of the universal Benefactor. Harp and lyre —the choicest, the sweetest, must be all our Lord's.

Praise him with the timbrel and dance. Associated with the deliverance at the Red Sea, this form of worship set forth the most jubilant and exultant of worship. The hands and the feet were both employed, and the entire body moved in sympathy with the members. Are there not periods of life when we feel so glad that we would fain dance for joy? Let not such exhilaration be spent upon common themes, but let the name of God stir us to ecstasy. Let us exult as we cry,

"In the heavenly Lamb thrice happy I am,

And my heart it doth dance at the sound of his name."

There is enough in our holy faith to create and to justify the utmost degree of rapturous delight. If men are dull in the worship of the Lord our God they are not acting consistently with the character of their religion. Praise him with stringed instruments and organs. We have here the three kinds of musical instruments: timbrels, which are struck, and strings, and pipes; let all be educated to praise the Lord. Nothing is common and unclean: all may be sanctified to highest uses. Many men, many minds, and these as different as strings and pipes; but there is only one God, and that one God all should worship. The word translated "organs" signifies pipe —a simpler form of wind instrument than the more modern and more elaborate organ. Doubtless many a pious shepherd has poured out gracious pastorals from a reed or oaten pipe, and so has magnified his God.

Praise high upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals. Let the clash of the loudest music be the Lord's: let the joyful clang of the loftiest notes be all for him. Praise has beaten the timbrel, swept the harp, and sounded the trumpet, and now for a last effort, awakening the most heavy of slumberers, and startling the most indifferent of onlookers, she dashes together the disks of brass, and with sounds both loud and high proclaims the glories of the Lord.

Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord. "Let all breath praise him": that is to say, all living beings. He gave them breath, let them breathe his praise. His name is in the Hebrew composed rather of breathings than of letters, to show that all breath comes from him: therefore let it be used for him. Join all ye living things in the eternal song. Be ye least or greatest, withhold not your praises. What a day will it be when all things in all places unite to glorify the one only living and true God! This will be the final triumph of the church of God. Praise ye the LORD. Once more, Hallelujah! Thus is the Psalm rounded with the note of praise; and thus is the Book of Psalms ended by a glowing word of adoration. Reader, wilt not thou at this moment pause a while, and worship the Lord thy God? Hallelujah!

Whole Psalm. Each of the last five Psalms begins and ends with Hallelujah! Praise ye the Lord. And each Psalm increases in praise, love, and joy, unto the last, which is praise celebrating its ecstasy. The elect soul, the heir of God, becomes "eaten up" with the love of God. He begins every sentence with Hallelujah; and his sentences are very short, for he is in haste to utter his next Hallelujah, and his next, and his next. He is as one out of breath with enthusiasm, or as one on tiptoe, in the act of rising from earth to heaven. The greatest number of words between any two Hallelujahs is four, and that only once: in every other instance, between one Hallelujah and another there are but two words. It is as though the soul gave utterance to its whole life and feeling in the one word, Hallelujah! The words, "Praise ye the Lord!" or "Praise him!" "Praise him!" "Praise him!" are reiterated no fewer than twelve times in a short Psalm of six short verses. —John Pulsford, in "Quiet Hours," 1857.

Whole Psalm. And now, in the last Psalm of all, we see an echo to the first Psalm. The first Psalm began with "Blessed", and it ended with "Blessed", —"Blessed are all they that meditate on God's law and do it." Such was the theme of the first Psalm; and now the fruit of that blessedness is shown in this Psalm, which begins and ends with Hallelujah. —Christopher Wordsworth.

Whole Psalm. In his Cours de Littérature, the celebrated Lamartine, probably regarding the last four Psalms (the Hallelujah Psalms) as one whole (as Hengstenberg also does) thus speaks: —"The last Psalm ends with a chorus to the praise of God, in which the poet calls on all people, all instruments of sacred music, all the elements, and all the stars to join. Sublime finale of that opera of sixty years sung by the shepherd, the hero, the king, and the old man! In this closing Psalm we see the almost inarticulate enthusiasm of the lyric poet; so rapidly do the words press to his lips, floating upwards towards God, their source, like the smoke of a great fire of the soul waited by the tempest! Here we see David, or rather the human heart itself with all its God given notes of grief, joy, tears, and adoration —poetry sanctified to its highest expression; a vase of perfume broken on the step of the temple, and shedding abroad its odours from the heart of David to the heart of all humanity! Hebrew, Christian, or even Mohammedan, every religion, every complaint, every prayer has taken from this vase, shed on the heights of Jerusalem, wherewith to give forth their accents. The little shepherd has become the master of the sacred choir of the Universe. There is not a worship on earth which prays not with his words, or sings not with his voice. A chord of his harp is to be found in all choirs, resounding everywhere and for ever in unison with the echoes of Horeb and Engedi! David is the Psalmist of eternity; what a destiny —what a power hath poetry when inspired by God! As for myself, when my spirit is excited, or devotional, or sad, and seeks for an echo to its enthusiasm, its devotion or its melancholy, I do not open Pindar or Horace, or Hafiz, those purely Academic poets: neither do I find within myself murmurings to express my emotion. I open the Book of Psalms, and there I find words which seem to issue from the soul of the ages, and which penetrate even to the heart of all generations. Happy the bard who has thus become the eternal hymn, the personified prayer and complaint of all humanity! If we look back to that remote age when such songs resounded over the world; if we consider that while the lyric poetry of all the most cultivated nations only sang of wine, love, blood, and the victories of coursers at the games of Elidus, we are seized with profound astonishment at the mystic accents of the shepherd prophet, who speaks to God the Creator as one friend to another, who understands and praises his great works, admires his justice, implores his mercy, and becomes, as it were, an anticipative echo of the evangelic poetry, speaking the soft words of Christ before his coming. Prophet or not, as he may be considered by Christian or sceptic, none can deny in the poet kin an inspiration granted to no other man. Read Greek or Latin poetry after a Psalm, and see how pale it looks." —William Swan Plumer.

Whole Psalm. The first and last of the Psalms have both the same number of verses, are both short and very memorable; but the scope of them is very different; the first Psalm is an elaborate instruction in our duty, to prepare us for the comforts of our devotion; this is all rapture and transport, and perhaps was penned on purpose to be the conclusion of those sacred songs, to show what is the design of them all, and that is, to assist us in praising God. —Matthew Henry.

Whole Psalm. Thirteen hallelujahs, according to the number of the tribes (Levi, Ephraim and Manasseh making three), one for each. —John Henry Michaelis, 1668-1738.

Whole Psalm. Some say this Psalm was sung by the Israelites, when they came with the first fruits into the sanctuary with the baskets on their shoulders. Thirteen times in this short Psalm is the word praise used; not on account of thirteen perfections or properties in God, as Kimchi thinks; but it is so frequently, and in every clause used, to show the vehement desire of the Psalmist that the Lord might be praised; and to express his sense of things, how worthy he is of praise; and that all ways and means to praise him should be made use of, all being little enough to set forth his honour and glory. —John Gill.

Whole Psalm. There is an interesting association connected with this Psalm which deserves to be recorded: that in former times, when the casting of church bells was more of a religious ceremony, this Psalm was chanted by the brethren of the guild as they stood ranged around the furnace, and while the molten metal was prepared to be let off into the mould ready to receive it. One may picture these swarthy sons of the furnace with the ruddy glow of the fire upon their faces as they stand around, while their deep voices rung forth this Hymn of Praise. —Barton Bouchier.

Praise ye the Lord. Praise God with a strong faith; praise him with holy love and delight; praise him with an entire confidence in Christ; praise him with a believing triumph over the powers of darkness; praise him with an earnest desire towards him, and a full satisfaction in him; praise him by a universal respect to all his commands; praise him by a cheerful submission to all his disposals; praise him by rejoicing in his love, and solacing yourselves in his great goodness; praise him by promoting the interests of the kingdom of his grace; praise him by a lively hope and expectation of the kingdom of his glory. —Matthew Henry.

In his sanctuary. wvdqb. Many have been the notions of the commentators as to the shade of meaning here; for the word differs from the form in Ps 20:2 vdwqm (from the sanctuary). The Vulgate adopts the plural rendering, in sanctis ejus, "in his holy places." Campensis renders it, ob insignem sanctitatem ipsius, "because of his excellent holiness." Some see under the word an allusion to the holy tabernacle of Deity, the flesh of Christ. Luther, in his German version, translates thus: in seinem Heiligthum, "in his holiness." The same harmony of comparative thought appears in the two clauses of this verse as in such passages as 1Ki 8:13,49 Isa 62:15. The place of worship where God specially hears prayer and accepts praise, and the firmament where angels fly at his command, and veil their faces in adoration, are each a sanctuary. The sanctuary is manifestly here looked at as the temple of grace, the firmament as the temple of power. So the verse proclaims both grace and glory. —Martin Geier.

Praise God in his sanctuary. The Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, and the eastern versions, render it, "in his holy ones"; among his saints, in the assembly of them, where he is to be feared and praised: it may be translated, "in his Holy One", and be understood of Christ, as it is by Cocceius...Some render it, "for" or "because of his holiness." The perfection of holiness in him; in which he is glorious and fearful in the praises of, and which appears in all his works of providence and grace. —John Gill.

Praise God. In many places we have the compound word, xy-wllx, halelujah, praise ye Jehovah; but this is the first place in which we find la-wllh, halelu-el, praise God, or the strong God. Praise him who is Jehovah, the infinite and self existent Being; and praise him who is God, El, or Elohim, the great God in covenant with mankind, to bless and save them unto eternal life. —Adam Clarke.

Ps 150:1-6 gives the full praise to Jehovah in a double character, the sanctuary and the firmament of his power, for his ways which come from the firmament of his power were always according to the sanctuary in which he governed Israel, and made good the revelation of himself there. —John Nelson Darby, 1800-1882.

Praise him for his mighty acts, etc. The reasons of that praise which it becomes all intelligent creatures, and especially redeemed men, to render to Jehovah, are here assigned. We are to praise Jehovah "in his sanctuary", in the place where his glory dwells, where his holiness shines forth with ineffable splendour; we are to praise him in the wide expanse over which he has spread the tokens of his power, whether in the heaven above, or in the earth beneath; we are to praise him for those omnipotent acts whereby he hath shown himself to be above all gods; we are to praise him in a manner suited to the excellent majesty of a Being whom all the heavens adore, and who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in working. His holiness, the infinity of his operations, the miraculous power which he has displayed, the unspotted excellence of his administration, call for loudest songs of praise from all whose reason enables them to rise to the contemplation of the great Supreme. —John Morison.

Praise him acceding to his excellent greatness. There is required special understanding and knowledge of the nature and worth of the mercy for which the duty of praise is undertaken; for God will not be praised confusedly, but distinctly and proportionably to his dispensation: Praise him according to his wondrous works; which is to be the prime and proper matter of their high praises, even his more proper and peculiar high acts, then to be remembered, as is largely expressed in Moses' praise for the particular mercy of coming safe through the Red Sea (Ex 15:1-27); and Deborah's high praise for deliverance from the host of Sisera (Jud 5:1-31); where the chiefest and highest part of the celebration and exaltation of God in his praise consists in the declaration and commemoration of the particulars of God's special goodness in their present deliverance. Thus, you see the first thing that God looks for is proportionable praise, great praise for a great God, doing great things, and high praises for a high God, doing high things. —Samuel Fairclough.

Praise him according to his excellent greatness, or, as the words may bear, "according to his muchness of greatness"; for when the Scripture saith, "God is great", this positive is to be taken as a superlative. "God is great", that is, he is greatest, he is greater than all; so great that all persons and all things are little, yea, nothing before him. Isa 40:15: "Behold, the nations are (to him but) as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing. And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering. All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity." How great is God, in comparison of whom the greatest things are little things, yea, the greatest things are nothing! —Joseph Caryl.

Trumpets and horns are the only instruments concerning which any directions are given in the law. —James Anderson.

Trumpet. Of natural horns and of instruments in the shape of horns the antiquity and general use are evinced by every extensive collection of antiquities...The Hebrew word shophar, rendered "trumpet", seems, first to denote horns of the straighter kind, including, probably, those of neat cattle, and all the instruments which were eventually made in imitation of and in improvement upon such horns. The name shophar means bright or clear, and the instrument may be conceived to have been so called from its clear and shrill sound, just as we call an instrument a "clarion", and speak of a musical tone as "brilliant" or" clear." In the service of God this shophar, or trumpet, was only employed in making announcements, and for calling the people together in the time of the holy solemnities, of war, of rebellion, or of any other great occasion. The strong sound of the instrument would have confounded a choir of singers, rather than have elevated their music. (John Kitto.) The shophar is especially interesting to us as being the only Hebrew instrument whose use on certain solemn occasions seems to be retained to this day. Engel, with his usual trustworthy research, has traced out and examined some of those in modern synagogues. Of those shown in our engraving, one is from the synagogue of Spanish and Portuguese Jews, Bevis Marks, and is, he says, one foot in length; the other is one used in the Great Synagogue, St. James's place, Aldgate, twenty-one inches in length. Both are made of horn. —James Stainer.

The "psaltery" was a ten stringed instrument. It is constantly mentioned with the "harp." The psaltery was struck with a plectrum, the harp more gently with the fingers. Psaltery and harp speak to us in figure of "law and gospel." —Thomas Le Blanc.

On "psaltery" (nebel) see Note on Ps 144:9, and on "harp" see Note on Ps 149:3.

Verses 3-5. As St. Augustine says here, "No kind of faculty is here omitted. All are enlisted in praising God." The breath is employed in blowing the trumpet; the fingers are used in striking the strings of the psaltery and the harp; the whole hand is exerted in beating the timbrel; the feet move in the dance; there are stringed instruments (literally strings); there is the organ (the ugab, syrinx) composed of many pipes, imposing combination, and the cymbals clang upon one another. —C. Wordsworth.

Verses 3-5. The variety of musical instruments, some of them made use of in the camp, as trumpets; some of them more suitable to a peaceable condition, as psalteries and harps; some of them sounding by blowing wind in them; some of them sounding by lighter touching of them, as stringed instruments; some of them by beating on them more sharply, as tabrets, drums and cymbals; some of them sounding by touching and blowing also, as organs: all of them giving some certain sound, some more quiet, and some making more noise: some of them having a harmony by themselves; some of them making a concept with other instruments, or with the motions of the body in dancing, sonic of them serving for one use, some of them serving for another, and all of them serving to set forth God's glory, and to shadow forth the duty of worshippers, and the privileges of the saints. The plurality and variety (I say) of these instruments were fit to represent divers conditions of the spiritual man, and of the greatness of his joy to be found in God, and to teach what stirring up should be of the affections and powers of our soul, and of one another, unto God's worship; what harmony should be among the worshippers of God, what melody each should make in himself, singing to God with grace in his heart, and to show the excellency of God's praise, which no means nor instrument, nor any expression of the body joined thereunto, could sufficiently set forth in these exhortations to praise God with trumpet, psaltery, &c. —David Dickson.

Verses 3-5. Patrick has an interesting note on the many instruments of music in Ps 149:1-9, which we quote here: "The ancient inhabitants of Etruria used the trumpet; the Arcadians, the whistle; the Sicilians, the pectid; the Cretians, the harp; the Thracians, the cornet; the Lacedemonians, the pipe; the Egyptians, the drum; the Arabians, the cymbal". (Clem. Paedag. ii. 4.) May we not say that in this Psalm's enumeration of musical instruments, there is a reference to the variety which exists among men in the mode of expressing joy, and exciting to feeling? —Andrew A. Bonar.

Stringed instruments. Minnim (which is derived from a root signifying "division", or" distribution", hence strings) occurs in Ps 45:8, and Ps 150:4, and is supposed by some to denote a stringed instrument, but it seems merely a poetical allusion to the strings of any instrument. Thus, in Ps 45:8, we would read, "Out of the ivory palaces the strings (i.e. concerts of music) have made thee glad"; and so in Ps 150:4, "Praise him with strings (stringed instruments), and ugabs." —John Kitto.

Organs. bgwe, 'ugab is the word rendered "organ" in our version. The Targum renders the word simply by abwba, a pipe; the Septuagint varies, it has kiyara in Genesis, qalmov in Job, and organon, in the Psalms. The last is the sense which the Arabic, Syriac, Latin, English, and most other versions have adopted. The organon simply denotes a double or manifold pipe; and hence, in particular, the Pandaean or shepherd's pipe, which is at this day called a "mouth organ", among ourselves. (Kitto.) A collection of tubes of different sizes, stopped at one end and blown at the other, forms the musical instrument known as Pan's pipes, in the Greek syrinx, surunx ...Was the'ugab a syrinx or an organ? As the former seems to have been the more ancient of the two, and as'ugab is included in the very first allusion to musical instruments in the Bible, it would seem reasonable to say at once that it was a syrinx, especially as this instrument was, and is to this day, commonly met with in various parts of Asia. Yet it would, indeed, be strange if such an instrument were selected for use in divine worship; and that the ugab was so used is proved beyond a doubt by its mention in Ps 150:1-6: "Praise him with the minnim and ugab." Its mention here in antithesis to a collective name for stringed instruments, surely points to the fact of its being a more important instrument than a few river reeds fixed together with wax. Let us not forget that we have but one and the same name for the single row of about fifty pipes, placed, perhaps, in a little room, and the mighty instrument of five thousand pipes, occupying as much space as an ordinary dwelling house. Each is an organ. May it not have been the case that the'ugab, which in Ge 4:21 is mentioned as the simply constructed wind instrument, in contrast to the simple stringed instrument, the kinnor, was a greatly inferior instrument to that which in Ps 150:1-6 is thought worthy of mention by the side of a term for the whole string power? —J. Stainer.

Loud cymbals...high sounding cymbals. This important passage clearly points to two instruments under the same name, and leaves us to conclude that the Hebrews had both hand cymbals and finger cymbals (or castanets), although it may not in all cases be easy to say which of the two is intended in particular texts. —John Kitto.

(Prayer Book Version). Praise him upon the well tuned cymbals: praise him upon the loud cymbals. As I have heard these words read monthly in our churches, it has often come into my thoughts that when we intend to glorify God with our cymbals, it should not be our only care to have them loud enough, but our first care should be to have them well tuned, else the louder the worse. Zeal does very well —there is great, yea, necessary use for it in every part of God's service. The cymbal will be flat, it will have no life or spirit in it, it will not be loud enough without it. But if meekness, peaceableness, and moderation do not first put the cymbal into good tune, the loudness will but make it the more ungrateful in the player, the more ungrateful to the hearer. —Robert Sanderson, 1587-1662

Praise ye the Lord. As the life of the faithful, and the history of the church, so also the Psalter, with all its cries from the depths, runs out into a Hallelujah. —E.W. Hengstenberg.

Praise ye the LORD. When we have said all we are able to say for God's praise, we are but to begin anew; for this are we taught by the renewing of the exhortation, in the close of sundry Psalms, and here also at the end of all the Psalms: "Praise ye the LORD." —David Dickson.

Let all breath praise Jah! Hallelujah. The very ambiguity of "all breath" gives extraordinary richness of meaning to this closing sentence. From the simple idea of wind instruments, mentioned in the context, it leads us, by a beautiful transition, to that of vocal, articulate, intelligent praise, uttered by the breath of living men, as distinguished from mere lifeless instruments. Then, lastly, by a natural association, we ascend to the idea expressed in the common version, "everything that hath breath", not merely all that lives, but all that has a voice to praise God. There is nothing in the Psalter more majestic or more beautiful than this brief but most significant finale, in which solemnity of tone predominates, without however in the least disturbing the exhilaration which the close of the Psalter seems intended to produce; as if in emblematical allusion to the triumph which awaits the church and all its members, when through much tribulation they shall enter into rest. —Joseph Addison Alexander.

Praise God in his sanctuary.

1. In his personal holiness.

2. In the person of his Son.

3. In heaven.

4. In the assembly of saints.

5. In the silence of the heart.

Verses 1-6. God should be praised. Where? (Ps 150:1). Wherefore? (Ps 150:2). Wherewith? (Ps 150:3-5). By whom? (Ps 150:6). —C.A.D.

His excellent greatness. Wherein the greatness of God is specially excellent, and where it is best seen.

Praise him for his mighty acts.

1. For us. Election. Redemption. Inspiration.

2. In us. The work of enlightenment in the understanding; purification in the heart; quickening in the conscience; subjugation in the will.

3. By us. Thought through us; felt through us; spoke through us; worked through us. To him be all the glory! —W.J.

Praise him according to his excellent greatness.

1. Reverently, according to the greatness of his being.

2. Gratefully, according to the greatness of his love.

3. Retrospectively, according to the greatness of his gifts.

4. Prospectively, according to the greatness of his promises. —W.J.

What the exhortation requires.

1. That men should study God's works, and observe the glory of God in them.

2. That they should meditate on his greatness till they realize its excellence.

3. That they should openly proclaim the honour due to him.

4. That they should not contradict in their life the praise they speak. —J.F.

Praise him with the sound of the trumpet.

1. When you fight.

2. When you conquer.

3. When you assemble.

4. When you proclaim his Word.

5. When you welcome Jubilee.

Verses 3-6.

1. The variety of the ancient service of worship necessitating serious expenditure; consecration of high talent; hard and constant toil.

2. The lessons of such service. a) God should be worshipped royally. b) The efforts of the best genius are his rightful tribute. c) All human ability cannot place a worthy offering at his feet.

3. The soul and essential of true worship.

4. God's requirements as to worship in these present times. —W.B.H.

1. The august Giver of "life, and breath, and all things."

2. The due and true use of the gifts of life.

3. The resultant swathing of earth in consecrated atmosphere, and millennial hallelujahs. —W.B.H.

A fitting close to the psalter, considered as a desire, a prayer, or an exhortation.

1. As a desire, it realizes the glory due to God, the worship ennobling to man, the disposition of heart which would make all the world into a holy brotherhood.

2. As a prayer, it seeks the downfall of every superstition, the universal spread of the truth, the conversion of every soul.

3. As an exhortation, it is plain, pertinent, pure in its piety, perfect in its charity. —J.F. HALLELUJAH!