Reflection
Reflection On Psalm 150
Many years ago, I was invited to sing, unaccompanied, at the marriage ceremony of two of my friends. Not a problem, except that (and I still don't know why) they asked for something in Latin. In those days both my musical knowledge and my linguistic skills were somewhat limited as far as Latin was concerned so I found a Bible in the required language, selected Psalm 150, and set to composing some music that I thought might be suitable. Not only did they like the music but, unknown to me until the Wedding Day, the couple had chosen the same Psalm to be read out during the service - God works in mysterious ways.
So, let's look at Psalm 150 (in English).
It begins "Praise ye the Lord". And, indeed, why not. Whether it be a wedding or a christening or even a funeral, surely it is right to praise God. Then it reminds us that our God is in Heaven (just as we say at the start of the Lord's prayer). We acknowledge that He is God; there is none other to be worshipped.
In verse 2 we remember God's 'mighty acts', in the creation and sustaining of the universe, in the guidance of His people in the Old Testament, in His provision (so necessary) of His Son, Jesus our Saviour, to put us right with Him when we had gone astray. We're not just talking nation or race here, but our individual relationship with the Father.
Now if you were wondering "How do I go about praising God?", the Psalmist gives us some answers in verses 3 and 4:
we can use the trumpet,
the psaltery (a flattish stringed instrument, resembling modern zither - if you know what one of those looks like. Dare I say that maybe the Psaltery was a kind of forerunner of the guitar? No, probably not!),
the harp (now we're on safer ground)
and the timbrel (a simple tambourine covered in goatskin).
What follows may come as a surprise to some people: Praise God with the dance. Personally, I think this means more than jigging about in the aisles during the singing of a modern hymn. Of course, spontaneity is important but well-thought out and choreographed dance can enhance the worship experience of all, not just the participants - just as it did when the Psalms were written.
The end of verse 4 brings us on to safer musical ground: stringed instruments and YES! the organ (or maybe the keyboard).
Now I'm not suggesting every congregation tries this, but the Psalmist (in verse 5) encourages praising God with 'loud cymbals' and 'high-sounding' cymbals. Perhaps the message is, in current terminology, "make a noise".
However, we go about it, the aim is to Praise the Lord. We're not doing this to show how clever we are or how good a player (but, please, make sure your guitar strings are in tune!). Even though others may appreciate our contribution, we should not be seeking praise for ourselves.
The message is - whatever you're doing and however you do it:
"Let everything that has breath praise the Lord"