... in the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
Amen. Through the prayers of our
holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us. Amen. Glory
to You, our God, Glory to You.
O Heavenly King,
the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, You are everywhere and fill all things,
Treasury of blessings, and Giver of life: come and abide in us, and cleanse us
from every impurity, and save our souls, O Good One.
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy
Immortal, have mercy on us (three times).
Glory be to the
Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, as it is now, was in the
beginning, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Praise the Lord.
Praise God in His sanctuary. Praise Him in the firmament of His power.
Praise Him for His mighty acts. Praise Him according to His excellent
greatness.
Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet. Praise Him with the psaltery and harp. Praise Him with the tambourine and dance. Praise Him with stringed instruments and
organs. Praise Him on the loud cymbals. Praise Him on the high sounding cymbals.
[1] Psalm
150 leaves little to the imagination. In
its four parts we explore where God is to be praised, why God is to be praised,
and with what God is to be praised, concluding that everything capable of
making sound is to praise Yahweh.
His sanctuary seems to emphasize the earthly, while firmament
indicates the heavenly. Where is God to
be praised? Everywhere, without
exception. This does not mean that such
praise is to be made into public show: for we are in the world, but not of the world. So God makes a distinction. Even though the task of The Church is to lift
up the world as a wave offering and a heave offering; until earthlings come to
Christ, they are still different. Schmemann,
Alexander, The Eucharist (St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, Crestwood, NY, 1991:
245 pages), Kachur, Paul, translator.
Why should we praise God?
We ought to praise God because He has done mighty, great, and excellent
things. This is more than a display of
raw power; this is power with a purpose.
Ever since the fall of man in Eden, God has waged spiritual warfare
against Satan and his demons. Moreover,
this warfare was conducted in such a way that man may be set free. We do not praise God here for His might; but
rather for “His mighty acts.”
With what shall we praise? The broadly detailed litany of instruments
can only mean everything that makes sound.
“Praise Him on the loud cymbals,” may just as easily be translated, “Praise
Him on the loud cymbals.” The word “on”
is instrumental in both its uses.
We have taken the phrase, “Let everything
that has breath praise the Lord,” to mean
anything that makes noise: the breath of instruments being the noise they
make. However, it could just as easily
single out breathing beings, which would include angels, all animals, and particularly
man. That is the point, isn’t it? Instruments don’t play themselves. Man is to play instruments and sing.
[2] There
are always those who insist that this prohibits instruments such as organs and
pianos; or, at least a cappella is to be greatly preferred. We do not see how this can be possible. The God, Who is able to make the rocks cry
out, will surely not be displeased because we have invented a new musical
instrument: especially since He has approved such a wide variety of instruments
in the previous paragraph. On the other
hand, the failure of anyone to sing, whether they have a pleasant voice or not,
must be viewed as a defect. The same
God, Who created the vocal folds is surely pleased with their worst
screeching. So, please sing, at least
softly.
[3] If you have been blessed or helped by any of these meditations in
Psalms, please repost, share, or use any of them as you wish.
These meditations are not controlled by
Creative Commons or other licenses, such as: copyright, CC, BY, SA, NC, or ND. They are designed and intended for your free
participation. They were freely
received, and are freely given. No other
permission is required for their use.
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