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Singing Psalm 150 you go all out

You go all out to praise the Lord because of who he is and what he does

red sunrise over the ocean

Praise the LORD! If you are going to praise sincerely and earnestly from the heart, it springs from obvious reasons that are deeply planted in your mind. You can never know God exhaustively, but you can know him truly, who he is, what he does that reflects what he values. Recorded in his word, you learn of God’s existence as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, his creation of all things, his caring relationship of lovingkindness with his image bearers, his good character of mercy and justice, his power to do all he pleases, and his plan to redeem a people for himself after man rebelled against him.


“The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.


“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.” ~ John 1:9-18


Singing the psalms with reverence and thanksgiving in your heart to God internalizes dependence and trust in God as you worship him corporately and personally. You learn from Jesus what it is to have a gentle and lowly heart. In singing the psalms you find rest for your soul. When we address one another singing the psalms, the Word of God does what it does. It teaches, rebukes, corrects, and trains in righteousness to thoroughly equip the people of God for every good work.


Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” ~ Luke 24:44


When you set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus, you go all out in praising the Lord.


“Praise the LORD!

    Praise God in his sanctuary.

Praise Him in His mighty expanse.” ~ Psalm 150:1


The Lord Jesus has filled us with the richest of fare. When we sin, we expel his good gifts half digested back upon him with mocking and scorn. He is moved by shocking love to turn the other cheek, not holding our sin against us, granting us both forgiveness and the gift of repentance that moves our hearts to love him.


“Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD:

though your sins are like scarlet,

they shall be as white as snow;

though they are red like crimson,

they shall become like wool.

If you are willing and obedient,

you shall eat the good of the land;

but if you refuse and rebel,

you shall be eaten by the sword;

for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” ~ Isaiah 1:18-20


    “Praise Him for His mighty deeds.

Praise Him according to His excellent greatness.” ~ Psalm 150:2


You go all out to praise the Lord with all that is within you


You ponder how the Lord faithfully and mysteriously answers our prayers as he often uses sorrow to bring about repentance and anguish to bring about trust. He uses the refiner’s fire so that we can come to the point of better reflecting his image. He breaks our hearts in order to make us meek. He brings us to the point of putting to rest our self-centered, anxious hopes to help us to be dead to the world and alive in Christ. Over time, you begin to perceive how far above he is to use circumstances that woo you to seek him the way he does. He is everything you ever wanted or could dream of and you wonder how it took you so long to find him. You cannot help but go all out to praise him once you realize the treasure he is.


  “Praise Him with timbrel and dancing.

Praise Him with stringed instruments and pipe.” ~ Psalm 150:4


You give him your best, your all, your whole heart as when David danced with all his might before the Lord, and like when Israel sang with every kind of instrument as they celebrated. They were looking forward to the one who would impact and fill hearts to such a degree that harmonious voices raised in song to praise him would make the best symphony orchestras or the most well-attended concerts sound ho hum in comparison.


    “Praise Him with the trumpet sound

Praise Him with the harp and lyre.”  ~ Psalm 150:3


Every knee will one day bow at the name of Jesus and confess that he is Lord to the glory of the Father. Although we are not to call attention to our giving by blowing trumpets, it is perfectly fitting to blow trumpets in praise to our great and good God.


“And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder.” ~ Exodus 19:19


“David also commanded the chiefs of the Levites to appoint their brothers as the singers who should play loudly on musical instruments, on harps and lyres and cymbals, to raise sounds of joy.” ~ 1 Chronicles 15:16


    “Praise Him with loud cymbals.

Praise Him with resounding cymbals.” ~ Psalm 150:5


Anyone who can play these instruments ought to do it in praise of the one who gave them that ability, whether in an orchestra or band or on your own. If you have access to any of these instruments, you can make a joyful noise in praise to God, even if you cannot play them well. The cymbals' reverberations emphasize that it resonates with you to continually praise and give thanks to the one who does all things well. Everything you have gone through to make his rule fit you, the Lord goes all out expressly purposing to make you fit to rule with him. He has a crown for the one who carries his cross daily and who means it when he says not my will, but thine be done.


“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.” ~ Ephesians 5:15-21


The thing that Azariah, Hananiah, and Mishael refused to do in praise of King Nebuchadnezzar is the very thing God’s people long to do for the living and true God. They would praise the one worthy of worship with all kinds of musical sounds. Only God causes living and breathing to happen for every living being because they were made by him. Who is worthy of your all out worship? No, not Nebuchadnezzar, not self, not anyone but the triune God!


Singing is for praising God who is worthy of our passion yet we are so often enamored, tranced, and pulled away from the one deserving of our adoration by pretty voices set to music.


“And behold, you are to them like one who sings lustful songs with a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument, for they hear what you say, but they will not do it.” ~ Ezekiel 33:32


Whatever and however we sing, let it come not from a seductive heart with sensual purposes but from a heart that seeks to listen, obey, and give praise and honor to our Creator.


Going all out before Jesus came included many external, physical pointers to him including sacrifices, ceremonial laws, and musical instruments for praise. God’s chosen son, the nation of Israel, was also pointing to when Jesus, the Son of God, would come.


After Jesus came, the kingdom of God was ushered in to all who would trust in him. No longer contained within one nation, people from all nations, tribes, and languages who trust in Jesus would be adopted as God’s sons and daughters. The Lord used Babylon as an instrument of discipline, but when the refiner’s fire did its work, no more will such instruments be needed when God‘s people become fully formed in Christ.


“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” ~ Revelation 21:4


Jesus fulfilled the law and the prophets by bringing God’s statutes to the level of the heart requiring our whole being and not only outward conformity to his commands. “You have heard that it was said” Jesus filled out with the words, “but I say to you…” and brought the matter to the heart so that God would be the all-in-all for his people and not compartmentalized. Outward physical signs became obsolete once Jesus went all out for us as the reality of what they foreshadowed as he sacrificed his life as the ransom that freed us from being kidnapped. Now we go all out for him as his beloved, adopted children destined to live a new life.


“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.


“Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.


“Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” ~ Colossians 3:1-17


When you sing all the psalms, you are actually singing “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” since the psalms encapsulate all three:


“The three-fold division of Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs are divisions that are found in the superscriptions of the Psalms themselves as well as expressing a hendiatris. A hendiatris is a figure of speech used for emphasis, in which three words are used to express one idea.” ~ 
Dr. Nathan Eshelman


The Lord Jesus has given you all you need in the psalms to sing to move your mind and heart to make distinctions toward a close friendship and an intimate affection for God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, for your soul to pant for him as a deer pants for water brooks. You can sing the psalms to knit your heart to God’s, toward an intentional emotional connection with him who is holy where he becomes your heart’s desire.


You are moved to sing the psalms as his hidden footprints lead you to engage in the moment-by-moment process of seeking him, learning him, trusting him, and following him. You sing the psalms to ready your heart to receive the Lord Jesus, the only bridge of connection to friendship with the Father, and by extension, the only way to enjoy friendship with one another. In God alone, you find everlasting pleasure and true love.


You go all out to praise the Lord with all who have breath


When I didn’t understand that God cares for me, I went all out alternating between two extremes that left me out of breath and unable to sing praise to him.


The two extreme patterns of thought?


  1. The scarcity mindset. You worry that there might not be enough for you. You go all out for yourself alone out of fear that you would be left behind with nothing if you didn’t weary yourself striving.

  2. The excessive mindset. You are bent on enjoying all you can because you think that this is all there is. You go all out for yourself in the areas of life that matter most to you so that you don’t miss out on anything.


Singing Psalm 150 cuts across both of these mindsets in that work, food, drink, hobbies, and entertainment are all gifts that direct your focus with thanksgiving to the one who freely and generously gives them. You learn that these gifts are just the appetizer, a foretaste of everlasting gifts to look forward to, more than you could ask or imagine. The word of the Lord dwells in you richly. What there is, is abundantly provided. It’s not all there is. Therefore you perceive no lack and have no fear of running out of anything. You rightly enjoy Jesus the giver more than the gifts he gives with eyes only for him, your eyes intently fixed on him who sees you.


“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.” ~ Revelation 22:16


Singing Psalm 150 encourages complete, all out worship with all your being for eternal friendship, purpose, enjoyment, and comfort, the likes of which would cause anything you have here to very much pale in comparison. You go all out together with anyone who would join you to sing praises to and love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. You honor the one who gives you life and breath and true friendship, the one who made all things and does all things well, the one who needs nothing and no one, yet longs to be gracious to you.


“Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!

    Praise the LORD!” ~ Psalm 150:6



December 12, 2022 - October 18, 2024

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