Psalms 150:3

My Notes

What Does Psalms 150:3 Mean?

The final psalm in the Psalter erupts into a catalog of instruments — and every one of them is directed at God. "Praise him with the sound of the trumpet" — the shofar, the ram's horn. The instrument of assembly, of alarm, of coronation, of the Day of Atonement. The most ancient and most solemn sound in Israel's worship opens the ensemble. The shofar calls people to attention before anything else plays.

"Praise him with the psaltery and harp" — the psaltery (nevel) was a stringed instrument, possibly a lyre with a resonating body. The harp (kinnor) was David's instrument — the one he played before Saul, the one that accompanied the psalms. Together they represent the melodic, the beautiful, the crafted. Where the shofar is raw, the psaltery and harp are refined.

The verses that follow add more: timbrel and dance (v. 4), stringed instruments and organs (v. 4), loud cymbals and high-sounding cymbals (v. 5). The psalm recruits every instrument available — wind, string, percussion, even the human body (dance). Nothing is excluded. No instrument is too loud, too quiet, too common, or too sacred to be pressed into the service of praise.

Psalm 150 is the Bible's final word on worship before the Psalter closes. And the final word is: everything. Every instrument. Every sound. Every capacity for music the human community possesses — all of it, aimed at God. The last verse (v. 6) completes it: "Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD." Not just instruments. Everything breathing. The final instruction of the Psalms is universal, total, comprehensive praise.

Reflection Questions

• 1.The psalm recruits every instrument. What instrument, talent, or skill are you holding back from worship — not offering your best to God?
• 2.The shofar summons, the harp beautifies. Does your worship lean more toward raw devotion or crafted beauty — and how do you hold both?
• 3.The final instruction is 'let everything that hath breath praise the LORD.' What does it mean that your very breathing is meant for praise?
• 4.Psalm 150 closes the Bible's songbook. Why do you think the Psalms end with total, comprehensive, every-instrument praise rather than with a lament or a teaching?

Devotional

The Bible's songbook ends by recruiting every instrument in existence to praise God. Nothing is held back. Nothing is excluded. Everything plays.

Psalm 150 is the finale — the last psalm, the closing movement, the final word of a book that began with "blessed is the man" (Psalm 1:1) and ends with "praise the LORD" (150:6). And the finale isn't quiet. It's every instrument in the orchestra: shofar, psaltery, harp, timbrel, strings, organs, cymbals — both the loud and the high-sounding. The full spectrum of sound, from the raw blast of the ram's horn to the delicate plucking of the harp. All of it. For God.

"Praise him with the sound of the trumpet." The shofar starts because the shofar summons. Before the melody begins, the call goes out: attention. The King is being praised. Assemble. The shofar doesn't play a tune. It announces a reality: God is being worshiped, and everyone needs to hear it.

"Praise him with the psaltery and harp." After the announcement, the melody. The instruments that carry beauty, nuance, and craftsmanship — the sounds that stir the heart rather than just demand attention. The praise of God deserves not just volume but artistry. Not just raw sound but shaped beauty. The psaltery and harp say: God is worthy of our best creative effort, not just our loudest noise.

The psalm ends by expanding past instruments to breath itself: "Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD." The instruments were the warm-up. The real praise comes from every breathing creature. Your breath — the air God put in your lungs — is the instrument that matters most. And the final instruction of the Psalms is: use it. For praise. For Him.

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture