Psalms 150:6

My Notes

What Does Psalms 150:6 Mean?

"Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD." The Psalter's final verse is the most comprehensive worship command in Scripture: EVERYTHING that breathes — every human, every animal, every creature with lungs — praise the LORD. The command leaves nothing out. If it breathes, it should praise.

The phrase "every thing that hath breath" (kol haneshamah — all the breath, every breathing thing) is maximally inclusive: not just every person. Every THING that breathes. The neshamah — the breath of life God breathed into Adam (Genesis 2:7) — connects every breathing creature to its Creator. The breath you have is the breath God gave. The breathing itself is evidence that you should praise.

The final "Praise ye the LORD" (Hallelujah) closes the entire Psalter: 150 psalms of lament, praise, confession, rage, hope, despair, and worship culminate in one word — Hallelujah. The last sound of the Psalms is the command to praise. Everything else — the suffering, the questioning, the celebrating — leads here.

Reflection Questions

• 1.You're breathing right now — is that breath being used for praise?
• 2.What does 'every thing that hath breath' — including animals, not just humans — teach about the scope of worship?
• 3.How does the breath connecting to Genesis 2:7 (God's exhale) make every breath an act of divine generosity?
• 4.What does the Psalter ending with Hallelujah — after 150 poems of every emotion — teach about where everything leads?

Devotional

Everything that breathes: praise the LORD. The last verse of the last psalm. The final word of 150 poems. The Psalter that contained every human emotion — rage, grief, joy, despair, love, abandonment, triumph — ends with one command: if you breathe, praise.

The 'every thing that hath breath' is the most inclusive worship command ever written: not every person. Every THING. Every breathing creature. The bird that sings at dawn is obeying this verse. The whale that exhales is obeying this verse. The infant who takes her first breath is obeying this verse. If you have breath — the neshamah that God breathed into the first human — you have an obligation and a privilege: praise.

The breath itself is the argument: the neshamah connects to Genesis 2:7 — God breathed into Adam's nostrils the breath of life. Every breath you take is a continuation of that original divine exhale. The air in your lungs came from God's mouth. The breathing is itself the gift. And the gift demands the response: praise the Giver.

The Hallelujah at the end is the period on the sentence — and on the entire Psalter: after the depths of Psalm 88, after the confessions of Psalm 51, after the rage of Psalm 137, after the intimacy of Psalm 23 — after ALL of it — the last word is Hallelujah. Praise the LORD. Every emotion led here. Every experience was preparation for this. The destination of every psalm is praise.

You're breathing right now. That breath is your invitation and your obligation: praise the LORD.

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture