[3] Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet: praise Him with the psaltery and harp. [4] Praise Him with the timbrel and dance: praise Him with stringed instruments and organs. [5] Praise Him upon the loud cymbals: praise Him upon the high sounding cymbals.
In these three verses, we have various musical instruments and even dancing listed as ways one can praise God. One commentator I read stated that all of these instruments originated outside of Israel. If the Israelites can incorporate foreign instruments into their praise, then we shouldn’t have any problems adding any instruments that we use today. The “psaltery” is the lyre and the “timbrel” is the tambourine while the “organ” is the flute. All three classifications or instruments are represented here: wind instruments, stringed instruments and percussion instruments.
As to what instruments or dance is appropriate in our church, that is up to the local churches to decide. I don’t think any particular style is as significant as the fact we are taking the time to praise Him with those instruments.
I also believe it is important to organize the music. If all of these musical instruments were just being played without any organization, it won’t sound melodious but disastrous. It appears that ancient music was sophisticated and all instruments were acceptable, but it is also necessary to organize our praise to Him when we do so collectively.
[6] Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.
The Psalms end with the request that everything (all people and creatures) make the effort to praise God. Obviously, the Psalms are written for believers. The plea here is for others to join in that praise. Remember, as noted in earlier Psalms, creatures praise God by their existence and the fact that God provides for them a place to live and exist. In effect, all creatures acknowledge Him by the fact they have a place to live. As humans, we with our knowledge of God should all the more take time out of our lives to be grateful to Him not only for our existence, but also for the good He has done for us.
I can’t think of a more appropriate way to end the Psalms other than by giving praise to God for our lives.
In these three verses, we have various musical instruments and even dancing listed as ways one can praise God. One commentator I read stated that all of these instruments originated outside of Israel. If the Israelites can incorporate foreign instruments into their praise, then we shouldn’t have any problems adding any instruments that we use today. The “psaltery” is the lyre and the “timbrel” is the tambourine while the “organ” is the flute. All three classifications or instruments are represented here: wind instruments, stringed instruments and percussion instruments.
As to what instruments or dance is appropriate in our church, that is up to the local churches to decide. I don’t think any particular style is as significant as the fact we are taking the time to praise Him with those instruments.
I also believe it is important to organize the music. If all of these musical instruments were just being played without any organization, it won’t sound melodious but disastrous. It appears that ancient music was sophisticated and all instruments were acceptable, but it is also necessary to organize our praise to Him when we do so collectively.
[6] Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.
The Psalms end with the request that everything (all people and creatures) make the effort to praise God. Obviously, the Psalms are written for believers. The plea here is for others to join in that praise. Remember, as noted in earlier Psalms, creatures praise God by their existence and the fact that God provides for them a place to live and exist. In effect, all creatures acknowledge Him by the fact they have a place to live. As humans, we with our knowledge of God should all the more take time out of our lives to be grateful to Him not only for our existence, but also for the good He has done for us.
I can’t think of a more appropriate way to end the Psalms other than by giving praise to God for our lives.