Psalm 150
Finally - the end of the book of Psalms! Wow, this has taken a while....
The book of psalms ends with a bang, not a whimper.
Praise the LORD.
Praise God in his sanctuary, praise him in his mighty heavens.
Praise him for his acts of power, praise him for his surpassing greatness.
So, the question I ask myself is - does God deserve this praise?
looking through the book of Psalms, we run the range of human experience, from being protected by God, abandoned by God, resting in God, being known at the deepest level by God, where does that leave us?
I think I have to say probably I am in awe of God - the God who knows what I want to think before I even thunk it,
Lets look at the end of the book of Psalms -
Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,
Praise him with the harp and lyre,
Praise him with tambourine and dancing,
Praise him with the strings and pipe
Praise him with the clash of cymbals
Praise him with resounding cymbals
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD
Praise the LORD.
As a trombonist I think they almost got the first instrument right! Though the valve trumpet that can play a full scale is a relatively recent development - so the trumpet was more volume than tune and probably based on the Zophar or rams horn (I tried playing one once, did not get very far, if truth be told!)
Some time ago I was playing in a music group for a service attended by the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, who is a man of God I have a lot of respect for.
Anyway it is well known that Archbishop Sentamu likes to play drums in services, and this one was no exception, the Archbishop started joining in on the African drum, but not quite in the same time or rhythm as the rest of us! The fact is that this did not detract from the music, the joy and exuberance actually added and the timing worked itself out.
The list of instruments listed here make a terrible orchestra - harps take forever to tune up, and then are not very loud!
It is interesting that percussion is mentioned twice - clashing and resounding cymbals.
Perhaps the instruction for everything that has breath to praise the LORD is just an attempt to drown out the cacophony of the band (or, if you are feeling traditional, organ!)
Finally - the end of the book of Psalms! Wow, this has taken a while....
The book of psalms ends with a bang, not a whimper.
Praise the LORD.
Praise God in his sanctuary, praise him in his mighty heavens.
Praise him for his acts of power, praise him for his surpassing greatness.
So, the question I ask myself is - does God deserve this praise?
looking through the book of Psalms, we run the range of human experience, from being protected by God, abandoned by God, resting in God, being known at the deepest level by God, where does that leave us?
I think I have to say probably I am in awe of God - the God who knows what I want to think before I even thunk it,
Lets look at the end of the book of Psalms -
Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,
Praise him with the harp and lyre,
Praise him with tambourine and dancing,
Praise him with the strings and pipe
Praise him with the clash of cymbals
Praise him with resounding cymbals
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD
Praise the LORD.
As a trombonist I think they almost got the first instrument right! Though the valve trumpet that can play a full scale is a relatively recent development - so the trumpet was more volume than tune and probably based on the Zophar or rams horn (I tried playing one once, did not get very far, if truth be told!)
Some time ago I was playing in a music group for a service attended by the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, who is a man of God I have a lot of respect for.
Anyway it is well known that Archbishop Sentamu likes to play drums in services, and this one was no exception, the Archbishop started joining in on the African drum, but not quite in the same time or rhythm as the rest of us! The fact is that this did not detract from the music, the joy and exuberance actually added and the timing worked itself out.
The list of instruments listed here make a terrible orchestra - harps take forever to tune up, and then are not very loud!
It is interesting that percussion is mentioned twice - clashing and resounding cymbals.
Perhaps the instruction for everything that has breath to praise the LORD is just an attempt to drown out the cacophony of the band (or, if you are feeling traditional, organ!)
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