Praise the Lord
Praise God in his sanctuary;
Praise God in his mighty heavens.
Praise God for his acts of power;
Praise God for his surpassing greatness.
Praise God with the sounding of the trumpet,
Praise God with the harp and lyre
Praise God with tambourine and dancing,
Praise God with the strings and flute,
Praise God with the clash of cymbals
Praise God with resounding cymbals.
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord.
(Psalm 150, NIV)
A couple of weeks ago I had the privilege of participating in a symposium on the topic of diversity. During a break, I visited with a seminary friend, and she introduced me to a seminary friend of hers. We took a picture together, because we represent three different cultures–a beautiful reflection of the diversity and harmony that is depicted in Psalm 150.
The psalmist paints a picture of worship through the harmony of diverse instruments. As the picture is described in this call to worship, I can hear the harmony of the different instruments and imagine God delighting in all the sounds. Unlike the call for Israel to worship with dance to the timbrel and harp in Psalm 149, Psalm 150 calls for worship with dance and with the trumpet, the harp, the lyre, the tambourine, stringed instruments, the flute, loud cymbals, and high sounding cymbals.
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. (Psalm 150:6)
The call in Psalm 150 is not to one people group, but to all. God is worshiped not only in the harmonious music that the diversity of this psalm creates, but also in the diversity itself. The ultimate worship is that which reflects God in God’s fullness, in which God delights in all of creation. In diversity there is complete praise, the final Hallelujah, the Amen.
Creator God, Thank you for creating us in your image. You are reflected in each one of us and are fully reflected in all. Lead us to worship you through our lives by how we love you and how we love one another, Amen.