Let Everything That Has Breath Praise The Lord

By Barry N. Shaw

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ…” wrote the Apostle Paul in his epistle to the Ephesians (Ephesians 1:3). Paul explains why we should praise and give thanks to the Lord: “He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ. Before the creation of the world, He put our names in the Book of Life and chose us to be holy and blameless in His sight. By His grace we are forgiven for all of our sins. He has adopted us as His children through His son, Jesus Christ. He has given to us freely His grace and glory. He provides everything we need in life. In Him, we have redemption from our sins through the blood of His Son. He has graciously made know to us the mystery of His will- He has enabled us to hear His Word of Truth, the Gospel of our salvation, and to believe in Him. Having believed, He has marked in us His seal, His Holy Spirit, a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance…to the praise of His glory.” Ephesians 1:4-14 Our salvation is assured thanks be to God!

Psalms, a book of praise, emphasizes that we are to praise God for His great works in us: our creation and redemption. The five books of the Book of Psalms each end with the words, “Praise the Lord!” Psalms 41:13; 72:18-19; 89:52; 106:48 and 150:6.

“Praise ye the Lord” says the Psalmist in Psalm 150, the final great Hallelujah . (Hebrew for “Praise the Lord”) Psalm 150, the last Psalm in the Psalter, is the crescendo, the mountaintop of the Book of Psalms. It answers the questions where God should be praised (Psalm 150:1), why God should be praised (His acts of creation and redemption-Psalm 150:2) how He should be praised (with symphony and dancing- Psalm 150:3-5) and who should praise God (everything that has breath.-Psalm 150:6)


Let’s share Psalm 150 together:
Verse 1: “Praise the Lord. Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in His mighty heavens…

Verse 2: Praise Him for His might acts of power; praise Him for His surpassing greatness…

Verse 3: Praise Him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise Him with the harp and the lyre…

Verse 4: Praise Him with tambourine and dancing, praise Him with the strings and flute…

Verse 5: Praise Him with the clash of cymbals, praise Him with the resounding cymbals…

Verse 6: Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord.”

We are to praise the Lord because He breathed the breath of life into our nostrils and He wants everything that has the breath of life to praise Him for the miracle He graciously gave us: life. We are to praise Him “in the mighty firmament, His sanctuary (Psalm 150:1) for The heavens declare the glory of God, the skies proclaim the work of His hands.” (Psalm 19:1)

We are to “glorify Him for his mighty acts according to His excellent greatness. (Psalm 150:2) Jesus said, “…believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father.” (John 10:38). Some of the miracles of life created by His hand are the air we breathe, the food He provides, the clothes on our backs, the roof over our heads, the majesty of the earth we live in. The list is endless.

We are to praise Him with wind, string and percussion instruments. (Psalm 150:3-5) Imagine a choir of millions of voices accompanied by every musical instrument that ever was, all singing, dancing and playing in unison praising His name.

All are to praise Him: “Let everything that has breath, praise the Lord…” (Psalm 150:6) “He Himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.“ (Acts 17:25) What a precious gift our Lord has given us! It’s no wonder the psalmist shouts from the highest mountain, “Sing to the Lord, a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, praise His name; proclaim His salvation day after day. Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous deeds among all peoples. For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise.” (Psalm 96:1-4)
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!

Barry Shaw writes from the Applegate Valley, Oregon.