Well, good evening to all of you. It is good to be with you and to open God's Word with you. If you would like to turn in your Bibles as we read, if you would turn to Psalm 150. We will be considering these familiar and precious six verses. Psalm 150, verses 1 through 6 this evening. We sing them often, familiar words, but words that perhaps as a cappella worshipers sort of wink at and wonder, can we really sing these? Is it okay to sing about all of these various instruments? We'll consider that briefly tonight, but let's consider Psalm 150 as we give attention to God's holy, infallible, inspired, authoritative word. Let's listen to him. Praise the Lord. Praise God in His sanctuary. Praise Him in His mighty heavens. Praise Him for His mighty deeds. Praise Him according to His excellent greatness. Praise Him with trumpet sound. Praise Him with lute and harp. Praise Him with tambourine and dance. Praise Him with strings and pipe. Praise Him with sounding cymbals. Praise Him with loud clashing cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Let's pray together. Our Father and our God, we thank you for your word. We thank you for your spirit who ministers your word to us. We thank you for the opportunity to gather one day in seven, morning and evening, set aside for you. And Lord, I pray that we would attentively listen to you this evening and that you would minister to us in this place, we pray in Christ's name, amen. Familiar words in Psalm 150, perhaps other familiar words as I read these to you. Do you recognize them? Hallelujah for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth. Hallelujah for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth. Hallelujah. The kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ. And He shall reign forever and ever. King of kings and Lord of lords. King of kings and Lord of lords. And He shall reign forever and ever. King of kings forever and ever. Lord of lords. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Do you recognize those words? Can you envision in your mind the four-part harmony singing that beautiful chorus? Can you hear the conclusion to Handel's Messiah in your mind's eye? The Hallelujah Chorus performed beautifully with a cacophony of instruments coming in at precisely the right time. We're not talking about public worship so I can talk about this, right? Can you picture it? Can you envision it? Perhaps the best known, most frequently performed choral work in Western art. Handel wrote this famous portion of his Messiah in the 1700s and it has been sung ever since. Can we say it's the greatest hallelujah chorus? Certainly not. because Psalm 150 is the first and the last hallelujah chorus. Actually, we could say Psalm 146 to Psalm 150 is the hallelujah chorus as the Psalter concludes with its messianic crescendo. And as I say that, you might wonder, where's the messianic language? Where is Christ in Psalm 150? Sure, we can see how this concludes the Psalter, but where is Jesus in the midst of this? Well, if we understand that the Psalter begins in Psalm 1 with a lone righteous man in a wilderness of sorts, he's in a garden, and he's surrounded by those who are seeking to tempt him to sin, surrounded by wickedness. And then we come all the way to the conclusion of the Psalter, to Psalm 150, and we see no more evil. We see no one tempting anyone toward wickedness. We see nothing but unbroken praise of everything on the earth. men and women, boys and girls, young and old, creatures of every type, everything that has breath, praising the Lord, we see the conclusion of the Psalter, that that lone righteous man has succeeded in bringing many sons to glory. And I trust that that's what we will see in our time together tonight, that your Savior has succeeded and he is ushering you into eternal worldwide praise. Even as we take up this hallelujah chorus in Psalm 150, verses one through six. Now we ask and answer several questions in Psalm 150. The questions of who, where, why, when, and what. Who is to praise the Lord? Where are we to praise the Lord? Why are we to praise the Lord? When are we to praise the Lord? And what are we to do? Ah, yes. Praise the Lord. So as we begin, who is to praise the Lord? And the answer is everyone. Verse 1. We don't hear the fullness of this verse in the English. It's kind of flat. But in the Hebrew, the psalmist is actually a good southerner. He is saying, all y'all praise the Lord. That's good Southern speak, right? All y'all praise the Lord. It's a call to everyone who hears this to praise the Lord. Me, you, all of us here in this place, sure. But it's broader than that. It's everyone ever who can hear this call. It's a universal summons to obey this command to praise the Lord. Now if you remember my introduction, I said that Psalm 1 begins with the lone righteous man. Well now Psalm 150, we find ourselves everyone in all the earth being called to praise the Lord. We go from one person to everyone praising the Lord with no evil depicted here in this Psalm. It is certainly a glorious thing. It's also something to be said that Psalm 1 is a picture of a wilderness. In Psalm 150, we see community. We see an urban environment. We see buildings and structures. There's a sanctuary present and culture is present as trumpets and parties and celebration are taking place. There's a populace here. Different cultures represented, and every living creature subsumed under the banner of Christ, brought into a culture of praise. And isn't that where the book of Revelation ends as well? Not just the Psalter ending here, but the book of Revelation ends there. A great place, a great community, a heavenly city, an innumerable multitude and population praising God forever and ever in unbroken perfect praise so that John says this. in Revelation. This idea is even more fully proven by the fact that Psalm 150 follows immediately on the heels of Psalm 149. I know that's a very astute observation. Psalm 150 follows Psalm 149, but what's taking place in Psalm 149? It's judgment, isn't it? Notice that we see in verses one through four of Psalm 149 that we're called to praise the Lord, much like we see in Psalm 150, but why? And the answer is given in verses five through nine. Listen to that. Let the godly exult in glory. Let them sing for joy on their beds. Let the high praises of God be in their throats. and two-edged swords in their hands, to execute vengeance on the nations and punishments on the peoples, to bind their kings with chains and their nobles with fetters of iron, to execute on them the judgment written." We're called to praise the Lord for the judgment that is depicted in Psalm 149. And we almost hear in that the Apostle Paul's words, do you not know we will judge the nations? Do you not know we will judge angels? as the saints are given a sword to slay the wicked, if you will. And so we have the white throne judgment in Psalm 149, the wicked thrown alive into the lake of fire, as it were. And then it's after that that we take up Psalm 150, a picture where there is no more sin. There's no longer sinning against one another, no longer being sinned against, no more hurt, no more sorrow, no more suffering, nothing but peace and glory and rejoicing. And so as we sing Psalm 150, we sing forward in faith, looking forward to that glorious day of peace and gladness. And we don't experience that reality now. And yet, that is our true dwelling place, that is our true home, our true reality, that we are seated in the heavenlies. So as we sing Psalm 150, we should have several things in mind. That Christ is successful and this is your end. This is where you are headed, saints. And not only that, not only will He preserve you and bring you to that place, that your name is written in the Lamb's book of life and we can rejoice in that, but that you have not been saved as a solitary person, but you have been saved to a community. and you are ever being built into greater and greater unity with the people of God. As we gather together, week in and week out, we say that this worship is a foretaste of heaven, and we think, really? Is this really a foretaste of heaven? If that guy's gonna be there, I don't know if I wanna go, right? I mean, we have this experience from time to time. And yet, we are being built into this perfect community of praise, and we ought not chafe at the direction that the Lord is taking us to, and we ought to thrill at it and be glad that we are being conformed to this unified people of praise. Well, that is who is to praise the Lord, but where are we to praise the Lord? And the answer is given in verse one again. We are to praise him in his sanctuary and praise him in his mighty heavens. Also that's a picture that we are to praise him on the earth in his earthly sanctuary and praise him in the heavens, right? And so that could be speaking like Hebrews chapter two and Hebrews chapter 12 that speak about how when we gather to praise the Lord, we are being ushered into the very throne room of heaven. Like Hebrews 2 says, Christ is saying, Father, here we are, me and the children you have given me to praise you as he's ushering the church militant with the church triumphant as we worship him. And as Hebrews 12 says that we are being brought into the heavenly Zion, not an earthly Zion. And yet that's not the full picture of what's being said here, not worshiping the Lord on earth and worshiping the Lord in heaven. But this verse is actually Hebrew parallelism saying that these two locations are one and the same. That earth and heaven, heaven has been brought to earth, the new heavens. and the new earth. They are perfectly joined. I say it's Hebrew parallelism because that's how Hebrew poetry works. It's rhyming in thought. It's saying the same thing two different ways to rhyme in concept. That's not how it works in English, right? We rhyme with sing-songy sound. Roses are red, violets are blue, you guys are great and I love you. It's terrible poetry, it's horrible. But it rhymes, right? We can hear it. But that's not how Hebrews rhymed. Look back at Psalm 149 again to see Hebrew parallelism perfectly displayed in verses two and three. Verse two. Let Israel be glad in his maker. Let the children of Zion rejoice in their king. Same concept said two different ways. Verse three, let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with timbrel and lyre. It's the same concept said two different ways. It's rhyming in idea. And same with Psalm 150 verse one, that the sanctuary of heaven and the sanctuary of earth have been made one and the same location. It is the new heavens and the new earth where God's praise is perfect and unbroken. And we don't experience that now, do we? Instead, God's name is reviled on the earth, his kingdom opposed, and he and his people are cursed. But one day, your faithful, persistent, persevering prayers of your kingdom come, your will be done, will be perfectly answered. And how sweet rejoicing and what a great reward we will have in receiving the answer to that prayer. Where are we to praise the Lord? Well, everywhere is the picture. Why are we to praise the Lord? Verse 2 answers that. We are to praise him for everything he is and everything he has done. It says in verse 2, We know his mighty deeds. We see them recounted in the scriptures. We can look at all of the answers to prayers in our lives and we can look at the good things he has given to us. And it's easier to praise him for his deeds and the stuff he gives us. than it is to praise him for who he is. But we need to remember both of these things as we praise him. His mighty acts, as well as for his very being, his greatness in and of himself. But the Hebrew is actually richer than praise him for his excellent greatness. Richer if we just translate it woodenly. We could translate it, praise him for the muchness of his greatness. Isn't that great? Why do we have to anglicize that? Let's just leave it like that. That's wonderful. Praise Him for the muchness of His greatness. And what is the muchness of His greatness? He is immense, immortal, eternal, all-knowing, all-powerful, excellent, and only God. Now why doesn't Psalm 150 spell that out more? Why doesn't it tell us His mighty deeds and the muchness of His greatness? That's because of all of the psalms that have gone before it. The psalmist doesn't need to spell it out because we have psalms one through 149 and it has expounded that in great detail. So we could even go back to just one psalm in the Psalter, Psalm 145, and just very briefly summarize that psalm to see his mighty deeds and the muchness of his greatness. Let me just summarize it very briefly. It says this, he's unsearchable, mighty, glorious in splendor, majestic, good, righteous, gracious, compassionate, patient, merciful, tender, worthy, powerful, everlasting, he upholds the weak, he raises up the humble, he provides food, he satisfies every living thing, he's near to us, he saves us, he preserves us, he opposes wickedness, and he is the holy and eternal God. And that's just one psalm. in 150 to expound His mighty deeds and the muchness of His greatness. Why does Psalm 150 just conclude in that way to say, praise Him for His mighty deeds and according to His excellent greatness? Because we have the richness of Psalms 1 through 149. Do you want to know how to praise Him? He supplied us with perfect praise. And when are we to praise Him? Well, that brings us to verses three through five. Those verses that we are perhaps a little bit embarrassed about by being a cappella worshipers. What do we do with verses three through five? A cappella pastor, you have to bring instruments into the public worship, that's what it's saying, right? No, the answer here of when are we to praise him is on every occasion. That's the picture in verses 3 through 5. The Old Testament believer, as he would hear verses 3 through 5, he would not conclude, oh this is speaking of public worship. because there are instruments listed here that are not commanded for temple worship or tabernacle worship. So the Old Testament believer would know that this is speaking to far more than just public worship, to far more than just temple worship. And so then we have to ask the question, well, how are these instruments used in the lives of the people of old? And we can trace that through the Old Testament. We can see how trumpets are used. They're used to gather people for the celebrations or for worship. They're used to gather people for war or to gather the troops to move out, to summon people for the year of Jubilee and so on and so forth. It's a picture of a corporate gathering. And how was the lute and harp used of old? Well, these were more private instruments. Think about the harmonica that people used to carry around as they wandered the land, the contemplative private instrument that you just pull out around the campfire or something like that, right? Nobody really plays the harmonica anymore, do we? But anyways, the idea of a smaller gathering, a more familiar, closer gathering. What about timbrel and dancing? You trace that through the Old Testament and it's always a picture of a party. It's always a celebration, not corporate worship. And what about symbols? Again, they were appointed for various purposes. For celebration, for coming back from war, for merrymaking and so on and so forth. Anyway, the point is this. Praise God in all settings, everywhere and every way. That's what it's saying in verses three through five. Now there could be much application we could make of that. We could say that we need to be merry before the Lord no matter what we're doing, living for his glory and living for his praise. But remember, this is a picture of the new heavens and the new earth. And so I want to make an application especially to children. Children, I hope you've been listening all along, but I especially want you to be listening now. So children, if I could have your attention. I want you to hear something very clear at this point. Heaven will be awesome. I want you to hear that and believe that. It will not be boring. It will be an eternal party. That's how God describes it. And parents, I hope you're not uncomfortable with that. Not a party like the world talks about revelry and drunkenness and so forth, no. But a party of constant, holy, glad celebration. Celebrating at every turn of life. Constant enjoyment and delight in God. Not sitting on clouds playing harps bored out of our minds or something. No. And every aspect of life is represented here with these instruments. Solemn, jubilant, percussion, melodic, gentle, jarring, all of it is brought into glad submission to the Lord Jesus. So then what are we to do? And the answer in verse six is, praise the Lord. Verse six is like an amen to Psalm 150. Everything that's just gone before, may it be so. But verse six is also an amen to the entire Psalter. It's bringing it all to a conclusion. Everything that has gone before, may it be so, yay and amen. Let everyone everywhere from all times and all places praise the Lord for everything that he is and everything that he has done. And it is speaking to all who are alive on the earth at the time of the consummation. Praise the Lord. May the entire earth break forth into unbroken eternal praise. It's like it's, the psalmist is saying, on the edge of eternity itself, okay church, you're ready. You've arrived. Here you are. Jesus has brought you to this point. Are you ready? May it be so, praise the Lord. That's the picture here. And it's speaking to everything that has breath, everything that has been given the breath of life. And isn't that every living creature on the face of the earth as well? And so it makes us take our mind again to the book of Revelation when John says this. And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea and all therein saying to him who sits upon the throne and to the lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever, amen. That's the amen of the Psalter as well. All that is alive, all that has been preserved by the Lord, praise the Lord. And it's the entirety of the earth at that point. So we go from Psalm 1, that lone righteous man, again, where evil was present, tempting him, to now every bit of life on the earth, praising the Lord. And if you trace through the Psalter, you even see the created order opposing Messiah and opposing the purposes of the Lord so that jackals seek to make Messiah their prey, but now, The created order is perfectly ordered according to the praise of God. Everything is brought into finality. Consummated praise for all of eternity. The Lord Jesus Christ has succeeded. He has done it. And friends, have you ever seen a musician Tune a stringed instrument before a performance. Have you seen them pluck a single note on a stringed instrument and listen if it's sharp or if it's flat and ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding and adjust it? And if it needs a tweak, they tweak it a little bit and they move on to the next string and they listen and they adjust it and they get it just right and they keep moving down the strings until the instrument is perfectly tuned and ready to play and then they begin the performance. That is what is being depicted in Psalm 150 with the success of the Lord Jesus Christ, triumphing over all of creation and over all of history, bringing it into subjection to him, that he has been plucking each individual note of truth and each individual string of righteousness as he's tuning you If you're out of a chord, plucking that note again and again, ding, ding, ding, ding, and bringing it into conformity with his word, and moving on, and bringing the next portion into conformity, until the entire church is ready, perfectly tuned for an eternity of performance before the Lord. That's the picture. And then it's as though the Lord Jesus is saying, okay church, Praise the Lord. It's time to play. Everything that's gone before it has just been tuning and preparation for what awaits. so that Jesus comes to his father at the very end and presents his finished work to him and he gives the kingdom that he has rightly earned and perfected and he puts it under his father's feet and Christ takes his rightful place so that God is made all in all and when you see that, friends, When you see that all of your enemies have been completely silenced, and all of your sin is entirely eradicated, and your relationships with one another are perfect and spotless, and God has been crowned Lord of all, and all has been brought into perfect submission to Him, what will be your response? It will be Praise the Lord. You will not be able to stop praising the Lord for all of eternity because your Savior has succeeded and he is ushering you into eternal worldwide praise. And friends, we don't have to wait until then to begin. And so as we sing Psalm 150, every time we take it up, we must remember that it is singing it in glad anticipation of that day, but it is singing as we are being finally tuned by our Savior in preparation for that day, even as we practice for that glorious performance. Your Savior has succeeded and he is ushering you into eternal worldwide praise. So let's praise the Lord and let's pray. Our Father in heaven, how we thank you for Jesus. That lone righteous man, he has done it. He has already succeeded and yet, Lord, it's not yet been completed and finalized. Lord, we are being tuned, well, we have been tuned in some sense. We are being tuned and we will be perfectly tuned and how we look forward to that day, Lord. when we are all in perfect unison and unity, praising you for all of eternity. But until then, Lord, thank you for these practices that are still so glorious to sing and offer you praise week in and week out, day in and day out. And Lord, how we thank you and ask that you would continue to receive our praise in the Lord Jesus. And it's in his name we pray, amen.