Psalm 150

150 Praise ye the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power. 

2 Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness. 

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. 

6 Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord. 

The time was the spring of 1969 and the place was the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. The event was the North Carolina All State Festival Chorus. The conductor was Donald Plott, a professor of music at Davidson College. There were two sections and our Professor Plott selected a choral arrangement of Psalm 150.That was thirty years ago now, but I can still sing the tenor part of that anthem, but the composer’s name escapes me. I loved the anthem and am comforted that I can still sing that anthem without the score in front of me. 

It concluded with these lyrics: “Let everything that hath breath praise Him, praise Him. Praise Him, praise Him, Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!” It is a great anthem!  

This quotation has been attributed to St. Augustine, but there are many who contest crediting Augustine. I really could care less who said it, because the saying in my estimation is true. “Singing is praying twice.” I enjoy the best of both worlds in being able to read Psalm 150 and to sing it too!

Prayer

O God, the psalmist insured that all instruments could be tuned to praise You.  O God, the Psalmist called upon all living creatures to praise You.  With these we take great delight in singing and praising You.