Psalm 150

Intro

To close out our series in the Psalms, I couldn’t think of a better place to end this series than Psalm 150, which is simply the end of the book. In this last chapter, we read the call for everything that has breath to praise the Lord.

This is an amazing chapter simply because you have just read the last 149 chapters and you see the good, the bad, and the ugly. Right? We read the good, like Psalm 19:1 “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the expanse proclaims the work of his hands.”

We also see times where the writers are going through some rough times , like Psalm 40

Christian Standard Bible Psalm 40

LORD, you do not withhold your compassion from me.

Your constant love and truth will always guard me.

12 For troubles without number have surrounded me;

my iniquities have overtaken me; I am unable to see.

They are more than the hairs of my head,

and my courage leaves me.

and the ugly like Psalm 86

Christian Standard Bible Psalm 86

Listen, LORD, and answer me,

for I am poor and needy.

There are a plethora of emotions that take place throughout the book of Psalms. But here in the last one, we see everything come to a point. That everything that has breath, praise the Lord.

I am excited to dive into this chapter tonight because it is important that we know the things that we will be going through tonight. We have three aspects of praise that we are going to talk about

Before we go into those three aspects though, I want to touch on an important question, what is worship?

The term worship derives from Old English “worth-ship,” the act of giving worth or honor

Who we praise

This is the foundation of everything. If we don’t know who our praise and worship is being directed towards, then why do it at all?

God, or as we see called Yahweh in Scripture is the one who we worship, give our affection to, and put our worth in.

When we worship God, we are in essence putting Him in a place that no one else can take. He is first in our mind and heart. He is first over myself, my desires, my flesh. Worship is putting God first.

During VBS there was a song that was played that I gives us a great understanding for this question, “who we praise.” This song is called That’s Who I Praise by Brandon Lake and I just want to walk through a few parts of the song and point to the foundation of who we praise.

"I'm gonna praise, I'm gonna praise"

Meaning: A definitive, stubborn decision to worship regardless of mood or circumstance.

Scripture: Psalm 103:1 – "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!" [1]

"I praise the mountain moving"

Meaning: Exalting the God who removes massive, seemingly permanent obstacles from our path.

Scripture: Mark 11:23 – "...whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart... it will be done for him." [1]

"Body raising"

Meaning: Celebrating God’s absolute power over biological death and physical decay.

Scripture: John 11:43-44 – Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out," and the dead man came out. [1, 2]

"Breaker of chains"

Meaning: God frees His people from spiritual, emotional, and physical captivity.

Scripture: Psalm 107:14 – He brought them out of darkness... and broke their chains apart. [1]

"I praise the Heaven seated"

Meaning: Acknowledging Christ’s complete, sovereign rule over the universe from the celestial throne.

Scripture: Ephesians 1:20 – "...he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places." [1]

"Undefeated"

Meaning: God has never lost a battle against sin, death, or darkness.

Scripture: Colossians 2:15 – He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, triumphing over them. [1]

"Highest of names"

Meaning: There is no authority or title in existence that ranks above Jesus Christ.

Scripture: Philippians 2:9 – Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name. [1]

"I praise the God who's proven He can do impossible things"

Meaning: Grounding our current worship in God’s historical, undeniable track record of miracles.

Scripture: Luke 1:37 – "For nothing will be impossible with God." [1]

And the bridge says this,

"Lion of Judah" / "Lamb that was slain" (Revelation 5:5, 12): Jesus as both conquering King and sacrificial Savior.

"Only One who's worthy" (Revelation 4:11): Christ alone is worthy of ultimate worship.

"Risen Messiah" / "Ancient of Days" (Matthew 28:6, Daniel 7:9): The resurrected, eternal God.

We give worth to God, because of who He is and what He has done. He is the only one worthy of our praise and worship. He is the only one who can give us complete satisfaction. He is the only one who truly knows us.

In Exodus 34 we read of the first description of God, or Yawheh as he is named in the bible.

And side note, if you want a book to read on this topic of the nature and character of God, ask me for a copy of a book after we dismiss and I will buy you a copy of this book (God has a Name by John Mark Comer)]

God describes himself with these words.

“Yahweh, Yahweh God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in faithful love and truth; 7 maintaining love for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression, and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.” And Moses made haste to bow low toward the earth and worship.

Compassion, Grace, Patience, Love, Truth, and Justice are the aspects that God points to Himself, it is his very nature. If you want to know who God is, he is those things.

Compassion

Grace

Patience

Love

Truth

Justice

That is the God we worship

2. Why we praise

To simply answer this, We worship God fundamentally because of who He is and what He has done. God is our creator—He made us and we belong to Him.

Worship itself reflects God’s desire; Jesus taught that God actively seeks willing worshippers.

Worship also serves several interconnected purposes in our spiritual lives. Through worship we grow in understanding God’s will by studying Scripture and living according to His principles.

Worship also creates intimate communion with God—a conversational relationship possible only when we are acceptable in His sight.

Importantly, worship extends far beyond formal religious settings. Worship encompasses one’s entire life lived in obedience to God—every act of obedience to Christ, regardless of how ordinary, constitutes worship when done to His glory.

1 Corinthians 10:31 “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.”

Genuine worship produces transformation, creating an increasing desire to love and obey the Lord, with worship and service inseparably linked. This connection matters profoundly: those who truly love and worship God will keep His commandments, and worship without obedience becomes empty.

It is also important to note that we also worship because Scripture tells us to.

Jesus says in Matthew 4:10, declaring “Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.”

The Psalms repeatedly call God’s people to worship. Psalm 95:6 invites worshipers to “come, let’s worship and bow down; let’s kneel before the LORD our Maker.” Psalm 29:2 commands believers to “ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness.” Similarly, Psalm 96:9 calls people to “worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness.”

Jesus emphasized that true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and in truth, and the Father wants such people to worship him. (John 4:23–24) Worship extends beyond formal gatherings—Romans 12:1 describes presenting one’s body as a living sacrifice to God as “your true worship.” Hebrews 12:28 instructs believers to “serve God acceptably, with reverence and awe.”

Like I said last week, Scripture is our guide to all matters of life and faith. Scripture gives us commands to praise and worship God, and it also gives us handlebars to guide us in how we should worship God, which leads us to.

3. How we praise

There are many ways that we can worship Yahweh, but the main thing to remember is that your heart is fully set on Him. In other words, your affections, your motivations, your mind on God and God alone.

No one else is worthy of recieving the praise and worship from you.

But some of the ways that we can worship God is in two ways.

Jesus said this in John 4:23-24

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 4

23 But an hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and in truth. Yes, the Father wants such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and in truth.”

So we worship in Spirit and in Truth, how do we do this?

Two thoughts then we will be done.

Worship in Spirit.

When we worship in Spirit we clear our heart and mind from any distractions. This involves focusing wholly on God’s greatness—his holiness, beauty, majesty, power, and sacrificial love—and coming into his presence because you love him, offering praise for who he is.

We don’t come for ourselves, but rather because of who God is and what He has done.

2. Worship in Truth.

Objective Revelation over Subjective Feeling

The Reality: Human emotions fluctuate, but God’s nature remains constant. Worshipping in truth means acknowledging God as He has actually revealed Himself in Scripture, not creating a "customized" version of God tailored to personal preferences or cultural trends.

In Practice: When feelings of dryness or doubt creep in, your worship remains anchored in objective facts: God's holiness, His faithfulness, and the historic reality of Christ's cross and resurrection.

It requires dropping the mask that we often bring to church when we say that "everything is fine" but in reality, it’s not. By living truthfully, we bring raw grief, honest confession, questions, and genuine repentance before God.

The book of Psalms is a book full of beautiful literature that I wish all of you would read and truly meditate and spend time in it. The nature of God is prevelant on every page and the joys, difficulities, and goodness of following God are too.

As we close out this series, I just want to say one more thing. Bring your questions and complaints to God. Don’t hold it in. If you need to talk to me or a parent or one of our leaders, we would love to have a conversation with you. David gave us an example for how we can ask questions and our insecurities to God and God listens. He is waiting for your questions. Please don’t hold your questions in.

Let’s pray