Praise him with the sound of the trumpet; praise him with lute and harp;
The last psalm stops giving reasons for praise and starts naming instruments instead. What did the trumpet, lute and harp mean to Israel, and what do they mean for us?
One writer sets the scene at the close of the book — a nation brought home:
It is Israel put back in its own land, in the joy of the kingdom, and in the presence of the King. The long night is over. The nation has received double for all its sins. Its warfare is finished and its guilt is pardoned. This is the time of its "comfort." What could suit it better than such a song! What could be more fitting than using instruments of music — the sweetest, the clearest, the loudest — to celebrate the praise of the Lord?
The word behind "lute" (older versions read "psaltery") is not fully known to us, though its use is:
The main word used is nebel, and it is thought to refer to some unknown kind of stringed instrument used to accompany the voice. It is at times mentioned along with the harp.
The harp is the only instrument named in heaven's praise, and on earth it was used more than any other:
In earth's millennial praise various musical instruments are named (Ps. 149, Ps. 150). But the choral praise of the heavenly hosts is represented by the harp only. The harp and song correspond, as in that of the martyred company of Judah (Rev. 15:2). In the direct praise and worship of the Lord of old, the harp seems to be used more often than any other musical instrument. The reason is its rare mix of solemn, grand notes with soft and tender strains under the hand of a skilful player.
God asks each instrument for what only it can give. One writer admits that what they stand for is still hidden from us:
Then He is to be praised with all sorts of instruments, according to the full capacity of each. This waking up of lifeless nature, answering to the touch or breath of man, is a wonderful thing to look forward to. Nature is waiting on man, and so far he has drawn little but discord out of it. But this will be changed... Who will tell us what trumpet and psaltery and harp stand for here? — what spiritual meaning we are to find in them? Most would perhaps think even the thought of it mere fantasy; and we must at least still wait for the answer.
One writer traces where these instruments came from and where they end up:
The musical inventions of man's device started in the unblessed house of Cain, who was of that wicked one and killed his brother. Men had long used them to further their unholy joys, as tools of revelry for those who loved pleasure more than they loved God.
But now those once dishonoured instruments are in the hands of worshippers. They have learned by experience that the inventor of true melody is the living Spirit of grace. Pure and delightful harmony will flow freely out at their wise touch. They themselves have been brought into the light of the knowledge of God in the face of Jesus Christ. So they will regard and use the works of their own hands only as welcome tools of His pure worship.
The verse fits its own moment. But writers say the New Testament sets the note differently:
The Psalms were written under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. So we may conclude that this way of celebrating the praises of God fitted the way God was dealing with His people at that time. A call such as "praise him with lute and harp" sits perfectly in the Psalms. But in the New Testament it is "singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart"; and "I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also." "Those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."
What replaces the strings is not silence but a better instrument:
Meanwhile the heirs of salvation are waiting, and their anointing as the sons of God is from the Holy One. For them there are harps of purer tone and of a different making — the harps of GOD.
- Praise arrives. The long night is over. This is the music of a people home, pardoned, and standing before their King.
- Praise is given range. The harp appears in praise more than any other instrument, mixing grand, solemn notes with soft and tender ones under a skilful hand.
- Praise is stretched. God calls on every instrument to its full capacity. What each one means, some writers say, we must still wait to learn.
- Praise is reclaimed. Music began in Cain's line and served revelry. Now worshippers hold it, taught by experience that the true inventor of melody is the Spirit of grace.
- Praise continues. The call to praise with strings sits perfectly in the Psalms. Today the harps are God's own, and the melody rises from the heart, in spirit and truth.
Praise him with the tambour and dance; praise him with stringed instruments and the pipe;
Psalm 150 ends the book of Psalms with one call repeated over and over: praise God. Verse 4 hands that call to musicians and dancers, and it raises a question. Why is God's praise tied to such ordinary, festive things, and what should a reader do with them today?
The Hebrew words behind the verse name two real objects. One is a hand-drum, the other a set of pipes:
toph. A musical instrument with loose pieces of metal attached, similar to the modern tambourine. This instrument is still a favourite in the East. You tap it with the fingers.
uggab, ugab. A wind musical instrument, of either one or several pipes. Egyptian monuments show a double pipe with holes like a flute. Sometimes several pipes of different lengths were joined together. The syrinx, or Pan's pipe, is still used in Syria, and sometimes has as many as twenty-three pipes.
The tambourine and dance belong to a moment when every sorrow has been answered. Commentators read this final psalm as the joy of a restored people, and the noise of it is fitting:
Praise, and only praise, resounds on every hand. The voice of the enemy is silenced and his power is broken. No one hears the murmur of the wilderness any more. Its weary jarring notes, its sobs, its pains, its sorrows have given way to the glad "Hallelujah" of God's presence. Every heart is happy, and every mouth is filled with song... It is Israel replaced in its own land, in the joy of the kingdom, and in the presence of the King... And what more fitting than such a song! What could be more suitable than using the sweetest, clearest, loudest instruments to celebrate the praise of Jehovah?
These instruments have a history. Music started in a family far from God, and for a long time it served men's pleasure:
The detail in verses 3-5 about the instruments of human worship is full of interest. Man invented these instruments. They began in the unblessed house of Cain, who belonged to that wicked one and killed his brother. For a long time they served the unholy joys of men. They were tools of revelry for people who loved pleasure more than they loved God.
But the same objects can change hands:
But now those once dishonoured instruments are in the hands of worshippers. Experience has taught them that the inventor of true melody is the living Spirit of grace. Pure and delightful harmony will flow freely out at their wise touch.
Verse 4 says to praise Him with these things. That small word matters:
The following verses show us Israel praising their God "with" all kinds of instruments of music. These instruments are the work of men's fingers. Today men use them for their own pleasure and praise, just like everything else their fingers make. Then they will be wholly for God. But even when they serve His glory in this way, they will still be lifeless instruments. Men may praise with them, but the instruments themselves do not praise.
The sound comes from the object. The praise comes from the person holding it.
So does this verse set the pattern for Christian worship? Kelly says no, and explains why:
This gives Christians no warrant to use such instruments in the worship of God. The mark of the Christian, as the Apostle says, is to "sing with the spirit and with the understanding also." But an earthly people would have an earthly way of expressing their praise. So everything here fits its own time.
Something takes the place of the temple instruments:
It is essential therefore that along with the tuneful voice there should be the melodious accompaniment of the heart. This is to take the place of the musical instruments of the temple worship. The Christian is not invited to praise the Lord with the sound of a trumpet, with stringed instruments and the harp and the loud cymbals. Still, his song should be full of the deep feeling and holy enthusiasm of the inner man.
- Objects. The verse names two ordinary things: a hand-drum you tap with the fingers, and a pipe.
- Fitting. The tambourine and dance suit a rescued people. Their enemy has gone quiet and their sorrow has ended.
- Redeemed. Music started far from God and long served pleasure. Here the same instruments are back in the hands of worshippers.
- With. People praise with instruments, never by them. The instruments stay lifeless; only a living person can worship.
- Heart. For the Christian the accompaniment moves inward. The melody now is the heart's own, sung with the spirit and the understanding.
Praise him with loud cymbals; praise him with high sounding cymbals.
The last instruments in the list are also the loudest. Two kinds of cymbals, struck one against the other, close a line-up that began with the trumpet. Why end the whole book of Psalms with the crash of metal, and what has that to do with worship now?
The instrument named twice in this verse was not a melody-maker at all. A dictionary of Bible terms describes them plainly:
Ancient musical instruments, made of metal plates struck together. On their own they made no tuneful sound (compare 1 Corinthians 13:1). They worked only alongside other instruments… In Corinthians it is a picture of someone making a show in speaking without love in the heart.
One writer sets the psalm in the day when Israel's long night is over. That setting explains the volume:
The murmur of the wilderness sounds no more. Its weary discords, its sobs, its pains, its sorrows have given place to the glad "Hallelujah" of God's presence. Every heart is happy, and every mouth is full of song… It is Israel put back in its own land, in the joy of the kingdom, and in the presence of the King. The long night is over… And what more fitting than such a song! What could be more suitable than using instruments of music — the sweetest, the clearest, the loudest — to celebrate the praise of the Lord?
The instruments in this list have a past. One writer says they were once dishonoured, and describes what happens when they change hands:
But now those once dishonoured instruments are in the hands of worshippers. Experience has taught them that the inventor of true melody is the living Spirit of grace. Pure and delightful harmony will flow freely at their wise touch… They will regard and use the works of their own hands only as welcome tools for His pure worship. For His glory they themselves had been created and redeemed, according to the riches of His grace.
Verse 5 ends the list of instruments. The next verse widens it past instruments altogether. One writer keeps the two together:
What a day that will be! Trumpets, lutes, harps, tambourines, stringed instruments, pipes, organs, loud cymbals and high-sounding cymbals — every one of them will serve the work of praise. And more than that, the most tuneful instrument of all is the human voice. It will rise in praise to the Lord amid the sounding of trumpets and the clashing of cymbals. Shall we stop there? "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord."
There is a limit to what any of these instruments can do:
These verses show us Israel praising their God "with" all kinds of musical instruments. These instruments are the work of men's fingers. Today men use them, like all the other works of their fingers, for their own pleasure and praise. Then they will be wholly for God. But even used this way for His glory, they will still be lifeless instruments. Men may praise with them, but the instruments themselves do not praise.
The same writer brings the point into the present:
The Jewish camp had the silver trumpets and the high-sounding cymbals, without a doubt. But what were they worth? Christendom's camp has magnificent organs and orchestras and lovely choirs, without a question. But what about "the fruit of lips, confessing His name"? That is another matter, and that is the thing that counts!
Commentators differ here. Some read the instruments as real music in a coming day of joy on earth. Another reads the trumpet, tambourine, strings and cymbals of verses 3–5 as "all speaking of genuine spiritual worship in various ways" (L. M. Grant).
- Cymbals — metal plates struck together, with no tune of their own. They only work alongside other instruments. In 1 Corinthians they picture a show of speaking without love.
- Clash — the loudest instrument comes last because the occasion is the loudest. Sorrow has ended, the King is present, and every mouth is full of song.
- Reclaimed — instruments long spent on human pleasure come back into the hands of worshippers. They serve the glory of the One who made and redeemed them.
- Limit — even at their best they stay lifeless. Men praise with them, but the instruments never praise.
- Breath — the psalm climbs past the instruments to the human voice, then past the voice to everything that breathes. The fruit of lips confessing His name is the thing that counts.