Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord. Psalm 150:6
One of my elementary school teachers said she enjoyed watching the birds drink from a puddle. She said when the birds dipped their beaks into the water and then raised their heads high to allow the water to run down their throats, it seemed to her that the birds were lifting their heads to thank their Maker for the water. It’s a nice thought, although we have no way to know whether creatures such as birds are actually thankful. These creatures act primarily by instinct, and, as far as we know, have no real awareness of God. They probably were capable of such an awareness before Adam’s fall, and we believe will recover that awareness in Christ’s millenium reign. But there are some seven billion creatures on this planet now who are capable of knowing God and of praising Him. But most choose not to do so. Our text reminds us that the neglect by others does not excuse us from praising the Lord.
Need we ask why we should praise the Lord? Primarily because of Who He is! Not only is He the Creator and Maintainer of all we know and see, but he is also the Essence of everything, the Dispenser of every heartbeat and breath, the Controller of every electron in every atom in the universe. He is also holiness, omniscience, and love without limit or bound. We could never in our lifetimes exhaust the description of Who God is. We must also praise Him for what He has done. Not only has He created us, but He has provided a redemption for we who have spoiled His creation with our sin. The greatness of God’s plan of salvation must cause us to praise Him. All mankind should praise Him, although few do.
The little expression at the end of the verse is not an afterthought. Nor is it simply repetition. The first part of the verse says praising the Lord is a universal responsibility. The unsaved with forever pay the price of neglecting this responsibility. The redeemed will forever rejoice in this responsibility. But for now, our verse concludes, this is an individual responsibility. Praise ye. Whether everyone else does or does not praise the Lord, we are reminded to do so. Praising the Lord is much more than a responsibility, it is a privilege. To us has been given the spiritual eyesight to recognize that God is worthy of all of our praise. Every day, our lives are to be lived in praise of Him.
He is worthy, but the world’s neglect to praise the Lord is shameful. But when the world will not, cannot, and does not praise the Lord, praise ye. -Jim MacIntosh