Praise the LORD! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty firmament! Praise Him for His mighty acts; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness! Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet; Praise Him with the lute and harp! Praise Him with the timbrel and dance; Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes! Praise Him with loud cymbals; Praise Him with clashing cymbals! Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD! Psalm 150:1-6
Our two most common words for Praise the Lord! are Hallelujah from the original Hebrew word Hallah + JAH from YHWH (Yahweh) and Alleluia, which is actually a Latin translation of the Hebrew Hallah+JAH. Since the letter J and the silent H don’t exist in classical Latin the translation became as we commonly hear it today.
In this Psalm we are called to Praise the Lord in, for, according to and with.
In His Sanctuary, is the holy Place, the Temple of the Lord, but also in the Sanctuary of our hearts where the Father, Son and Holy Spirit have come to abide in us.
In His firmament refers to the vast expanse of the sky, the Heavens where God abides uncontained by time, but fills the vastness of space infinitely. Every place of human habitation and heavenly existence is a place to Praise the Lord.
For His mighty acts, reminds us that God is the Creator of all things and He alone upholds, sustains, provides for, and keeps in perfect order all His creation, and still intervenes in the affairs of men to meet all our needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
According to His excellent greatness means in bringing our offerings to to Him we must bring the absolute highest, best, most costly, most precious and most sacrificial offering we can make because His excellent greatness deserves nothing less.
With the sound of instruments of praise, is to remind us that all music has its origin in Him as an expression of adoration to Him and for His worthiness beyond our comprehension and the scope of all things that exist because of Him. From the beginning of all creation there has been music.
"Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. 5Who determined its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? 6To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone, 7When the morning stars sang together, And all the sons of God shouted for joy?" Job 38:4-7
Finally, he says, Let everything living, everything that draws its life from God alone, every living creature, every man, every woman, and every child from the moment of its inception to the day of its entrance into eternity, every soul in which the breath of God abides; breathe, sing, shout, declare praises to God in sounds of music and words of adoration, exaltation, and awe, for He who alone is worthy, He alone deserves our highest worship and praise! All honor, glory, majesty, dominion, wisdom, power, strength, and blessing belong to the Lord our God. Now and forever more, Hallelujah!!!, Alleluia!!!, Praise the Lord!!!