“Praise the Lord.”
Thus begins Psalm 150, last in that book of pleas and praises. The song proceeds, exhorting us to exaltation, with particular mention of various instruments that can make music for the Lord. But the final instrument is the creature: “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord”, and the last words echo the first, “Praise the Lord.”
The Psalms take us to all kinds of places in the human journey. We find in them prayers for whatever state our hearts are in. But it’s fitting that the last word is given to the last word in the drama of redemption. In the end God will have the glory; history is heading towards the everlasting triumph of the Almighty. So the more our lives are characterized by praising Him, the more consonant we are with the world’s final destiny and bliss.
We have the last word even amidst the present struggle. Praise the Lord.
