Psalm 150, the final psalm, invites everyone to praise the Lord. The word ‘praise’ appears thirteen times in just six verses. We all have reason to praise the Lord for His greatness and goodness.

The first two verses cry out to praise the Lord for what He is and what He does. The next three verses call out for us to bring our praise and let it be heard. The last verse wraps everything up, and perhaps even the whole one hundred and fifty psalms, in saying 'Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.'

The psalm first focuses on heaven, then earth, and then finishes with the spotlight on heaven. This pattern is also found in the ten commandments and the Lord's Prayer. God must come first and be acknowledged, and we are to respond and reaffirm our joy in God. Our praises then rise back to the Lord in heaven. (See Divine Love and Wisdom 198 and True Christian Religion 272)

The meaning of the musical instruments in the psalm lies in their variety. Wind instruments represent our affection for what is good. Stringed instruments represent our affection for truth. Percussion instruments represent the pulse of divine and spiritual life. All three types of instruments compose the sound of heaven in its rejoicing of God. (See Arcana Caelestia 8337, 8802)

The instruments in the psalms are not the same as they are today. The trumpet could be a ram's horn blown to summon the people. The lute would have been a simple string instrument plucked while a voice sang. The timbrel was a hand-held drum where leather or skin was stretched over a ring of wood. The flute may have been a plant stem. The cymbals were metal plates swirled and shaken to make a high resounding sound. The spiritual meaning of the cymbal is that of a never-ending resonance, where the Lord's truth can penetrate and take effect both throughout the world and in ourselves. (See Arcana Caelestia 1771 and True Christian Religion 209)

Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!