Everything That Breathes

“Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Hallelujah!” — Psalm 150:6

The book of Psalms has 150 songs in it. Some are happy and some are sad. Some are quiet prayers and some are loud shouts. But the very last one, Psalm 150, is the loudest, happiest, noisiest song of all.

Every line of Psalm 150 says “Praise!”

“Hallelujah!” it begins. Hallelujah means “Praise the Lord!”

“Praise God in His sanctuary. Praise Him in His mighty heavens.
Praise Him for His mighty acts. Praise Him for His excellent greatness.
Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet.
Praise Him with the harp and lyre.
Praise Him with tambourine and dancing.
Praise Him with strings and flute.
Praise Him with clashing cymbals.
Praise Him with resounding cymbals.”

Can you imagine it? Trumpets blasting, harps playing, tambourines shaking, people dancing, flutes whistling, and cymbals crashing! It’s like a huge, joyful party, all for God.

And then the very last line of the whole book of Psalms:

“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Hallelujah!”

Everything that has breath. That means every person. Every child. Every grown-up. Every animal too. If you are breathing, you can praise God!

Take a deep breath now. Feel the air going in and out. That breath is a gift from God. And you can use it to praise Him.

It’s interesting that the book of Psalms ends like this. Some of the psalms are full of tears and questions and trouble. But the book doesn’t end with sadness. It ends with praise. That’s what God’s story is like too. It may have sad parts, but it ends with joy.

You don’t need a trumpet or a harp to praise God. You can sing. You can shout. You can clap. You can dance. You can whisper “Thank You, God.” As long as you have breath, you can praise the Lord.

Read it in your Bible: Psalm 150

Hallelujah! I praise you, Lord, for your mighty acts and your great greatness. Thank you for every breath you give me. I want to use my breath to praise you! Amen.