_An exhortation to praise God with all kinds of instruments._
Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the
firmament of his power.
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 psaltery
and harp.
Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed
instruments and organs.
Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding
cymbals.
Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.
This is a Psalm of praise, written for the people of Israel, (to
praise God in his holiness, or in his sanctuary): that is, to praise
him for that infinite and unequalled mercy, of erecting his sanctuary,
his tabernacle, his ark, his mercy-seat among the Israelites; and
thereby making Jerusalem the place of his dwelling. For God dwelt in
that place, the city of Jerusalem, as in the heaven of his habitation.
Hence other prophets call that people “the heavens,” and the place of
the habitation, of the name, and of the word of God. Because the
presence, the power, and the majesty of God are there, where he
manifests himself forth by his acts and his wonderful works.
The Psalmist then mentions many musical instruments, which were used
by the people of Israel in their worship, according to the appointed
ceremonies of the Levitical worship and priesthood. But among
Christians and the people of the New Testament, the trumpet, psaltery,
the harp, the timbrels, are the gospel itself in the ministration of
the word.