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Selected Verse: Psalms 150:1 - King James
Verse |
Translation |
Text |
Ps 150:1 |
King James |
Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power. |
Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse
A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882] |
This is a suitable doxology for the whole book, reciting the "place, theme, mode, and extent of God's high praise." (Psa 150:1-6)
in his sanctuary--on earth.
firmament of his power--which illustrates His power. |
Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834] |
Praise ye the Lord - See the notes at Psa 146:1.
Praise God in his sanctuary - His holy place; the place where he dwells. The allusion here is, probably, to the temple, the place of his abode on earth.
Praise him in the firmament of his power - The whole expression is equivalent to earth and heaven; Praise him on earth; praise him in heaven. The word rendered firmament is the same which is used in Gen 1:6. It properly means an expanse - a thing spread out. The verb from which the word is derived means to beat; then, to beat out - that is, to spread out by beating, as gold is; and then, simply to spread out, to expand. Compare Psa 136:6; Isa 42:5; Isa 44:24. In Syriac the word means to make firm; but this idea is not necessarily in the Hebrew word. The idea of a firmament as something firm is derived from the Septuagint - in Gen 1:6, στερέωμα stereōma - in this place, ἐν στερεώματι en stereōmati. The Hebrew, however, merely means "an expanse" - something spread out, as the heavens seem to us to be "stretched out;" and the call here is on all that dwell above that expanse - in heaven - to unite with those on earth in his praise. It is called "the expanse of his power" because it is in the heavens - in the sun, the moon, the stars - that the power of God seems to be principally displayed. |
Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78] |
The Synagogue reckons up thirteen divine attributes according to ex. Psa 34:6. (שׁלשׁ עשׂרה מדּות), to which, according to an observation of Kimchi, correspond the thirteen הלּל of this Psalm. It is, however, more probable that in the mind of the poet the tenfold halaluw encompassed by Hallelujah's is significative; for ten is the number of rounding off, completeness, exclusiveness, and of the extreme of exhaustibleness. The local definitions in Psa 150:1 are related attributively to God, and designate that which is heavenly, belonging to the other world, as an object of praise. קדשוּ (the possible local meaning of which is proved by the קדשׁ and קדשׁ קדשׁים of the Tabernacle and of the Temple) is in this passage the heavenly היכל; and רקיע עזּו is the firmament spread out by God's omnipotence and testifying of God's omnipotence (Psa 68:35), not according to its front side, which is turned towards the earth, but according to the reverse or inner side, which is turned towards the celestial world, and which marks it off from the earthly world. The third and fourth hălalu give as the object of the praise that which is at the same time the ground of the praise: the tokens of His גּבוּרה, i.e., of His all-subduing strength, and the plenitude of His greatness (גּדלו = גּדלו), i.e., His absolute, infinite greatness. The fifth and sixth hălalu bring into the concert in praise of God the ram's horn, שׁופר, the name of which came to be improperly used as the name also of the metallic חצצרה (vid., on Psa 81:4), and the two kinds of stringed instruments (vid., Psa 33:2), viz., the nabla (i.e., the harp and lyre) and the kinnor (the cithern), the ψαλτήριον and the κιθάρα (κινύρα). The seventh hălalu invites to the festive dance, of which the chief instrumental accompaniment is the תּף (Arabic duff, Spanish adufe, derived from the Moorish) or tambourine. The eighth hălalu brings on the stringed instruments in their widest compass, מנּים (cf. Psa 45:9) from מן, Syriac menı̂n, and the shepherd's pipe, עגב (with the Gimel raphe = עוּגב); and the ninth and tenth, the two kinds of castanets (צלצלי, construct form of צלצלים, singular צלצל), viz., the smaller clear-sounding, and the larger deeper-toned, more noisy kinds (cf. κύμβαλον ἀλαλάζον, Co1 13:1), as צלצלי שׁמע (pausal form of שׁמע = שׁמע, like סתר in Deu 27:15, and frequently, from סתר = סתר) and צלצלי תרוּעה are, with Schlultens, Pfeifer, Burk, Kster, and others, to be distinguished. |
Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65] |
Sanctuary - In his temple. The firmament - In heaven: there let the blessed angels praise him. |
Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826 |
Praise God in his sanctuary - In many places we have the compound word יה-הללו halelu-yah, praise ye Jehovah; but this is the first place in which we find אל-הללו halelu-el, praise God, or the strong God. Praise him who is Jehovah, the infinite and self-existent Being; and praise him who is God, El or Elohim, the great God in covenant with mankind, to bless and save them unto eternal life.
In his sanctuary - in the temple; in whatever place is dedicated to his service. Or, in his holiness - through his own holy influence in your hearts.
The firmament of his power - Through the whole expanse, to the utmost limits of his power. As רקיע rakia is the firmament of vast expanse that surrounds the globe, and probably that in which all the celestial bodies of the solar system are included, it may have that meaning here. Praise him whose power and goodness extend through all worlds; and let the inhabitants of all those worlds share in the grand chorus, that it may be universal. |
1 Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power.
2 Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness.
3 Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp.
4 Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs.
5 Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.
6 Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.
6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
24 Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself;
5 Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:
6 To him that stretched out the earth above the waters: for his mercy endureth for ever.
6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
1 Praise ye the LORD. Praise the LORD, O my soul.
15 Cursed be the man that maketh any graven or molten image, an abomination unto the LORD, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and putteth it in a secret place. And all the people shall answer and say, Amen.
1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
9 Kings' daughters were among thy honourable women: upon thy right hand did stand the queen in gold of Ophir.
2 Praise the LORD with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings.
4 For this was a statute for Israel, and a law of the God of Jacob.
35 O God, thou art terrible out of thy holy places: the God of Israel is he that giveth strength and power unto his people. Blessed be God.
1 Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power.
6 This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.