A manual of the book of Psalms · Martin Luther
PSALM CL.
_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.
Text from Project Gutenberg, public domain in the United States.