Psalm 150 enjoins praise on various occasions. My argument is that it does not command the use of instrumental music in our regular, stated meetings of worship. As noted in last month’s column, verse 3 requires the praise of God accompanying David’s harps and lyres after the trumpets sound over the sacrifice. Verse 5 is parallel in thought: “Praise Him with loud cymbals; praise Him with resounding cymbals.”

During the sacrifices, a priest with cymbals stood between two priests with trumpets. After the sounding of the trumpets, there came a clash of the cymbals. The levitical choir then began to sing. Note that the cymbals’ use was restricted to one priest and that this use of cymbals was not to accompany singing.

Psalm 150, therefore, did not command all the people to use cymbals in the public worship of God. This would have been contrary to the ceremonial law. As with the trumpets, harps, and lyres, on the occasion of the clashing of the cymbals, God’s people, assembled in the court of the temple, joined in singing praise to God.

While verse 3 and verse 5 of Psalm 150 refer to public worship in the temple, verse 4 refers to other occasions. “Praise Him with timbrel and dancing; praise Him with stringed instruments and pipe.” Genesis 31:27 speaks of the timbrel, or tambourine, and the common lyre, not the instrument designed by David for the temple. (See my discussion of harps and lyres in earlier columns.) Laban upbraids Jacob, “Why did you flee secretly and deceive me, and did not tell me so that I might have sent you away with joy and with songs, with timbrel and with lyre?” In other words, Why did you not allow me to have a going-away wedding reception for you and my daughter? Job 21:12 says something similar with regard to the wicked. “They sing to the timbrel and harp and rejoice at the sound of the flute.” As we well know, the wicked have their parties and dances. But, on such occasions, “Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31).

When the people of Israel celebrated their salvation at the edge of the Red Sea, “Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took the timbrel in her hand, and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dancing. Miriam answered them, ‘Sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted; the horse and his rider He has hurled into the sea’” (Ex.15:20-21). Here was a very special occasion for praise.

Psalm 150 enjoins praise to celebrate such special occasions of deliverance. There is, however, no indication that timbrels or dancing were part of the regular stated times of worship in the temple. Introducing them would have been contrary to the ceremonial law. Psalm 150 is therefore not instructing Israel to use timbrel and dancing in their regular worship. Psalm 150 is not enjoining us to do so either.

Finally, the preposition with in Psalm 150 is used of accompaniment, as in traveling with others. This means that Psalm 150:3-5 may indeed refer to praise accompanying the sound of the instruments rather than the other way around. As a result, Psalm 150 emphasizes the fact that we ought to give praise to God on all occasions, including public worship. Psalm 150 is not directing us to use musical instruments in our worship.