SEPTEMBER 5, 2026
Psalm 150:3-6
Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet; praise Him with the lute and harp! Praise Him with the timbrel and dance; praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes! Praise Him with loud cymbals; praise Him with clashing cymbals! Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
From the beginning of time, music and song have been integral when it comes to influencing a person’s emotions. Music, even specific instruments, can make us glad, sad and everything in between in a relatively short period of time. Our most remote thoughts and feelings can be brought to the surface through a lyric or a bar of music. Therefore, one who wishes for their entire being to express gratitude to the Creator will use music to do inspire them to do just that. With that idea in mind, notice that the psalmist encourages the use of several different musical instruments — all of which make a unique and distinct sound — with which to praise the Lord.
The first instrument mentioned that the shofar or ram’s horn, is likely familiar to most. There is a lot that could be said about this particular instrument, but we’ll focus on this — the shofar has a voice. In fact, some commentators suggest that the blast heard when the shofar is sounded (תקע tekia is the word used in the verse above) is emblematic of God’s voice. Why would this be regarded as an instrument? In short, it is intended to get our attention. Just as other instruments and sounds catch our ear, the ominous sound of the shofar is intended to stir our soul and awaken us from our spiritual slumber. It is to provoke our inner man to be alert and attentive, so that we will direct our focus to the One who is worthy to be praised and revered.
Still, why would this instrument and it’s sound — a sound often associated with awesome and even frightening imagery — be the first of the instruments mentioned with which we are to praise Him? Perhaps to remind us, that without Him, we would not be. Consider that for the sound of the shofar to be created, a person must press their lips to the horn and blow, which is to say, cause their breath to pass through the horn. Of course, that would be impossible if the Almighty had not first “breathed the breath of life” into our nostrils. In other words, because we exist — because we have breath — we should honor Him with praise. And so, as it is written: “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.”