Make Everything Praise

Listen. Ram horn dey blow. Harps dey ring. Legs begin dance and cymbals dey clash. And one word dey roll through di crowd, again and again: Hallelujah!

Di book of Psalms na di song book of Israel of old. Dem gather im one hundred and fifty songs over hundreds of years, from di time of King David and before, until after God people come back from exile for Babylon. Some psalms full with tears. Some dey ask hard questions. Some dey say sorry. But di people wey arrange di book choose to end am for one special way. Di last five psalms, one hundred and forty-six reach one hundred and fifty, na pure praise. Psalm one hundred and forty-eight look di whole universe. Psalm one hundred and fifty sound like temple band wey dey play everything wey e get. We no know who write dese two songs. But we know wetin dem want: everybody, everything, make dem join.

Psalm one hundred and forty-eight start from up high. Praise Di Lord from di heavens: praise am for di high places. Praise am, all im angels. Praise am, all im armies of heaven. Then di singer look up to di sky. Praise am, sun and moon: praise am, all una stars wey dey shine. Even di waters wey dey above di skies, e invite dem. Why? Because God command, and dem come into being. E set dem for dem place forever. Di sun no dey sing with voice, of course. But just as e dey shine, as e dey do wetin God make am to do, e dey give God glory.

Now di singer turn to di earth, and di list come long well well. Praise Di Lord from di earth, una big sea creatures and all di deep places of di ocean. Fire and hail, snow and clouds, storm wind wey dey do wetin e talk. Mountains and every hill. Fruit trees and tall cedar trees. Wild animals and cattle, things wey dey crawl and birds wey dey fly. Imagine whale, hailstorm and small sparrow bird, all for di same choir. Then people. Kings of di earth and all nations, princes and judges. And then, di line wey I like pass: Young men and young women; old people and children. No be only di important people. Grandparents and small pikin too. Make all of dem praise di name of Di Lord, na so di psalm talk, because na only im name great.

And then Psalm one hundred and fifty come, di very last song. E answer three questions. Where? Praise God for im sanctuary: praise am for di sky of im power. For di temple, and across di whole sky. Why? Praise am for im mighty works, for how e great reach. And how? With everything wey you get. With di sound of trumpet, psaltery and harp. With tambourine and dancing. With strings and pipes. With loud cymbals, and with cymbals wey dey clash and crash. You fit hear as di band dey loud more and more? And then, di last line of di whole book of Psalms: Make everything wey get breath praise Di Lord. Praise Di Lord. If you dey breathe now, na you e dey talk about.

Dat phrase, praise Di Lord, na one word for Hebrew: hallelujah. Hallelu mean make all of una praise, and Yah na short form of God name. Each of di last five psalms start and end with am. Dem also divide Psalms into five books, and each book dey close with small burst of praise. Psalm one hundred and fifty na di closing praise for di whole collection. Di trumpet wey e mention fit be di shofar, one horn wey dem make from ram horn.

You go find dese songs for Psalm one hundred and forty-eight and one hundred and fifty. Di Bible song book end with di whole universe dey sing, and one space wey dem keep for you. So see one question wey you go carry dey go. Wetin be one thing wey God don do wey you fit praise am for today?