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英文原文
The first and last of the psalms have both the same number of verses, are both short, and very memorable. But the scope of them is very different: the first psalm is an elaborate instruction in our duty, to prepare us for the comforts of our devotion; this is all rapture and transport, and perhaps was penned on purpose to be the conclusion of these sacred songs, to show what is the design of them all, and that is to assist us in praising God. The psalmist had been himself full of the praises of God, and here he would fain fill all the world with them: again and again he calls, "Praise the Lord, praise him, praise him," no less than thirteen times in these six short verses. He shows, I. For what, and upon what account, God is to be praised (Ps 150:1,2), II. How, and with what expressions of joy, God is to be praised, Ps 150:3-5. III. Who must praise the Lord; it is every one's business, Ps 150:6. In singing this psalm we should endeavour to get our hearts much affected with the perfections of God and the praises with which he is and shall be for ever attended, throughout all ages, world without end.
1-6
An Invitation to Praise God; All Creatures Called to Praise God
讚美神的邀請；萬物受召讚美神
¹ 你們要讚美耶和華！在神的聖所讚美祂！在祂顯能力的穹蒼讚美祂！ ² 要因祂大能的作為讚美祂，按著祂極美的大德讚美祂。 ³ 要用角聲讚美祂，鼓瑟彈琴讚美祂！ ⁴ 擊鼓跳舞讚美祂！用絲弦的樂器和簫的聲音讚美祂！ ⁵ 用大響的鈸讚美祂！用高聲的鈸讚美祂！ ⁶ 凡有氣息的都要讚美耶和華！你們要讚美耶和華！
我們在此被以所能想像的最大熱誠激勵去讚美神；若如某些人所設想，本篇主要是為利未人而寫——為激勵他們在耶和華的殿中盡歌唱與奏樂之職——我們仍須將之視為對我們說的，因我們已經被造就為我們神的屬靈祭司。這呼召如此反覆重申，表明這是一項重大而必要的本分——是我們當多在其中從事、也當在其中擴展的本分；但我們本性上卻退縮而冷淡，因此需要被反覆的訓誨、又反覆的呼召帶到其中、並保守在其中。當在此留意，
一、這讚美之貢從何處升起、又特別從祂權柄的哪一部分發出。它來自：1. 祂的聖所；在那裏讚美祂。讓祂的祭司、讓在那裏事奉的祂的百姓，以他們的讚美來事奉祂。除了在那裏——祂以特殊方式彰顯榮耀、又傳輸恩典之處——還當在何處讚美祂呢？因祂的聖所讚美神——就是因我們中間有那聖所所享的特權而讚美（結三十七26）。有人讀作在祂的聖民中讚美神；我們必須留意神形像在那些成聖之人身上的彰顯，並為那形像的緣故愛他們；當我們讚美他們時，我們必須在他們裏面讚美神。2. 從祂權能的穹蒼。因那在穹蒼中所顯的大能與榮耀——其廣闊、其輝煌、及其華美的陳設——而讚美祂；又因它對這地所施的大能影響而讚美祂。讓那些在祂權能的穹蒼中居住的——就是聖天使——在這善工上領先。有人將聖所與祂權能的穹蒼都理解為最高的諸天——祂榮耀的居所；那確實是祂的聖所、祂的聖殿，在那裏祂被不住地讚美，其方式遠勝於我們所能作的。當我們發現自己讚美得如此貧乏時，這是我們的安慰——在那裏卻被讚美得如此美好。
二、這讚美之貢為何當獻上——為許多的緣故，特別是：1. 祂大能的作為（詩一五〇2）：要因祂大能的作為讚美祂；原文作因祂的大能——就是因祂大能的一切實例：祂護理的大能、祂恩典的大能，祂在世界的創造、治理與救贖中為人類兒女所作的、並特別為祂自己的教會與兒女所作的一切。2. 祂本體的榮耀與威嚴：按著祂極美的大德讚美祂——原文作按著祂威嚴之多（Hammond 博士如此譯）；這不是說我們的讚美能與神的偉大成比例，因為那是無限的；而是，既然祂比我們所能表達或想像的更大，我們就必須將我們的意念與表達提升到我們所能達到的最高程度。不要怕在讚美神時說得太多——正如我們在讚美甚至偉大善良之人時常作的那樣。Deus non patitur hyperbolum——我們對神不能用誇張之言；危險只在於說得太少；因此當我們盡力之後，仍必須承認：我們雖因祂極美的大德而讚美祂，卻未能按著祂極美的大德之比例而讚美。
三、這貢物當以何種方式獻上——用當時殿中事奉所用的一切樂器（詩一五〇3–5）。我們不必費心考究這些是何種樂器；知道它們當時為人所熟知就夠了。我們當留意的乃是：1. 這暗示詩人的心何等充滿了對神的讚美，他又何等盼望這善工得以延續。2. 在事奉神的事上我們當不惜代價、不辭勞苦。3. 神耳中最好的音樂，乃是敬虔與虔誠的情感——non musica chordula, sed cor——不是悅耳的琴絃，而是悅耳的心。以堅強的信心讚美祂；以聖潔的愛與喜樂讚美祂；以對基督的全然信靠讚美祂；以勝過黑暗權勢的信心誇勝讚美祂；以對祂熱切的渴慕、並在祂裏面完全的滿足讚美祂；以對祂一切誡命全備的尊重讚美祂；以對祂一切安排的樂意順服讚美祂；以因祂的愛歡喜、並因祂極大的美善自慰讚美祂；以推進祂恩典國度的利益讚美祂；以活潑的盼望與對祂榮耀國度的期待讚美祂。4. 既是用各種樂器讚美神，就當如此行在和諧精準而完全之中；它們不可互相妨礙，當彼此相助。新約的協奏取而代之的，乃是一心一口榮耀神（羅十五6）。
四、誰當獻上這貢物（詩一五〇6）：凡有氣息的都要讚美耶和華。他開頭是呼召那些在祂聖所有分、在殿中事奉的人；但他以呼召人類一切兒女作結——預見外邦人將被納入教會、並在各處（如耶路撒冷一樣蒙悅納地）獻上這香的那日（瑪一11）。有人認為凡有氣息的在此當包括低等受造之物（如創七22）——一切鼻孔裏有生命氣息的。它們各按自己的容量讚美神。鳥兒的歌唱也是一種讚美神。走獸實際上是對人說：「我們若能，也願讚美神；你替我們作吧。」約翰在異象中聽見一首讚美之歌，是在天上、地上、地底下、滄海裏的一切受造之物所唱的（啟五13）。另有人認為這裏只指人類兒女；因為神是更特殊地向他們吹氣了生命之氣，他們就成了有靈的活人（創二7）。如今福音既被吩咐傳給凡受造的——傳給每一個人——就要求每一個人都讚美主。我們既有氣息、有靈，除了用以讚美神，還有何用？我們怎能比這花得更好呢？禱告被稱為我們的呼吸（哀三56）。凡向神呼吸——在禱告中呼求——並嘗過其益處的人，讓他也呼出他的讚美吧。既有氣息，願神的讚美如香使我們的氣息芬芳；讓我們在此工中如在自己的元素裏一般；讓它對我們如同我們所呼吸的空氣——沒有它我們就不能活。氣息既在我們鼻孔裏，就當想到它不住外流，不久便要離去不返。既然我們不久就要斷氣，趁我們有氣息，當讚美耶和華；這樣我們斷氣時就必得安慰；而當死亡使我們氣絕之時，我們必遷到更好的境況，在更自由更美好的空氣中呼吸神的讚美。
按希伯來人的分法，詩篇五卷的前三卷以阿們，阿們結束，第四卷以阿們，哈利路亞結束；但最後一卷——並在其中整卷詩篇——卻單以哈利路亞結束，因為最後六篇詩完全是讚美神，其中沒有一句抱怨或祈求的話。敬虔的基督徒越是接近終局，就越當充滿對神的讚美。有人認為這最後一篇詩是要向我們描繪天上得榮耀聖徒的作為——他們在那裏不住地讚美神；而此處所說用的樂器，當如論到裝飾新耶路撒冷的金子、珍珠、寶石一樣（啟二十一18–19），不可按字面理解。但正如那些暗示天上的榮耀是最卓越的榮耀，照樣這些暗示聖徒在那裏所獻的讚美是最卓越的讚美。禱告在那裏必被永遠的讚美所吞滅；在那裏讚美神毫無間斷，卻毫不疲倦——永遠重複的哈利路亞，卻仍是新歌。讓我們常以思想得榮耀的聖徒在天上作什麼為樂——思想我們在地上所認識、卻先我們而去的人在那裏作什麼；這不僅當使我們渴慕與他們同在，更當激發我們在地上行這部分神的旨意，正如那些在天上的人所行的。讓我們盡可能多地將時間花在這善工上，因為我們盼望在其中度過喜樂的永恆。哈利路亞是那裏的話（啟十九1、3）；讓我們現在就與之呼應，如同那盼望不久加入其中的人一樣。哈利路亞，你們要讚美耶和華。
英文原文
An Invitation to Praise God; All Creatures Called to Praise God
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.
We are here, with the greatest earnestness imaginable, excited to praise God; if, as some suppose, this psalm was primarily intended for the Levites, to stir them up to do their office in the house of the Lord, as singers and players on instruments, yet we must take it as speaking to us, who are made to our God spiritual priests. And the repeated inculcating of the call thus intimates that it is a great and necessary duty, a duty which we should be much employed and much enlarged in, but which we are naturally backward to and cold in, and therefore need to be brought to, and held to, by precept upon precept, and line upon line. Observe here,
I. Whence this tribute of praise arises, and out of what part of his dominion it especially issues. It comes, 1. From his sanctuary; praise him there. Let his priests, let his people, that attend there, attend him with their praises. Where should he be praised, but there where he does, in a special manner, both manifest his glory and communicate his grace? Praise God upon the account of his sanctuary, and the privileges which we enjoy by having that among us, Eze 37:26. Praise God in his holy ones (so some read it); we must take notice of the image of God as it appears on those that are sanctified, and love them for the sake of that image; and when we praise them we must praise God in them. 2. From the firmament of his power. Praise him because of his power and glory which appear in the firmament, its vastness, its brightness, and its splendid furniture; and because of the powerful influences it has upon this earth. Let those that have their dwelling in the firmament of his power, even the holy angels, lead in this good work. Some, by the sanctuary, as well as by the firmament of his power, understand the highest heavens, the residence of his glory; that is indeed his sanctuary, his holy temple, and there he is praised continually, in a far better manner than we can praise him. And it is a comfort to us, when we find we do it so poorly, that it is so well done there.
II. Upon what account this tribute of praise is due, upon many accounts, particularly, 1. The works of his power (Ps 150:2): Praise him for his mighty acts; for his mightinesses (so the word is), for all the instances of his might, the power of his providence, the power of his grace, what he has done in the creation, government, and redemption of the world, for the children of men in general, for his own church and children in particular. 2. The glory and majesty of his being: Praise him according to his excellent greatness, according to the multitude of his magnificence (so Dr. Hammond reads it); not that our praises can bear any proportion to God's greatness, for it is infinite, but, since he is greater than we can express or conceive, we must raise our conceptions and expressions to the highest degree we can attain to. Be not afraid of saying too much in the praises of God, as we often do in praising even great and good men. Deus non patitur hyperbolum—We cannot speak hyperbolically of God; all the danger is of saying too little and therefore, when we have done our utmost, we must own that though we have praised him in consideration of, yet not in proportion to, his excellent greatness.
III. In what manner this tribute must be paid, with all the kinds of musical instruments that were then used in the temple-service, Ps 150:3-5. It is well that we are not concerned to enquire what sort of instruments these were; it is enough that they were well known then. Our concern is to know, 1. That hereby is intimated how full the psalmist's heart was of the praises of God and how desirous he was that this good work might go on. 2. That in serving God we should spare no cost nor pains. 3. That the best music in God's ears is devout and pious affections, non musica chordula, sed cor—not a melodious string, but a melodious heart. Praise God with a strong faith; praise him with holy love and delight; praise him with an entire confidence in Christ; praise him with a believing triumph over the powers of darkness; praise him with an earnest desire towards him and a full satisfaction in him; praise him by a universal respect to all his commands; praise him by a cheerful submission to all his disposals; praise him by rejoicing in his love and solacing yourselves in his great goodness; praise him by promoting the interests of the kingdom of his grace; praise him by a lively hope and expectation of the kingdom of his glory. 4. That, various instruments being used in praising God, it should yet be done with an exact and perfect harmony; they must not hinder, but help one another. The New-Testament concert, instead of this, is with one mind and one mouth to glorify God, Ro 15:6.
IV. Who must pay this tribute (Ps 150:6): Let every thing that has breath praise the Lord. He began with a call to those that had a place in his sanctuary and were employed in the temple-service; but he concludes with a call to all the children of men, in prospect of the time when the Gentiles should be taken into the church, and in every place, as acceptably as at Jerusalem, this incense should be offered, Mal 1:11. Some think that in every thing that has breath here we must include the inferior creatures (as Ge 7:22), all in whose nostrils was the breath of life. They praise God according to their capacity. The singing of birds is a sort of praising God. The brutes do in effect say to man, "We would praise God if we could; do you do it for us." John in vision heard a song of praise from every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, Re 5:13. Others think that only the children of men are meant; for into them God has in a more peculiar manner breathed the breath of life, and they have become living souls, Ge 2:7. Now that the gospel is ordered to be preached to every creature, to every human creature, it is required that every human creature praise the Lord. What have we our breath, our spirit, for, but to spend it in praising God; and how can we spend it better? Prayers are called our breathings, La 3:56. Let every one that breathes towards God in prayer, finding the benefit of that, breathe forth his praises too. Having breath, let the praises of God perfume our breath; let us be in this work as in our element; let it be to us as the air we breathe in, which we could not live without. Having our breath in our nostrils, let us consider that it is still going forth, and will shortly go and not return. Since therefore we must shortly breathe our last, while we have breath let us praise the Lord, and then we shall breathe our last with comfort, and, when death runs us out of breath, we shall remove to a better state to breathe God's praises in a freer better air.
The first three of the five books of psalms (according to the Hebrew division) concluded with Amen and Amen, the fourth with Amen, Hallelujah, but the last, and in it the whole book, concludes with only Hallelujah, because the last six psalms are wholly taken up in praising God and there is not a word of complaint or petition in them. The nearer good Christians come to their end the fuller they should be of the praises of God. Some think that this last psalm is designed to represent to us the work of glorified saints in heaven, who are there continually praising God, and that the musical instruments here said to be used are no more to be understood literally than the gold, and pearls, and precious stones, which are said to adorn the New Jerusalem, Re 21:18,19. But, as those intimate that the glories of heaven are the most excellent glories, so these intimate that the praises the saints offer there are the most excellent praises. Prayers will there be swallowed up in everlasting praises; there will be no intermission in praising God, and yet no weariness—hallelujahs for ever repeated, and yet still new songs. Let us often take a pleasure in thinking what glorified saints are doing in heaven, what those are doing whom we have been acquainted with on earth, but who have gone before us thither; and let it not only make us long to be among them, but quicken us to do this part of the will of God on earth as those do it that are in heaven. And let us spend as much of our time as may be in this good work because in it we hope to spend a joyful eternity. Hallelujah is the word there (Re 19:1,3); let us echo to it now, as those that hope to join in it shortly. Hallelujah, praise you the Lord.
第一篇與最後一篇詩篇，兩者的節數相同，都很簡短，且十分容易記。但兩者的主旨卻截然不同：第一篇是精心編寫的、關乎我們本分的教訓，為的是預備我們得著敬虔的安慰；而這最後一篇則全是狂喜與振奮，也許是特意寫來作為這些聖詩的結束，為要顯明它們全部的主旨——那就是幫助我們讚美神。詩人自己滿了對神的讚美，在此他巴不得用這讚美充滿整個世界：他一次又一次地呼召「你們要讚美耶和華，要讚美祂，要讚美祂」——在這短短六節之中不下十三次。
他指出：一、神當因甚麼、為著甚麼而受讚美（詩一五○1,2）。二、神當如何、以何等喜樂的表達來受讚美（詩一五○3-5）。三、誰當讚美主——這是每一個人的本分（詩一五○6）。
唱這詩時，我們當努力使我們的心大大被神的完全所感動，並被那現今以及永世之中、世世無盡地伴隨著神的讚美所感動。