There is no doubt about it: Psalm 150 pours out praise from a grateful heart. The psalmist joyously declares whom, where, why, and even how we should praise—with every noise-making instrument available. This final psalm in the prayer book of God’s people ends on a note of jubilant praise.

This is good news. It’s good news because, as we have already noted, the psalms reflect the breadth of human experience. The psalms address life’s unfairness. They express anger and despair, lament and sadness. They speak of God’s laws and righteousness and of our own struggle to walk in God’s ways. I can’t count the number of times I’ve read or spoken words from the psalms at a hospital bedside, to a grieving spouse or family, or to someone in jail or prison. As we go about life, the questions asked in the psalms are ours too. “How long, LORD?” . . . “Who is like you, LORD?” . . . “Why must I go about mourning?” . . . “Where can I go from your Spirit?” (Psalm 13:1; 35:10; 43:2; 139:7).

It’s good news that we can bring all our struggles and our joys and our wonderings to the Lord. The psalms end in praise because that’s the trajectory of our lives and all human history. The suffering and evil in our world do not get the final word. God’s deliverance does. The end is good beyond our imagining. So “let everything that has breath praise the LORD.”