“Let Every Thing That Hath Breath Praise the Lord”

You may want to use one of the following activities (or one of your own) as class begins. Select the activity that would be most appropriate for the class.

1. Show a picture of the Savior and express your gratitude for his life and mission. Display the items that represent other things for which you are grateful. Express your gratitude for each one. Then ask the following questions:

   • What gifts and opportunities from the Lord are you especially grateful for? How would your life be different without these blessings?

   Explain that many of the psalms express gratitude for blessings the Lord has given. Part of this lesson focuses on those blessings and on what we can do to show our gratitude for them.

2. Ask a class member to read Psalm 23 aloud. Then ask the following questions:

   • What feelings are expressed in this psalm? What are your feelings as you read or listen to this psalm?

   Ask one or two assigned class members to share a favorite psalm and tell why it is important to them.

As you teach the following scripture passages, discuss how they apply to daily life. Encourage class members to share experiences that relate to the scriptural principles.

Explain that the book of Psalms is a collection of poems originally sung as praises or petitions to God. Many were written by David. This book is like a hymnal from ancient Israel. Its lyrics constitute some of the world’s best inspirational literature, expressing faith in the Lord and an earnest desire to live righteously.

The psalms bear powerful witness of the divine mission of Jesus Christ. They also remind us of the great blessings that he and our Heavenly Father have given us. And they suggest ways we can express gratitude for those blessings.

You may want to invite class members to read the final Psalm (Psalm 150) to summarize the message of the book of Psalms. Add your own testimony of praise and thanksgiving.

Explain that the hymnbook could be viewed as our latter-day equivalent of the psalms. You may want to have class members sing a latter-day hymn that was inspired by an Old Testament psalm. Some of these hymns are “The Lord Is My Shepherd” (Hymns, no. 108; Psalm 23), “The Lord Is My Light” (Hymns, no. 89; Psalm 27:1), “How Great Thou Art” (Hymns, no. 86; Psalm 8:3–9; 9:1–2), and “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty” (Hymns, no. 72; Psalm 23:6; 150).

• What are some of the main topics of our latter-day hymns? (Answers may include the Savior, our duties as Church members, enduring to the end, faith, home and family, love, missionary work, prayer, priesthood, prophets, the restoration of the gospel, the sacrament, service, enduring trials, and Zion.) How does singing hymns bless us? (See D&C 25:12.)

  Discuss some of the following ways that singing hymns can bless us:

  1. Hymns lift our spirits.

  2. Hymns inspire us to live more righteously.

  3. Hymns remind us of our blessings.

  4. Hymns give us an opportunity to sing praises to the Lord.

  5. Hymns give us a way to bear testimony.

  6. Hymns help us recommit ourselves to the Lord.

  7. Hymns help us feel the Spirit.

  8. Hymns help us be more in tune with our Heavenly Father.

  9. Hymns help us learn and teach the gospel.

  The First Presidency said:

  “Inspirational music is an essential part of our church meetings. The hymns invite the Spirit of the Lord, create a feeling of reverence, unify us as members, and provide a way for us to offer praises to the Lord.

  “Some of the greatest sermons are preached by the singing of hymns. Hymns move us to repentance and good works, build testimony and faith, comfort the weary, console the mourning, and inspire us to endure to the end” (Hymns, ix).

• Several psalms speak of singing as making a “joyful noise unto the Lord” (Psalm 98:4; 100:1; see also 66:1; 95:1–2). How can we make better use of hymn singing in our Church meetings and homes, ensuring that it is joyful and meaningful?

• At the Last Supper, Jesus and his Apostles sang a hymn (Matthew 26:30). How do you think singing a hymn helped Jesus and his Apostles prepare to fulfill the work that was before them?

• Just before the Prophet Joseph Smith was martyred in Carthage Jail, he asked John Taylor to sing “A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief” (Hymns, no. 29; see also B. H. Roberts, A Comprehensive History of the Church, 2:282–84). How do you think the singing of this hymn helped the Prophet?

Your study of the psalms may be enriched by an understanding of the poetic techniques that David and other Hebrew poets used. One of these techniques is parallelism. One common characteristic of parallelism is the repetition of a thought in different words. Such repetition expands or intensifies the meaning of an idea. One example of this kind of parallelism is Psalm 102:1–2, in which the same thought is expressed in different words five times (“hear my prayer,” “let my cry come unto thee,” “hide not thy face from me,” “incline thine ear unto me,” and “in the day when I call answer me speedily”). Point out how repetition intensifies the message.