The interpretation timeline

Ps 150:5

How this passage has been read — the sources, oldest to newest.

From the early Church Fathers to now.

2 Patristic · 1 Jewish · 1 Catholic

Ps 150:5 · Douay-Rheims
“Praise him on high sounding cymbals: praise him on cymbals of joy:”
Patristic before A.D. 750
254
A.D.
Origen Patristic
c. A.D. 184–253
“The melodious cymbal reflects the active mind affixed on its desire for Christ; the joyous cymbal the purified mind inspired by the salvation of Christ.”
176 years pass — nothing from this stretch is hosted yet
430
A.D.
Augustine of Hippo Patristic
A.D. 354–430
“"Praise Him on the well-sounding cymbals, praise Him on cymbals of jubilation" [Psalm 150:5]. Cymbals touch one another in order to sound, and therefore are by some compared to our lips. But I think it better to understand that God is in a manner praised on the cymbal, when each is honoured by his neighbour, not by himself, and then honouring one another, they give praise to God. But lest any should understand such cymbals as sound without life, therefore I think he added, "on cymbals of jubilation." For "jubilation" that is, unspeakable praise, proceeds not, save from life. Nor do I think that I should pass over what musicians say, that there are three kinds of sounds, by voice, by breath, by striking: by voice, uttered by throat and windpipe, when man sings without any instrument; by breath, as by pipe, or anything of that sort: by striking, as by harp, or anything of that kind. None then of these kinds is omitted here: for there is voice in the choir, breath in the trumpet, striking in the harp, representing mind, spirit, body, but by similitudes, not in the proper sense of the words. When then he proposed, "Praise God in His saints," to whom said he this, save to themselves? And in whom are they to praise God, save in themselves? For you, says he, are "His saints;" you are "His strength," but that which He wrought in you; you are "His mighty works, and the multitude of His greatness," which He has wrought and set forth in you. You are "trumpet, psaltery, harp, timbrel, choir, strings, and organ, cymbals of jubilation sounding well," because sounding in harmony. All these are you: let nought that is vile, nought that is transitory, nought that is ludicrous, be here thought of.”
Source
675 years pass — nothing from this stretch is hosted yet
Scholastic c. 1100 – 1500
1105
A.D.
Rashi Jewish
1040–1105
“with resounding cymbals Heb. בצלצלי שמע, cymbals that let a sound be heard. שָׁמַע is a noun, like שֶׁמַע, with a “segol,” but because of the “ethnactha” [which denotes a pause], it is vowelized with a long “kamatz,” and therefore, its accent is above, under the “shin.””
744 years pass — nothing from this stretch is hosted yet
Post-Reformation c. 1650 – 1900
1849
A.D.
1774–1849
“Spirit. Wind instrument, (Menochius) or man, who is bound to praise God, even more than the angels, as Christ has assumed his nature, and will bring him to sing with them Alleluia. (Worthington) — Let “all that breathes” praise, (Berthier) including every living creature, (Calmet) as well as the celestial spirits. (Haydock) — Alleluia is not in Septuagint, Syriac, &c. But it is in the Hebrew, and no word could answer better for a conclusion of the psalms, which are almost wholly employed in the divine praises. This ought to be our occupation both on earth, and in heaven. Amen. (Calmet) — Pope Damasus, A.D. 380, ordered the Glory, &c., to be added to each of the psalms, as it has been since observed. (Worthington) — An apocryphal psalm, concerning David encountering Goliath, occurs in many Greek and Latin copies; but it is of no authority. (Calmet) Bible Text & Cross-references: An exhortation to praise God with all sorts of instruments. 1 Alleluia. Praise ye the Lord in his holy places: praise ye him in the firmament of his power. 2 Praise ye him for his mighty acts: praise ye him according to the multitude of his greatness. 3 Praise him with sound of trumpet: praise him with psaltery and harp. 4 Praise him with timbrel and choir: praise him with strings and organs. 5 Praise him on high sounding cymbals: praise him on cymbals of joy: let every spirit praise the Lord. Alleluia. Table of Psalms 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Quisque finibus commodo nibh, ut elementum velit sollicitudin at. Donec suscipit commodo risus. Nunc vel orci eget ligula elementum consequat. Fusce velit erat, convallis scelerisque aliquet ut, facilisis egestas tellus. Quisque sit amet sapien placerat, ultricies sapien ut, vestibulum ex.”
Source
Modern · 1953 →

The in-app commentary runs from the Fathers to the early-modern record, then stops — that's where the public-domain sources end, not where the reading does. For the modern reading, follow the sources directly.