Hallelujah! Praise the Lord
HALLELUJAH PRAISE THE LORD!!!
The more I read the Bible the more I admire the gritty reality it reflects as it portrays our human experience on this fallen Earth. Every mighty person of God in the Bible reveals not only their strength in serving God, but also their Adam-and- Eve-like-nature—falling so short of the glory of God. Every godly life experiences a full spectrum of victories and challenges, ranging from those mountain top victories to those lost-in-the-dark-valley defeats. Noah and his family survive the flood due to his faithfulness, and then he gets drunk on wine. Abraham faithfully answers God’s call, and then he and Sarah make their own arrangement for Abraham to father a son out of wedlock, choosing to not fully believe God’s Promise. Moses faithfully leads God’s people from slavery in Egypt, and then he hits rather than speaks to the rock as God has commanded—and so he misses out on entering the Promised Land. David slays Goliath, giving glory to God; but then later he murders a faithful soldier in order to cover up the king’s adultery with that soldier’s life. The Bible pulls no punches. Humankind is portrayed clearly—both good and bad.
Perhaps the Book of Psalms best shows this gritty reality about our human nature, and how that relates to God and our faith in Him. Psalms are filled with praise, but also with tough questions, and laments about the unpredictability of life, sharply contrasting faith and doubt—but God’s People speaking through the psalms always move toward deeper, more rewarding faith. Psalms 22 can illustrate this shocking contrast.
Psalm 22
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?
2 O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,
and by night, but I find no rest.
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27All the ends of the earth shall remember
and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
shall worship before you.
28 For kingship belongs to the Lord,
and he rules over the nations.
29 All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship;
before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,
even the one who could not keep himself alive.
30 Posterity shall serve him;
it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation;
31 they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn,
that he has done it.
This Psalm records David’s intense suffering at various points in his life. He even asks why God has forsaken him. He mentions suffering which remarkably reflects the suffering of Christ on the cross hundreds of years in the future. He describes his suffering as being poured out like water, as having all his bones pulled out of joint, and as his being laid in the dust of death. But as he endures such suffering, David also ends his reflection as one who expresses faith in the Goodness of God. God brings David through extreme pain to a remarkable victory over sin and death. Notice: Verses 27-31 clearly testify to David’s testimony to God’s ultimate victory. In this remarkable Psalm David bears witness that even when God seems most absent, He is most present. He never abandons His own. He will secure victory in the end. As His children we are never alone. How appropriate, and how like God’s tender care in how He works, that when hanging all alone on the Cross, Jesus recalls this Psalm as a testament to God’s faithfulness even as He must turn away from the sins of human kind, even as Jesus bears them on His shoulders. Indeed, our blessed Savior knows, God’s Way never lets us down.
And so, it makes beautiful sense, hopeful, encouraging sense that the word, HALLELUJAH, (Praise the Lord) appears over one hundred times in the book of Psalms. Hallelujah is transliterated from the Hebrew phrase, ha-le-lu-yah. This literally means (ha-le-lu) Let us praise, and (yah) the Lord God. Here are some verses from Psalms which include Hallelujah or the translation, Praise the Lord.
Psalm 106:1 ESV
Praise the LORD!
Oh give thanks to the LORD!
Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
Psalm 111:1 ESV
Praise the LORD!
I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart,
in the company of the upright, in the congregation.
Psalm 112:1 ESV
Praise the LORD!
Blessed is the man who fears the LORD,
who greatly delights in His commandments!
Psalm 113:1 ESV
Praise the LORD!
Praise, O servants of the LORD,
praise the name of the LORD!
Psalm 135:3 ESV
Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good;
sing to his name, for it is pleasant!
Psalm 146:1 ESV
Praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD, O my soul!
Psalm 150:6 ESV
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD!
Interestingly, the last five Psalms, Psalms 146-150, all begin with Praise the LORD! Then their final verse also ends with Praise the LORD! These are often called the Hallelujah Psalms. What a powerful way to conclude this rich book composed of peoples’ honest, forthright prayers, which in the end give praise to God. In our own lives we can reap rich blessings when we begin and continue and end our days with praise to the Lord.
Praise the Lord!
In the morning I praise the LORD
for He has kept me safe
through the night.
Praise the Lord!
As I take my breakfast I praise the LORD
for He provides for me
everything I eat.
Praise the Lord!
As I tackle every challenge I praise the LORD
for He provides
wisdom and strength.
Praise the LORD!
As I face interruptions in my work I praise the LORD
for He directs
every encounter.
Praise the LORD!
When I fail to reach my goal I praise the Lord
for He reveals
His plan to succeed.
Praise the LORD!
When I pause for lunch I praise the Lord
for He provides
rest and sustenance.
Praise the LORD!
As I meet with people I praise the LORD!
for He redeems
every relationship.
Praise the LORD!
As I notice beauty around me I praise the LORD!
for He provides me
His splendor surrounding me.
Praise the LORD!
For all who work along with me
for He makes us
partners to do His good.
Praise the LORD!
In the evening as I eat
for He satisfies
my every need.
Praise the LORD!
He blesses me with
home and family
blessed by His Love.
Praise the LORD!
When each day ends
I recall Jesus walking
beside me all day long.
I will close in quoting the poem below by the German poet, Raine Maria Rilke. His short, powerful poem declares that the answer to every question we have about life is to give praise to God. I have found that truth gives me a strong foundation in facing the ever shifting mysteries of living out faith day-to-day.
I PRAISE
Oh say, poet, what do you do?
—I praise.
But what of the deadly and the monstrous,
how do you keep going, how do you take it in?
—I praise.
And what of the nameless, the unnamed,
how do you keep calling out, poet?
—I praise.
Where does it come from, this right you claim
to be authentic in every guise and each mask?
—I praise.
And that the stillness and the turbulence
recognize you like star and storm?
—Because I praise.
Raine Maria Rilke
