HALLELUJAH

This is the first of the five Hallelujah Psalms which conclude the Psalter, and are so called because they each begin and end with the expression, “Praise ye the Lord”. Since some believers seem to think that the perfunctory repetition of this phrase is a sure mark of spirituality, it is perhaps important to notice that the psalmist goes on to catalogue in detail the mercies of his God. In other words, he knows the God whom he praises! Every new experience of Jehovah should provide fuel for fresh and informed adoration of His grandeur. It was only when they saw God’s hand at the Red Sea that Israel burst into song, Exod. 15. 1.

Twelve precious activities of God are listed to justify the psalmist’s call to worship, vv. 5-10. The despondent saint would do well to consider these, for they have the healthy effect of drawing attention away from self (always depressing) towards the Saviour. Some concern His power as Creator, v. 6; King, v. 10; and Victor over the forces of evil, v. 9, but the majority of the reasons for praise in this psalm relate to God’s tenderness towards His needy people. He intervenes on behalf of the oppressed, feeds the hungry, and releases the captives, v. 7. Such blessings are true literally and spiritually, for He who will righteously solve the world’s problems at His return already meets our needs for protection, 1 Pet. 1. 5; food, Matt. 4. 4; and deliverance, Gal. 1. 4. Before conversion, we were blind, bowed down, and alienated from the life of God, vv. 8, 9, but Christ has given us sight, 2 Cor. 4. 6; lifted us up, Eph. 2. 6; and received us into His eternal family, where we are “no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God”, 2. 19.

All this suggests that only those who know themselves to be entirely inadequate and helpless are qualified to worship, for worship involves the acknowledgement of dependence. He who loves (and therefore praises) the Lord most is he who has been forgiven most, Luke 7. 43-47. Next time you say “Hallelujah”, make sure that you know why!

“All men glorified God for that which was done… they lifted up their voice to God with one accord”, Acts 4. 21, 24.