Worthy Of All Praise

When I filled out the friendship book for my dad I had to think of a quiet time together. One of my favorite quiet times together was in Antigua. Dad, my daughter, Sarah, and I went on a mission trip with our church and had to help build a foundation for this church. It was hard labor in hot weather but we had a blessed time. As a thank you from the church they had us come to a service. They all spoke Spanish. When we walked in, they stood up clapping. When the worshiping started, by song, it was like we all spoke the same language. I had no idea what they were saying but I knew it was worship. The tears still come when I think of that. At the end, we all sang, "Hallelujah" and it was so beautiful!

The word, Lord, means Yahweh. The Hebrew word, "Hallelu" means praise. When we put "Hallelu" and "Yah" together we get Hallelujah which means "Praise the Lord." Hallelujah is found 24 times in the Old Testament, only in the book of Psalms. It appears in 15 different Psalms, and usually at the opening and/or closing of the Psalm. These passages are called the "Hallelujah Psalms."

Psalm 146, "Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, my soul. 2 I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. 3 Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save. 4 When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing. 5 Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God. 6 He is the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them— he remains faithful forever. 7 He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets prisoners free, 8 the Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous. 9 The Lord watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked. 10 The Lord reigns forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the Lord."

In the above psalm we see "praise the Lord" four times. In verse two, the Psalmist writes, "I will praise the Lord all my life..." Then he goes on to show us what a life of praise looks like. In verse three and four we are told a person who lives this life does not put their trust in humans who will die and cannot save us. Verse 5 tells us the person who lives this life puts their hope in the Lord who is (vs 6) Maker of heaven and earth. The person living in praise helps the oppressed and hungry. The final verse acknowledges the Lord reigns forever! And he concludes with "Praise the Lord."

Here are more of the Hallelujah Psalms.

Psalm 150: 6, "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord."

Psalm 139: 14, "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Praise God! You made me!"

Luke 1: 46-47, "Mary said, "My heart praises the Lord;" GNT

What can you raise a hallelujah for today?