Psalm 150:1: “Praise the LORD! / Praise God in His sanctuary; / Praise Him in His mighty firmament!”

June 4th, 2024 by Pastor Ed in devotional

In the Hebrew, the word used for praise is hallelujah. This word is in the imperative form, which means that praising God is not a suggestion or an invitation, but a command to every one of us. As we read through this psalm, we see that this praise we are commanded to give is to be done energetically, with voices, in dance, with tambourines, and on stringed instruments. We might be tempted to think that if we don’t have dancing skills or can’t play an instrument that we are excused from participation. But there is only one group that is excluded from praise, and if you fit into this group, then feel free to not join in. “What group?” you ask. It is implied there in the last verse, “everything that has breath.” So if you are not breathing, then you may be excused from praising God. But everyone else is commanded to join in, whether you feel like it or not.

In 1741, an unknown, 57-year-old musician named George was broke and in a severe depression. He heard a knock at the front door. It was his friend, an unemployed and unknown poet. The poet shared a poem with George that he had entitled, “A Sacred Oratorio.” The poem was good; in fact, it was so good that it drove George into seclusion. His family became worried about him because he would not answer his door. They left food for him on the door stoop, but most of the time he left it untouched. Through the window, George was seen many times to jump up from the piano, wave his hands, and shout “Hallelujah.” Finally, after 24 days, George emerged from his self-imposed seclusion and gave the world his “Hallelujah Chorus.” George Frederick Handel wrote Handel’s Messiah after first personally experiencing the worship and praise of God that his piece proclaimed. Handel was a man of few words, but he later wrote about the experience of writing this music with this short sentence: “I think I did see all heaven before me and the great God Himself.” From one gifted person’s poem of personal, intimate worship and praise of God Almighty, came a masterpiece of praise that has moved generations since to join in the praise of God. “Hallelujah!”

“LORD, we say to You, along with countless believers down through the hallways of time, ‘Hallelujah.’ We offer our simple praise to You, the Most High God.”