The whole Book of Psalms is full of praise, but the praise culminates at the
close. There are five “Hallelujah Psalms” at the end of the Book; they are
so named because they both begin and conclude with the word Hallelujah,
“Praise ye the Lord.” It must be to the intense regret of all reverent
persons to find the word Hallelujah so used to-day, in a hackneyed way, that
it is made to be a commonplace instead of a very sacred word,-Hallelujah,
or, Praise be unto Jah, Jehovah. He who uses this word in a flippant manner
is guilty of taking the name of the Lord in vain.
Psalm 149:1. Praise ye the LORD. Sing unto the LORD a new song,
You have had new mercies from the Lord; give him in return a new song. You
have a new apprehension of his mercy, you who live under this gospel
dispensation have something more to sing of than even David experienced;
therefore, “sing unto Jehovah a new song,”-throw your hearts into it; do not
let it be a matter of routine, but let your whole soul, in all its vigor and
freshness, address itself to the praise of God.
1. And his praise in the congregation of saints.
All saints praise God; they are not saints if they do not. The praise of any
one saint is sweet to him; but in the congregation of saints there is a
linked sweetness, a wonderful commixture of precious things. Sing his
praise, then, in the congregation of his holy ones.
2. Let Israel rejoice in him that made him:
Adore your Creator for your being, and for your well being. He has twice
made you, ye people of God; give him therefore double praise,-not only the
song of those who sang when creation’s work was done, but the praise of
those who sing because they are made new creatures in Christ Jesus.
2, 3. Let the children of Zion be joyful in their King. Let them praise his
name in the dance:
The holy dance of those days differed altogether from the frivolous and
lascivious dances of the present time. It was a sacred exercise in which the
whole body expressed its delight before God.
3. Let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp.
The one to be struck and the other to be gently touched to yield its
stringed sweetness.
4. For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people:
Should not they take pleasure in the condescension on his part to take any
pleasure in them? Oh, what a lift up it is for us when we learn to take
pleasure in the Lord!
4. He will beautify the meek with salvation.
He dresses all his children; but the meek are his Joseph’s, and upon them he
puts the coat of many colors, and they shall inherit the earth.
5. Let the saints be joyful in glory:
God is their glory; let them be joyful in him.
5. Let them sing aloud upon their beds.
If they cannot come up to the congregation, yet, when they rest at home, or
when they suffer at home, let them not cease from their music. God’s praise
comes up sweetly, I do not doubt, this Sabbath evening, from many a lonely
chamber where the saints are waiting for the appearing of their Lord.
6. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth,
“In their throat,” says the Hebrew, for God’s saints sing deep down in their
throats. There is a deeply rooted music when we praise God, which is
altogether unlike the mere syllables of the lips that come from a hypocrite’
s tongue.
6. And a two-edged sword in their hand;
For we have to fight today with principalities, and powers, and wickednesses
everywhere. With the sword of the Spirit in our hands, we fight the battles
of the Prince of peace.
7, 8. To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the
people; to bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of
iron;
So was it when Israel came into Canaan, ordained to execute the vengeance of
God upon the heathen nations. We have no such warrant, and no such painful
duty; but there is a prince who shall be bound with chains and with fetters
of iron one day. The Lord shall bruise Satan under our feet shortly; and,
meanwhile, we fight against the powers of evil of every kind. Oh, that God
would help us to bind King Drunkenness with chains, and King Infidelity with
fetters of iron! Would God the day were come when impurity, which defiles so
many, were overcome and vanquished by the two-edged sword of the Spirit of
God!
9. To execute upon them the judgment written: this honor have all his
saints.
Or it may be read, “He is the honor of all his saints.” “Unto you that
believe he is precious,” or, “he is an honor,” says the apostle; and there
is no honor like that which comes of being coupled with God, living in him,
and living for him.
9. Praise ye the LORD.
What bursts of praise must have risen from the hosts of Israel when they
gathered for their annual festivals, and sang together these last great
Hallelujah Psalms!
Psalm 150:1. Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary:
Notice how, in this last Psalm, it is praise, praise, praise, all the way
through. I think we have the word “praise” some thirteen times in the six
verses. It is all “praise him, praise him, praise him.” It is not enough to
do it once, or twice, we should keep on praising the Lord till we should
make the very heavens ring with the music of his praises.
“Praise ye the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary:” that is, in his holy
place where he dwells. Begin, ye angels, cherubim, and seraphim, pour forth
his praise.
1. Praise him in the firmament of his power.
Let every star shine forth his praises, and sun and moon cease not to extol
him: “Praise him in the firmament of his power.”
2. Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent
greatness. There is a task for us; we shall never attain to that height. We
sometimes sing,-
“Wide as his vast dominion lies,
Make the Creator’s name be known;
Loud as his thunder shout his praise,
And sound it lofty as his throne;”
but who can compass such a feat as that?
3, 4. Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery
and harp. Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed
instruments and organs.
So that there were all kinds of music in those days praising God,-the wind
and the stringed instruments, the timbrel and the pipe. Everything that can
praise God should praise him. The spiritual significance of these verses is
this, let men of different orders and different sorts praise the Lord,-men,
women, children, those who are deeply taught and those who know but little,
those who are great and those who are small. Let every heart regard itself
as an instrument of praise, and use itself wholly for the Lord’s praise.
Having got so far, the psalmist recollected that there were discs of brass,
which were struck together, and gave forth a sound to be heard at a great
distance, so he said,-
5. Praise him upon the loud cymbals:
Crash!
5. Praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.
Then came another crash!
6. Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.
A Jewish Rabbi once remarked to me that the name Jehovah was not made up of
letters, but only of a series of breathings. (The preacher here uttered the
three syllables of the sacred name, Je-ho-vah, as though they were not
composed of letters, but only a succession of breathings.) That is the
nearest approach to the name of God, three breathings; therefore since all
breath comes from him, and his very name can only be pronounced by breath,
“Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord.”
Hallelujah
In Celebration of Life in Him,
Dr. Jim DeBruhl, gembeaux@bellsouth.net
" Everything is wrong until God makes it right. "
