Hallelujah
Introduction
Over 55 million people have now watched a youtube clip of unsuspecting shoppers who get a surprise while eating lunch. A young woman, seemingly enjoying her lunch in a food court, stands up. She appears to be on her mobile phone. She begins singing the ‘Hallelujah’ chorus. All around her, over 100 (clearly prearranged) opera singers stand up one by one and join in.
Messiah is George Frederick Handel’s most famous work. It tells the story of Jesus – the Messiah. Part Two is about his death on the cross, his resurrection and his ascension into heaven. It ends with the ‘Hallelujah’ chorus. In the spring of 1742, King George II rose to his feet as the first notes of the triumphant ‘Hallelujah’ chorus rang out. Royal protocol has always demanded that, whenever the monarch stands, so too does everyone in the monarch’s presence. Thus, the entire audience and orchestra stood. King George II had accepted that he too was subject to the Lord of lords and King of kings.
The word ‘Hallelujah’ is an invitation to worship – it literally means ‘Praise (Hallal) the Lord’ (Yahweh). It occurs twenty-four times in the Old Testament (mainly in the Psalms) and it occurs four times in the New Testament – each of them in our passage for today.
Psalm 148:1-6
Psalm 148
1 Praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
praise him in the heights above.
2 Praise him, all his angels;
praise him, all his heavenly hosts.
3 Praise him, sun and moon;
praise him, all you shining stars.
4 Praise him, you highest heavens
and you waters above the skies.
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for at his command they were created,
6 and he established them for ever and ever—
he issued a decree that will never pass away.
Commentary
The Hallelujah psalms
At rock concerts, football matches and other big sporting events, we see extraordinary scenes of exuberant enthusiasm. Yet all these should pale into insignificance compared to our exuberant worship of God.
The opening words of this psalm are, ‘Hallelujah! Praise God from heaven’ (v.1, MSG). The last five psalms (Psalm 146–150) each begin and end with ‘Hallelujah’. The Psalms, as with the New Testament and the whole Bible, end with exuberant praise, blessing and delight.
‘Hallelujah! Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights. Praise him, all his angels’ (vv.1b–2a, HCSB).
Even the angels praise God. As we will see in the New Testament passage for today, John, when he saw one of the angels, fell at his feet to worship him (the angel). But the angel said to him, ‘Do not do it! I am a fellow-servant with you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God!’ (Revelation 19:10).
As with all the psalms, it can naturally turn into our own prayer and praise:
Prayer
Revelation 18:17-19:10
17 ... “Every sea captain, and all who travel by ship, the sailors, and all who earn their living from the sea, will stand far off. 18 When they see the smoke of her burning, they will exclaim, ‘Was there ever a city like this great city?’ 19 They will throw dust on their heads, and with weeping and mourning cry out:
“‘Woe! Woe to you, great city,
where all who had ships on the sea
became rich through her wealth!
In one hour she has been brought to ruin!’
20 “Rejoice over her, you heavens!
Rejoice, you people of God!
Rejoice, apostles and prophets!
For God has judged her
with the judgment she imposed on you.”
The Finality of Babylon’s Doom
21 Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a large millstone and threw it into the sea, and said:
“With such violence
the great city of Babylon will be thrown down,
never to be found again.
22 The music of harpists and musicians, pipers and trumpeters,
will never be heard in you again.
No worker of any trade
will ever be found in you again.
The sound of a millstone
will never be heard in you again.
23 The light of a lamp
will never shine in you again.
The voice of bridegroom and bride
will never be heard in you again.
Your merchants were the world’s important people.
By your magic spell all the nations were led astray.
24 In her was found the blood of prophets and of God’s holy people,
of all who have been slaughtered on the earth.”
Threefold Hallelujah Over Babylon’s Fall
19 After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting:
“Hallelujah!
Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,
2 for true and just are his judgments.
He has condemned the great prostitute
who corrupted the earth by her adulteries.
He has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”
3 And again they shouted:
“Hallelujah!
The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever.”
4 The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne. And they cried:
“Amen, Hallelujah!”
5 Then a voice came from the throne, saying:
“Praise our God,
all you his servants,
you who fear him,
both great and small!”
6 Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:
“Hallelujah!
For our Lord God Almighty reigns.
7 Let us rejoice and be glad
and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
and his bride has made herself ready.
8 Fine linen, bright and clean,
was given her to wear.”
(Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.)
9 Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.”
10 At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus.”
Commentary
The Hallelujah party
My father was a German Jew. Many of his family suffered and died in concentration camps under the evil empire of the Third Reich. That empire came to an end. Not long after, another evil empire arose. In Stalin’s Soviet Russia at least 20 million people were murdered. The people of God were imprisoned, tortured and killed. Today there is Isis, North Korea, and other evil regimes around the world.
The New Testament passage for today starts with the complete destruction of the great city of ‘Babylon’. We have seen that this is a way of describing, not only the destruction of the Roman Empire, which the writer has in mind, but also the destruction of every ‘Babylon’ that has flourished throughout history.
‘Babylon’ stands for the Roman Empire, the Third Reich, Stalin’s Russia, Isis and all the other evil regimes, totalitarian and philosophical systems. Whole nations were led astray (18:23) and the people of God persecuted: ‘In her was found the blood of prophets and of the saints’ (v.24a).
This is why there is such relief when their power is brought to an end. The mass choirs of heaven sing ‘Hallelujah’:
‘After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting: “Hallelujah!”’ (19:1). They praise God that justice has been done. God’s judgments are true and just: ‘O Heaven, celebrate!... God has judged her; every wrong you suffered from her has been judged’ (18:20, MSG).
‘Hallelujah!’ is repeated (19:3). The whole church and all creation falls down and worships God who is seated on the throne (v.4). And they cry for a third time, ‘Amen, Hallelujah!’ (v.4).
Finally, a fourth time: ‘Then I heard the sound of massed choirs, the sound of a mighty cataract, the sound of strong thunder: Hallelujah!’ (v.6, MSG).
Then the party begins:
‘Let us celebrate, let us rejoice,
let us give him the glory!
The Marriage of the Lamb has come;
his Wife has made herself ready.
She was given a bridal gown
of bright and shining linen.
The linen is the righteousness of the saints (vv.7–8, MSG).
A human wedding is a whisper of the gospel. Earthly marriages point to something even more amazing and eternal – your relationship with Christ Jesus.
The wedding of the Lamb is the marriage of Christ and his church (see Ephesians 5:32; Revelation 21:2). In contrast to the gaudy clothes of the adulterous and promiscuous Babylon (18:16), the church is dressed simply in ‘fine linen, bright and clean’ (19:8). You are clothed in the righteousness of Christ and every righteous act (v.8b) is remembered, valued and celebrated.
This is the great and eternal party of the ‘wedding supper of the Lamb’ (v.9). To be ‘invited’ (v.9) is the greatest blessing of all. The rest of the New Testament tells us that you are invited, but you have to choose to accept the invitation.
It is not surprising that John wants to fall at the feet of the angel and worship him. But you are not to worship the messenger, only the one whom the message is about: ‘Worship God!’ (v.10). And you are to go and tell others: ‘For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy’ (v.10).
Prayer
Nehemiah 7:4-8:18
The List of the Exiles Who Returned
4 Now the city was large and spacious, but there were few people in it, and the houses had not yet been rebuilt. 5 So my God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles, the officials and the common people for registration by families. I found the genealogical record of those who had been the first to return. This is what I found written there:
6 These are the people of the province who came up from the captivity of the exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had taken captive (they returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his own town, 7 in company with Zerubbabel, Joshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum and Baanah):
The list of the men of Israel:
8 the descendants of Parosh 2,172
9 of Shephatiah 372
10 of Arah 652
11 of Pahath-Moab (through the line of Jeshua and Joab) 2,818
12 of Elam 1,254
13 of Zattu 845
14 of Zakkai 760
15 of Binnui 648
16 of Bebai 628
17 of Azgad 2,322
18 of Adonikam 667
19 of Bigvai 2,067
20 of Adin 655
21 of Ater (through Hezekiah) 98
22 of Hashum 328
23 of Bezai 324
24 of Hariph 112
25 of Gibeon 95
26 the men of Bethlehem and Netophah 188
27 of Anathoth 128
28 of Beth Azmaveth 42
29 of Kiriath Jearim, Kephirah and Beeroth 743
30 of Ramah and Geba 621
31 of Mikmash 122
32 of Bethel and Ai 123
33 of the other Nebo 52
34 of the other Elam 1,254
35 of Harim 320
36 of Jericho 345
37 of Lod, Hadid and Ono 721
38 of Senaah 3,930
39 The priests:
the descendants of Jedaiah (through the family of Jeshua) 973
40 of Immer 1,052
41 of Pashhur 1,247
42 of Harim 1,017
43 The Levites:
the descendants of Jeshua (through Kadmiel through the line of Hodaviah) 74
44 The musicians:
the descendants of Asaph 148
45 The gatekeepers:
the descendants of
Shallum, Ater, Talmon, Akkub, Hatita and Shobai 138
46 The temple servants:
the descendants of
Ziha, Hasupha, Tabbaoth,
47 Keros, Sia, Padon,
48 Lebana, Hagaba, Shalmai,
49 Hanan, Giddel, Gahar,
50 Reaiah, Rezin, Nekoda,
51 Gazzam, Uzza, Paseah,
52 Besai, Meunim, Nephusim,
53 Bakbuk, Hakupha, Harhur,
54 Bazluth, Mehida, Harsha,
55 Barkos, Sisera, Temah,
56 Neziah and Hatipha
57 The descendants of the servants of Solomon:
the descendants of
Sotai, Sophereth, Perida,
58 Jaala, Darkon, Giddel,
59 Shephatiah, Hattil,
Pokereth-Hazzebaim and Amon
60 The temple servants and the descendants of the servants of Solomon 392
61 The following came up from the towns of Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Kerub, Addon and Immer, but they could not show that their families were descended from Israel:
62 the descendants of
Delaiah, Tobiah and Nekoda 642
63 And from among the priests:
the descendants of
Hobaiah, Hakkoz and Barzillai (a man who had married a daughter
of Barzillai the Gileadite and was called by that name).
64 These searched for their family records, but they could not find them and so were excluded from the priesthood as unclean. 65 The governor, therefore, ordered them not to eat any of the most sacred food until there should be a priest ministering with the Urim and Thummim.
66 The whole company numbered 42,360, 67 besides their 7,337 male and female slaves; and they also had 245 male and female singers. 68 There were 736 horses, 245 mules, 69 435 camels and 6,720 donkeys.
70 Some of the heads of the families contributed to the work. The governor gave to the treasury 1,000 darics of gold, 50 bowls and 530 garments for priests. 71 Some of the heads of the families gave to the treasury for the work 20,000 darics of gold and 2,200 minas of silver. 72 The total given by the rest of the people was 20,000 darics of gold, 2,000 minas of silver and 67 garments for priests.
73 The priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the musicians and the temple servants, along with certain of the people and the rest of the Israelites, settled in their own towns.
Ezra Reads the Law
When the seventh month came and the Israelites had settled in their towns, 8 1 all the people came together as one in the square before the Water Gate. They told Ezra the teacher of the Law to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded for Israel.
2 So on the first day of the seventh month Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, which was made up of men and women and all who were able to understand. 3 He read it aloud from daybreak till noon as he faced the square before the Water Gate in the presence of the men, women and others who could understand. And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law.
4 Ezra the teacher of the Law stood on a high wooden platform built for the occasion. Beside him on his right stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah and Maaseiah; and on his left were Pedaiah, Mishael, Malkijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah and Meshullam.
5 Ezra opened the book. All the people could see him because he was standing above them; and as he opened it, the people all stood up. 6 Ezra praised the Lord, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, “Amen! Amen!” Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.
7 The Levites —Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan and Pelaiah—instructed the people in the Law while the people were standing there. 8 They read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people understood what was being read.
9 Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and teacher of the Law, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to them all, “This day is holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law.
10 Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
11 The Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be still, for this is a holy day. Do not grieve.”
12 Then all the people went away to eat and drink, to send portions of food and to celebrate with great joy, because they now understood the words that had been made known to them.
13 On the second day of the month, the heads of all the families, along with the priests and the Levites, gathered around Ezra the teacher to give attention to the words of the Law. 14 They found written in the Law, which the Lord had commanded through Moses, that the Israelites were to live in temporary shelters during the festival of the seventh month 15 and that they should proclaim this word and spread it throughout their towns and in Jerusalem: “Go out into the hill country and bring back branches from olive and wild olive trees, and from myrtles, palms and shade trees, to make temporary shelters”—as it is written.
16 So the people went out and brought back branches and built themselves temporary shelters on their own roofs, in their courtyards, in the courts of the house of God and in the square by the Water Gate and the one by the Gate of Ephraim. 17 The whole company that had returned from exile built temporary shelters and lived in them. From the days of Joshua son of Nun until that day, the Israelites had not celebrated it like this. And their joy was very great.
18 Day after day, from the first day to the last, Ezra read from the Book of the Law of God. They celebrated the festival for seven days, and on the eighth day, in accordance with the regulation, there was an assembly.
Commentary
The Hallelujah people
As we have seen, just as God called Nehemiah and his people to the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem, he calls us to build and rebuild the church. One of the ways God guides you is that he puts ideas into your heart. Nehemiah said, ‘God put it in my heart to gather the nobles, the officials, and the people in general to be registered’ (7:5, MSG). Nehemiah listed the exiles who had returned (vv.6–73).
When the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem was completed, the people gathered to hear the Scriptures being expounded by Ezra. ‘And all the people listened – they were all ears – to the Book of The Revelation’ (8:3, MSG). ‘As he opened the book everyone stood’ (8:5, MSG). They stood out of respect for the word of God.
‘Then Ezra praised God, the great God and all the people responded “Oh Yes! Yes!” with hands raised high. And then they fell to their knees in worship of God, their faces to the ground’ (v.6, MSG).
Our bodies express our hearts. That is why, when I’m on my own, I like to kneel as I read the Bible as a mark of reverence and respect for God. I have come to listen to him and worship him.
To raise hands in worship was the common practice of both the Jewish people and the early Christians (‘hands raised high’, v.6). ‘The oldest gesture of prayer in Christendom is prayer with arms extended’ writes Pope Benedict. This gesture is ‘the radical form of worship’. It expresses opening ourselves to God and at the same time opening ourselves in love to others.
All of our gatherings to praise and worship God are an anticipation of, and participation in, the great worship of heaven – the eternal Hallelujah chorus. In this passage in Nehemiah we see an example of this. It echoes and anticipates the great worship of Revelation 19.
Nehemiah the Governor, Ezra the priest and scribe and the Levites instructed the people. They wept as they listened to the words of the Law (v.9).
But Nehemiah told them that it was a time for joy and celebration: ‘Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks… Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength’ (v.10). There was a time of celebration and great joy (v.12).
As Joyce Meyer writes, ‘Each day that God gives us is holy and a precious gift from him. We should enjoy it fully. Joy is powerful. Nothing releases supernatural joy in our lives more than being a blessing to other people.’
Prayer
Pippa adds
Nehemiah 8:10-18
Here we see, it is good to ‘celebrate’ and enjoy ‘choice food and sweet drinks’, but if it is only for our own consumption then it seems a little selfish and shallow. These people combined it with sending ‘some to those who have nothing prepared’ and the reading of God’s word. That gave it a different dimension and depth.
Verse of the Day
Psalm 148:2b-5a
‘Praise him, all his heavenly hosts. Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars. Praise him, you highest heavens and you waters above the skies. Let them praise the name of the Lord’.
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References
Joyce Meyer, Everyday Life Bible (Faithwords, 2018), p.741.
Unless otherwise stated, Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version Anglicised, Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 Biblica, formerly International Bible Society. Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton Publishers, an Hachette UK company. All rights reserved. ‘NIV’ is a registered trademark of Biblica. UK trademark number 1448790.
Scripture marked (MSG) taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.