HALLELUJAH

Every year, around Christmas, the "Hallelujah Chorus" is sung, and most Christians stand to their feet in honor of its Subject. It is merely a small part of Handel's "Messiah," an oratorio which presents an interpretation of the Christian view of the Messiah or "the Anointed One," Jesus Christ. Divided into three parts, it covers the prophecies concerning the coming of Christ, the birth, miracles, crucifixion, resurrection and ascension of Jesus, and Christ's final victory over sin and death. Handel even included the "thirty minutes of silence in heaven" (Rev. 8:1), with a powerfully dramatic pause which always gives me chills.

Hallelujah (Halleluyah and the Latin form Alleluia are transliterations of the Hebrew word הללו יה), meaning "Praise Yah" (from the first two letters of YHVH, translated LORD in the Old Testament). The term is used 24 times in the Hebrew Bible (mainly in the book of Psalms (111–113, 146–150), where it starts and/or concludes the Psalm. It also appears four times in the Book of Revelation (19:1, 3-4, 6). Psalms 111-113 portray man's relationship to God. Psalm 111 could stand alone, but Psalms 112 and 113 must be read as presenting the results of God's wonderful characteristics.

Psalm 111 This Psalm describes God as "great, honorable, glorious, righteous, powerful, and the source of man's wisdom and understanding. It is the only place in the Bible where the term "reverend" is used to describe the His name (I cringe when I hear men called Reverend!).

Psalm 112 - This Psalm describes the righteous man. He fears the Lord, and is a lover of God's commandments (v.1). Because of his reverence for God, his offspring will be many (v. 2). He will be wealthy, and will live forever (v. 3). He walks in light, and is gracious, full of compassion, and righteous (v. 4). He is gracious and discrete with his possessions (v. 5). He is well anchored and will be forever remembered (v. 6). He has no fear for his trust is in God (v. 7-8). He cares for the poor, and is honored for his righteousness (v. 9). His goodness makes the wicked hate him (v. 10).

Psalm 113 - Because the Bible teaches that "there is none righteous, no not one" (Rom. 3:10), Psalm 113 explains how the man in Psalm 112 became righteousness. It is the work of God, who "raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill; that He may set him with princes, even with the princes of His people" (v. 7-8). Man's righteousness is "as filthy rags" (Isa. 64:6). "There is none that doeth good" (Rom. 3:12). The only way the man in Psalm 112 can qualify to be called righteous is if he has trusted in God for his righteousness and not in his own. Abraham believed God and God counted his faith as righteousness (Rom. 4:3; Gal. 3:6; Jam. 2:23). Those, whom God calls righteous, are righteous because of their faith in Jesus Christ. "For He hath made Him to be sin for us, Who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Cor. 5:21). Because of Jesus, I can say, "Hallelujah!"