Hallelujah!

Praise the LORD from the earth,

you sea monsters and all the deeps,

fire and hail, snow and frost,

stormy wind fulfilling his command!

                             — Psalm 148:7,8

I was reading Psalm 148 the other day and it struck me as being so odd, the way the things God created were enjoined to praise Him — even though most have no capability of producing a sound. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks: everything God has created is fulfilling His command to be what He created them to be.

Every created thing, that is, except for man. Isn't that amazing? All creation obeys the command of the LORD to be a star or a tree or a wave or a mountain or whatever He has called them to be. Except man!

Isaiah had his own description of the sinful rebellion of man when he wrote:

Shall the potter be regarded as the clay;

that the thing made should say of its maker,

'He did not make me;'                     

or the thing formed say of him who formed it,

'He has no understanding?'      

                             — Isaiah 20:16

The word "hallelujah" is a word drawn from two elements in the Hebrew language. The first is the word hallel, which means to boast or rave or shine. The second element is the word for God, Yah or YHWH. It can be both an expression of praise or an exhortation to praise God.

When David brought the ark of the covenant into Jerusalem from the household of Obededom, Samuel says, "David danced before the LORD with all his might," (2 Samuel 6:14) and "Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window, and saw king David leaping and dancing before the LORD." (2 Samuel 6:16) This is a good picture of what praise truly is. David was raving about God.

There are several different words in Hebrew used for praise, each drawing out a particular aspect of what it means to boast about God. The word used in Psalm 149:1 contains the idea of a hymn. In Psalm 118:21 the word 'praise' in the KJV is the idea of worshiping with ones hands extended. Leviticus 19:24 says, "And in the fourth year all their fruit shall be holy, an offering of praise to the LORD," and here the thought is one of rejoicing. In the song of Deborah recorded in Judges 5, the injunction to "Bless the LORD!" in verse 2 is the idea of kneeling before the LORD. It may be a play on words since the name of the warrior Barak in verse one means to kneel. Giving praise in Psalm 108:1 incorporates the idea of making music, singing forth, or celebrating.

In one respect, the salvation of man can be thought of as a return to creation before the fall when everything — including man — fulfilled His command to praise their Creator. And isn't that what the catechism states in the very beginning? Question 1. What is the chief end of man? Answer. Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.

• For thus says the LORD, who created the heavens (he is God), who formed the earth and made it (he established it; he did not create it a chaos, he formed it to be inhabited!): "I am the LORD and there is no other." — Isaiah 45:18

• The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork. — Psalm 19:1