Praise Ye The Lord!
By Dean Collins
Whether the Sunday school teachers of our childhoods knew it or not, they did a good job teaching us Scripture through many of the songs we learned under their faithful service! The last five psalms are referred to as the Hallelujah Psalms. They begin and end with the Hebrew word hallelujah, which translates as “Praise the Lord.”
Reviewing these passages prompted me to consider the call-and-response tradition of teaching and practicing worship by the priests and worship leaders in ancient Israel, a tradition that has continued to some extent in current practice.
Let’s go back to elementary school and some early memories of a song you may have learned as well. Maybe the melody will come to you as you read the simple lyrics that possibly came from these closing psalms. Often, this was done with the boys singing one part of the song and the girls singing the other. When each group sang, they would stand up and then sit back down when the second group stood to sing their part.
Girls: Hallelu, Hallelu, hallelu, Hallelujah.
Boys: Praise ye the Lord.
Girls: Hallelu, Hallelu, hallelu, Hallelujah.
Boys: Praise ye the Lord.
Girls: Praise ye the Lord.
Boys: Hallelujah
Girls: Praise ye the Lord.
Boys: Hallelujah
Girls: Praise ye the Lord.
Boys: Hallelujah
Everyone: Praise ye the Lord!
It has been many years since I have heard or sung this simple song. As a child, I remember it being sung and often shouted at the top of our lungs. Many years later, as a youth minister, my recollection is the same—the enthusiasm and volume of the children as they sang. I wonder if, in our desire to be proper in times of corporate worship as adults, we have become less enthusiastic and more stoic in our praise to our Creator and Almighty God.
Note that the psalmist declared that it is good to sing praises to our God. It does not say, “If you sing well or have a special talent in music, then it is good to sing praises.” There is no talent necessary to praise the Lord. All that is required is a humble spirit and a willingness to follow the example we discover in the Psalms.
If you are one who works with children at your church, I suspect you still find children worshiping with enthusiasm. And if you don’t find eager little worshipers, then maybe it’s time to step up and show them how to worship with a full voice: Praise the Lord!
Father, forgive us for the times we hold back in declaring Your praise. May we, with the psalmist of old, declare that it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting. Today we sing and shout out to You our hallelujah: Praise the Lord! Amen.
Your Time with God’s Word
Psalm 147:1–20 ESV
Photo by Pexels
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