The Hallelujah - Part One
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Introduction
Introduction
26 Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” 27 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, 28 for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” 30 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
In God’s providence, the nation of Israel has sang this collection of songs as part of the Passover celebration. The Passover remembers that actions of Yahweh to deliver Israel and establish them as a nation. You can imagine the the people of God during Jesus’ time were thinking of a deliverance from Roman occupation and oppression. This Hallel looks forward to much more that than they were hoping.
Robert Morgan who has written several hymn stories books comments, “Try to imagine these twelve men (Judas Iscariot had already left), in that lantern-lit stone room. Their voices lifted in unison as they sang the songs they had known since childhood. Neither Matthew nor Mark tells us what they sang, but they didn’t need to. We know. They were singing the Egyptian Hallel—Psalm 113 through 118.
The Jewish scholar, Alfred Edersheim, tells us these were among the earliest hymns taught to children, for they were always sung at the great Jewish festivals. He also suggests that Peter and John had taken the Passover Lamb to the temple that afternoon. All twenty-four divisions of the priests were on duty, and lambs were being slain by the hundreds as the crowds sang or chanted Psalm 113 through 118. The two disciples returned with the slain lamb and roasted it on a pomegranate spit. As the sun sank in the West, Jesus and the other disciples assembled in the Upper Room.
From olden times, the Hallel was sung at these private Passover gatherings—Psalm 113 and 114 before the meal, and Psalm 115 through 118 at the end of the meal. Every commentary mentions this. These were the songs Jesus sang from memory, lyrics He had known from childhood. And as He sang them that night with His eleven friends, He saw Himself in every verse. These songs were all about Him. That wistful evening, He was not only the singer of the songs—He was their subject.
1 Praise the Lord! Praise, O servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord! 2 Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and forevermore! 3 From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised! 4 The Lord is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens! 5 Who is like the Lord our God, who is seated on high, 6 who looks far down on the heavens and the earth? 7 He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap, 8 to make them sit with princes, with the princes of his people. 9 He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. Praise the Lord!
1 When Israel went out from Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language, 2 Judah became his sanctuary, Israel his dominion. 3 The sea looked and fled; Jordan turned back. 4 The mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs. 5 What ails you, O sea, that you flee? O Jordan, that you turn back? 6 O mountains, that you skip like rams? O hills, like lambs? 7 Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob, 8 who turns the rock into a pool of water, the flint into a spring of water.
1 Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness! 2 Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?” 3 Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases. 4 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands. 5 They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see. 6 They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell. 7 They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; and they do not make a sound in their throat. 8 Those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them. 9 O Israel, trust in the Lord! He is their help and their shield. 10 O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord! He is their help and their shield. 11 You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord! He is their help and their shield. 12 The Lord has remembered us; he will bless us; he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron; 13 he will bless those who fear the Lord, both the small and the great. 14 May the Lord give you increase, you and your children! 15 May you be blessed by the Lord, who made heaven and earth! 16 The heavens are the Lord’s heavens, but the earth he has given to the children of man. 17 The dead do not praise the Lord, nor do any who go down into silence. 18 But we will bless the Lord from this time forth and forevermore. Praise the Lord!
Today, we will cover the first three Psalms and next week the second three.
PRAY
The LORD Who is Humble and Exalts the Lowly
The LORD Who is Humble and Exalts the Lowly
(1-3) Praise the LORD! - Hallel Yah! - This is a command to praise the LORD. It is the purpose of our existence. It is the aim of our deliverance and our redemption. Worship him those who are his people. When you hear the designation of Yahweh, revere him, adore him, and honor him. The praise of Yahweh should be without time restraint and territorial boundaries.
(4-6) Why? Yahweh is the exalted rules of the world. He is high and lifted up. He observes the heavens and earth from above. He humbles himself to look upon the peoples of the earth.
(7-9) Why? Though he is high and lifted up, he does not disregard the lowly, weak, poor and needy. He see them in the needs. He is aware of their shame. And he raises them up and gives them joy.
A Glimpse of the Glory of Christ
A Glimpse of the Glory of Christ
Jesus as the God who condescends help his people.
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. 9 And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him,
A Right Response
A Right Response
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
The LORD Who Delivers with Power
The LORD Who Delivers with Power
(1-2) When Israel went out of Egypt… Exodus 1-12 in summary form. God delivered his people from Egyptian bondage. The Exodus is probably second only to the creation story as far as importance in the Old Testament. “Here is the greatest redemptive event in the Old Testament to which subsequent revelation points to again and again and again.” - D.A. Carson In the exit from Egyptian bondage we find the pattern of redemption. Yahweh chooses a people, frees them from bondage, destroys their enemies, and dwells among them. We see the beauty of Yahweh dwelling among his people in the following:
21 And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. 22 The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people.
(3-6) God delivered Israel with miraculous power and sovereign rule over all of the his creation. The plagues on Egypt in the destruction of their idol worship is not mentioned but would be implicitly remembered. The Psalmist recalls the passage through both the Red Sea and the Jordan River. He also remembers the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai as the mountain trembled with thundering and quaking with the presence of almighty God.
(7-8) How are the peoples of the earth to respond? They are to tremble or shake (labor pains) before God. They are to respond the way the Red Sea, the Jordan River and Mount Sinai. They are to do obey him without delay. They are the honor him as their God. They are to recognize his awful presence and provision. Regarding provision, he recounts the water from the rock. As Israel was in the wilderness and thirsty, God gave them miraculous life through water.
2 Now there was no water for the congregation. And they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron. 3 And the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Would that we had perished when our brothers perished before the Lord! 4 Why have you brought the assembly of the Lord into this wilderness, that we should die here, both we and our cattle? 5 And why have you made us come up out of Egypt to bring us to this evil place? It is no place for grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, and there is no water to drink.”
11 And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, and water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their livestock.
A Glimpse at the Glory of Christ.
A Glimpse at the Glory of Christ.
Jesus leads us in exodus by the power of his own exodus.
28 Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray. 29 And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white. 30 And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.
Moses, Elijah and Jesus were talking of his exodus.
51 When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.
From this point in Luke, Jesus is facing toward and resolutely moving toward the his exodus in Jerusalem. D.A. Carson writes, “This is sometimes called Luke’s travel narrative. And that is put in your face again and again and again until he arrives in Jerusalem in Luke 19. And so, everything that is said and done, all the parables, all the miracles, everything that is said and done is under the impending anticipated exodus. His travel to Jerusalem means he is heading for the cross, the resurrection, the ascension, his exodus as the true Israel, taking his people, as it were, in triumphant array into the new heaven and the new earth.”
In Jerusalem, Jesus would destroy the works of the devil, atone for our sin and secure our life by the power of his resurrection. Ultimately, he will deliver us to the promised land, the new heavens and new earth ever to dwell with us there.
A Right Response
A Right Response
14 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? 15 What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? 16 What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 17 Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, 18 and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.” 1 Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.
The LORD Who is Worthy of Glory
The LORD Who is Worthy of Glory
(1-3) Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory - Yahweh is the exclusively worthy of praise. No praise belongs to the people of God, but only to the God of the people. Why? Because he is the God of covenant keeping devotion and he is utterly trustworthy to do what he says he will do. He is the true God of all gods. He does all that his heart desires.
(4-8) - In contrast to Yahweh are the false gods of the world. These are gods fashioned and shaped by their worshipers instead of worshippers fashioned and shaped by their God. These are gods of human imagination and invention.
3 for the customs of the peoples are vanity. A tree from the forest is cut down and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman. 4 They decorate it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so that it cannot move. 5 Their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field, and they cannot speak; they have to be carried, for they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, neither is it in them to do good.”
These are gods that possess no power to give revelation.
These are gods that possess no power of moral oversight.
These are gods that possess no power to hear prayer.
These are gods that possess no power to grant forgiveness.
These are gods that possess no power to give care.
These are gods that possess no power to act.
These are gods that possess no power to consider.
Yet, these gods have power to lead their worshipers to lives of powerlessness.
9 All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit. Their witnesses neither see nor know, that they may be put to shame.
(9-11) How should the people of God respond to the truth of Yahweh’s Godness and the not godness of false gods. O Israel, trust in the LORD - He assist and protects. House of Aaron, trust in the LORD - He assists and protects. Fearers of God, trust in the LORD - He assists and protects.
(12-15) Even more, he remembers us. He will favor us. He will fill us. He will empower us. He will bless regardless of stature, ability, position or power. All those that fear God will be blessed. They will be favored. He will carry on your name and bless you.
(16-18) - The psalm ends much like it began. There is a call for those who have been delivered from death to praise God. Those who die without God’s deliverance do not give glory to God. However, the redeemed, ransomed, rescued people of God will give praise to God eternally.
A Glimpse of the Glory of Christ
A Glimpse of the Glory of Christ
Jesus as the true God who gives life to his people. Jesus word become a man to manifest God to his people.
18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.
1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.
Unlike false gods, Jesus would demonstrate the power of Yahweh. He will show us Yahweh’s power to deliver the truth, see the hearts of mankind, hear the prayers of his people, grant pardon and forgiveness, care for the needy, move to action, and think glorious thoughts.
As the one who destroy death by death, and is resurrection because of an indestructible life, he gives life to his people. This life is empowered to give Yahweh alone glory and praise him as he deserves.
A Right Response
A Right Response
14 For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; 15 and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.
