HALLELUJAH
HALLELUJAH
Sunday, December 29, 2024
Pastor Carolyn Sissom
I have never written or preached a sermon quite like this before. No, not “quite like.” No! “nowhere near like.” I have followed the Holy Spirit and had the Spirit of God powerful upon on me as I have written the words. I have worshiped and been brought to tears of joy as the Spirit has born witness.
I release this Word to the LORD, written under the unction of the Holy Spirit of God; and if it is a blessing to any mortal being, let it be so.
The song, Hallelujah, written by Leonard Cohen has been playing over and over in my mind for several days. Not that I am able to even think in a melody written in 12/8 time, Key C minor with a chord progression of C, F,G,A minor, and F.
“Now I’ve heard there was a secret chord.
That David played and it pleased the Lord.
But you don’t really care for music, do you?
It goes like this, the fourth, the fifth.
The minor falls, the major lifts
The baffled king composing Hallelujah.
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah.”
“Now I heard there was a secret chord.” Oh my! The sound of the music of Heaven heard by the Psalmist, David. In 24 books of the Psalms, Hallelujah (halal) is translated “Praise Ye the Lord.”
Halal means to shine in God’s favor, to flash forth light, to praise Jah.
Psalms the book of shining forth, manifestations of divine wisdom and love, exhibited in God’s dealings with men. Christ and His Church are symbolized in prophetic poetry of worship and praise set to music in chords given to angels and sung by David. The most familiar title may be “The Praises of the Lord,” or “Praise Ye the Lord,” i.e., “Hallelujah.”
“There’s a blaze of light in every word.
It doesn’t matter which you heard,
The holy or the broken Hallelujah.
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah.
“All the music of the human heart is in the Psalms,” said Gladstone.
The broken Hallelujah comes from the brokenness of mankind.
Christianity was born to the strains of celestial chords sung by angels and prophesied by the psalms of prophets.
Not only was the Christian Church born in song, but it has been preserved and revived from century to century by the songs of the Spirit. We find our highest worship in the sacred song. The singing of Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs are evidence of being filled with the Spirit and of letting the Word of Christ dwell in us richly (Eph. 5:19; Col 3:16).
Jesus quoted from the Book of Psalms thus stamping it with the highest authority. He and his disciples sang the Hallel (Hallelujah) Psalms at His last supper (Ps. 113-118).
Ps. 113: Praise (Halal)ye the LORD. Praise, O ye servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD. Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time forth and for evermore. From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the LORD’S name is to be praised. The LORD is high above all nations, and the glory above the heavens…
The Psalms really began with David, with song and instruments, which were gifts of God on His life. “The Psalms’ lyric beauty and tender grace, its rhythmic measure; its exuberant Hallelujahs and plaintive lamentations, the change-ful play of light and shade over the soul, its blending of nature and godliness, its references to the life of men and the world as regarded from the standpoint of God takes us into the glory of Heaven and the beauty of Heaven on earth. Also, the failure of mankind and our redemption through the Christ.
These anointed words of worship have their origin in the poetic, heaven-touched soul of the sweet singer of Israel. He heard the songs of angels and transposed them into mortal language.
I am persuaded Leonard Cohen captured all of this in his “Hallelujah.” I checked the internet and there are interpretations of the song which get close, but most have to do with a worldly interpretation. I am persuaded he wrote the song by the Spirit of God not knowing what he was writing.
“Now I’ve heard there was a secret chord.
That David played and it pleased the Lord.” (Cohen).
Verse two in Cohen’s “Hallelujah” refers to David’s sin with Bathsheba, and the murder of her husband Uriah. David’s weakness, like so many powerful men brought him before the judgment of the sovereign God who chose him.
“Your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you.”
When Nathan, the Prophet came to confront him, David wrote this Psalm.
Psalm 51:1b-4: Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your loving kindness, according to the multitude of your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight--- that You may be found just when You speak, and blameless when You judge.
David’s sin was great. He opens with a general cry for pardon that comes out of a deep sense of sin and an equally profound desire for forgiveness.
I have never committed adultery, but I have had murder in my heart. “For as we think in our heart, so are we.” (Prov. 23:7). I was forgiven and delivered from a desire to kill someone. That innate sin must have been deep within my carnal nature and it took the abuse I experienced to cause it to surface. (F.Y.I. this was many years ago when I was 43).
The same with David.
Suddenly David’s conviction deepens as the act of sin is traced back to its reason in the pollution of nature, his carnal nature.
51:5-6: Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me. Behold you desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.
This leads to a deeper cry from David. As the first was for pardon, the second is for purity, for cleansing of heart, and renewal of spirit. Then the prayer goes on to seek for the things which follow such cleansing: maintenance of fellowship, and consciousness of the joy of the Lord. Looking on in hope, the song anticipates the service of thanksgiving and praise which will issue from such pardon and purity. There is no record that Saul was a murderer or adulterer; yet David was a man after God’s heart, because he knew how to repent.
I did my best, it wasn't much
I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch
I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool you
And even though it all went wrong
I'll stand before the Lord of Song
With nothing on my tongue but,
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah.
“Behold you desire truth in the inward parts.” Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah ends with repentance and redemption as he stands before the LORD of Song with nothing on his tongue, but Hallelujah which means Praise Ye the Lord.” Halal to shine in God’s favor, to flash forth light, to praise Jah. It is my persuasion that like David, Cohen touched the throne of God and the heart of God and brought forth a song perhaps of his own failures, but like David, he found forgiveness and redemption.
David touched the heart of God and the revelation of the salvation of Jesus Christ.
If David had written the eighth Psalm after the birth of Christ, it would be most masterful, and most remarkable; but when we realize that it was written a thousand years before Christ appeared on earth, it is nothing short of astounding! It is thought that David composed it in his youth shortly after he was anointed by Samuel. Out of his mouth, came amazing words:
Psa. 8:2: Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants, You have ordained strength.
This revelation of God’s amazing wisdom was prophetic both of himself and of the Holy Babe, the Child of the Father, who was to be called David’s son. His song continued, “because of their enemies, that you might still the enemy and the avengers.” Jesus quoted this Psalm when he made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, and was praised by the children in the temple who cried, “Hosanna to the son of David.”
David sang prophetically far better than he knew, as do all who sing by the anointing of the Holy Spirit! Our Lord on several occasions confirmed and amplified this prophecy of David. He openly thanked the father that He had hidden His mysteries from the wise and prudent! And had revealed them unto babes. He proclaimed the child the center of the Kingdom and said that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of the Father.
Children are under attack in our nation and the nations of the world worse than ever before in our history.
All during the Church age, the LORD has anointed children in unusual ways and has often used them to confound sinners and unbelievers. The Spirit has revealed that in the latter days He will use many children as signs in the earth.
Oh Lord how excellent is your name in all the earth!
The eighth Psalm proclaims the excellency and glory of God the creator, and David reaches rare heights of beauty and concept in this song. How he loved to invoke the sacred name of the LORD. Truly in David the LORD perfected praise never before heard in the earth.
1. Hallelujah
Song by
Now I've heard there was a secret chord
That David played, and it pleased the Lord
But you don't really care for music, do you?
It goes like this, the fourth, the fifth
The minor falls, the major lifts
The baffled king composing Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you
She tied you to a kitchen chair
She broke your throne, and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
You say I took the name in vain
I don't even know the name
But if I did, well, really, what's it to you?
There's a blaze of light in every word
It doesn't matter which you heard
The holy or the broken Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
I did my best, it wasn't much
I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch
I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool you
And even though it all went wrong
I'll stand before the Lord of Song
With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Songwriter: Leonard Cohen. For non-commercial use only
Carolyn Sissom, Pastor
Eastgate Ministries Church, 10115 West Hidden Lakes Lane, Richmond, TX
Scripture from N.K.J.V. – I entered into the labors of Leonard Cohen, lyrics from Hallelujah; Psalms of the King by Frances Metcalfe; P.P.T. on Psalms by Kelly Varner. Comments and conclusions are my own and not meant to reflect the views of those from whom I gleaned.