We are used to hearing and seeing the word hallelujah as we read the Bible, sing spiritual songs, and listen to teaching from the word of God. I have also noticed this word being used with increasing frequency as a mere exclamation that one utters when something good happens to them.
- We found a parking space close to the door – Hallelujah!
- Our electric bill was down this month – Hallelujah!
- It’s five o’clock and time to clock out and go home – Hallelujah!
Is this how we ought to be using this word? Does it matter? Let us consider a few things from the Scriptures.
The word hallelujah simply means “praise the Lord.” It is used several times in the Psalms – translated in our English Bibles as “praise the Lord” or something similar – in order to direct praise to the Almighty for His mighty works, His care for His people, and His salvation. We also find it being used in the book of Revelation around the throne in heaven:
“After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven saying, ‘Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God; because His judgments are true and righteous; for He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality, and He has avenged the blood of His bond-servants on her.’ And a second time they said, ‘Hallelujah! Her smoke rises up forever and ever.’
“And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne saying, ‘Amen. Hallelujah!’ And a voice from the throne, saying, ‘Give praise to our God, all you His bond-servants, you who fear Him, the small and the great.’
“Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, ‘Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns’” (Revelation 19:1-6).
In these verses, the word hallelujah was not being used for insignificant matters. How does finding a good parking space compare with our eternal salvation? Is saving a few dollars on a utility bill as significant as an oppressive government being overthrown? Do we view a few hours of freedom from our job as being comparable to the reign of God upon His throne? The answers to these questions are obvious. There is no comparison.
So why do we use this word in these ways? All it does is dilute the great significance of the word when we use it in reference to God and His works, or it gives these other inferior events a greater significance, or both.
Remember the meaning of the word – praise the Lord. Praise the Lord for salvation? Yes! Praise the Lord for His mighty works? Absolutely!
Praise the Lord that there was an open parking space near the mall? Why? Do we think that He miraculously left that spot open for us? Did He directly intervene in preventing others from parking there so we would be able to park there instead? That open space was a matter of coincidence and timing, not God’s divine providence.
Praise the Lord that five o’clock finally rolled around so we can leave work and go home? Again, why? Did God speed up time so we could leave sooner? Did He alter our mental perception of time so that it appeared to us that time went faster. No, five o’clock arrived at the normal time based on the Earth’s regular rotation on its axis.
It the Bible, the word hallelujah (or the phrase, “praise the Lord”) was used in response to God’s direct action. These direct actions were not based on human speculation – we think God is doing something – but had to do with what God was doing or had done as was told to man in His divine revelation.
Understanding the meaning of the word – praise the Lord – there is another way to look at this. In the Old Testament, the Israelites were commanded, “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain” (Exodus 20:7). They were to hold the name of God in the highest regard. That same reverence for God is expected today (Hebrews 12:28; Matthew 23:9; 1 Timothy 1:17).
When we utter the word hallelujah (praise God) casually or carelessly, are we giving God the honor and glory He deserves? Or are we cheapening the praise we offer to Him by ascribing to Him matters of inconsequential happenstance? Let us think before we speak and not allow the norms of the world around us to influence what we think and speak.
My brother in Christ, “His praise shall continually be in my mouth”. Perpetual praise is a good thing. The angels in heaven praise continually and so should we. Man cannot know the content of the heart. God knows our heart and when it is said with thanksgiving from the heart it matters to God. Every good and perfect gift comes from God, a close parking space, the end of a work day, a breath of air. If you hear someone say Hallelujah, don’t judge the content of their heart, agree with the praise and also give God your praise.
Marie, this has nothing to do with judging the content of one’s heart. This article simply discusses the appropriateness of using the word “hallelujah” in certain situations. I encourage each one to examine his own heart and his speech in light of God’s word. Are we truly honoring God, or are we cheapening our praise, exalting trivial matters of time and chance to a level equal to that of God’s mighty works?