Psalm 113: Praise

It is important to remember that the next six psalms, 113-118, are often referred to as “Hallel psalms” (We translate the Hebrew word hallel to English as praise). These psalms were, by the New Testament period, and continue to be read as part of the Jewish Passover celebration. Psalms 113 and 114 are generally sung before the meal and then Psalms 115-118 after the meal. These were probably the hymns that Jesus and the apostles sang in the upper room on the night of His arrest. As we make our way through these psalms, please keep the Passover in the forefront of your reading and interpretation. 

Just like Psalms 111 and 112, Psalm 113 begins with the exclamation, “Hallelujah!” or “Praise the LORD!” We have all heard that phrase shouted, spoken, read, and sung, most of us reading this have said it more than a few times. I have heard it used as a greeting, a prayer, and a benediction. I have heard it spoken when it fit perfectly and when it seemed completely out of place. I have heard it spoken with joy, incredible sadness, and even in frustration. It is one of those things we say, but what does it mean? I am not simply asking what it means when we say it, but what did it mean when the Holy Spirit inspired men to write it? How does God define praise? 

As mentioned above, the Hebrew word that we translate as praise is hallel. It is literal meaning is “to be clear (originally of sound, but usually of color); to shine”. “Praise the LORD!” is similar to what David wrote in Psalm 34:3, “Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together.” It is not a shout of emotion, but a call to listen carefully, to look closely, because clarity is about to be given. It is not meant to be a reaction to our circumstances but a declaration of our faith, “Praise the LORD!” is a statement of pause far more than cry of excitement. 

We all need clarity, we probably all want clarity, the problem is the clarity we want is often far different than the clarity we need. We want to know what is going to happen, which way we should go, how long it will take, we want to know the details. God wants us to know that He is holy, that He is good, that He is faithful, that He is with us, that He loves us, that none of His words fail, He wants us to know His character. He wants us to know Him so that we can make Him known. 

The psalmist did not just say “Praise the LORD!” and then move on to something else as we often do. He wrote, “Praise the LORD! Praise, O servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD!” He uses the word hallel three times within the first verse of the psalm. Think of the definition again, the psalmist wrote: “Be clear, be clear, be clear!” Let me paraphrase the whole verse using the definition we have read, “Be clear about the LORD! Be clear, O servants of the LORD, be clear about the name of the LORD!” God provides but He also commands clarity, again, not of our circumstances, but of His character.   

We often home in on I Corinthians 13:12, “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been known fully.” This verse seems to teach that there is stuff we are never going to know, things we will never understand, details that we are never going to get clarity on. There is some level of truth to that, but there is also a lot of context missing. After teaching about the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the apostle Paul then wrote, “But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.” (I Corinthians 12:31) I Corinthians 13 is then what we often refer to as “the love chapter”. Paul defined and described the true character of love. Then, as the picture of love became clear, he wrote, “Love never ends. As for prophesies, they will pass away; as for tongues they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes the partial will pass away.” He was writing of love as an attribute of God and a calling for God’s people. He was writing that all the things that we call “gifts” are incomplete and unclear without the character of love. And then he came to verse 12, we see in part until we see Jesus, we know in part until we know Jesus; Jesus is the truth, and the truth cannot be dimmed, He makes all things clear, and He sets us free. 

There are details that we do not know that we might never know, but those details are not for us to know. Deuteronomy 29:29 says, “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” What if while we are chasing things that cannot be caught, we are running right passed those things that would make everything clear? John wrote, “No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who himself is God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.” (NIV) Jesus made sure that we would no longer see God dimly, He uncovered what was covered, unveiled what was veiled. He has made Him known. Before Jesus, without Jesus, apart from Jesus, we do not and we cannot see God, but in Jesus, we see Him as He is in all His glory. This is why Colossians 1 tells us that Jesus is the image of the invisible God, and why Jesus told Philip in John 14:9, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” There is nothing of God’s character that is needed to be known that has been left a mystery, Jesus makes all things clear. 

I Corinthians 2:9 is often quoted, “But as it is written: ‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.’” (NKJV) This verse sounds like it says that you cannot imagine what God has planned, that you cannot begin or even hope to understand His plans, that blind faith is required to follow Jesus. This is why context is king, listen to the next verse, “But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.” In context, without the work of the Holy Spirit it is impossible to know the things of God, so God, because He wants us to know His heart, His character, and His will, sent us His Spirit to make the impossible possible, to give clarity where lack had been the rule. Consider this, if you are in Christ then the Holy Spirit is in you and if the Holy Spirit is in you, then your eyes have seen, your ears have heard, and your heart has received the things which God has prepared for those who love Him. God has made Himself clear.  

In John 14:6 Jesus said that He is the way, the truth, and the life. Then in John 16:13 He said that the Holy Spirit would lead us into all truth. Jesus is the truth that the Holy Spirit leads us into. In the same way that Jesus reveals the Father, the Spirit reveals the Son. And how does He do this? II Peter 1:21 says that the Holy Spirit carried those who wrote the prophesy of Scripture. II Timothy 3:16 tells us that the Scriptures, all of them, were God-breathed, or inspired by the Holy Spirit. Jesus’ life showed us the character of the Father, the Holy Spirit breathed the Scriptures to reveal the character of the Son. We know God, we gain clarity of His character, through devotion to the Scriptures as led by the Holy Spirit. 

This takes us back to Psalm 113. The Passover celebration begins with a call to see clearly, to know clearly and to display clearly “the name of the LORD!” In biblical time and language, the name referred to someone’s person, their identity, their character. Passover does not start with the wandering of Abraham, the struggle of Jacob, the imprisonment or triumph of Joseph, it does not even begin with the slavery of Israel in Egypt, it begins with a call to be clear about who God is. This first psalm of the Hallel does just that, it clearly speaks of God’s sovereignty, God’s holiness, God’s compassion, His mercy and love and the redemption that He brings so freely and fully. This is what it looks like to “Praise the LORD!” So, let me ask, are we bringing the clarity of God’s heart to the people in our lives? Are we shouting loudly or shining brightly? Does the way we live muddy the waters or clear them? Are we proclaiming the victory or are we revealing the Victor? I will challenge you the way this psalm has challenged me: Be clear, be clear, be clear. Praise is so much more than fruit of our lips; it is the revelation of God’s heart.