Friday, October 25, 2013

Day 25: Hallelujah, Praise Jehovah, O My Soul

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I'm finishing up our Hallelujah Week with another Hallelujah, Praise Jehovah hymn, but this one is called Hallelujah, Praise Jehovah, O My Soul. I first fell in love with this hymn when our church hosted one of the denomination's governing body annual meetings (I can't remember if it was Classis or Synod). In our denomination the church leaders are all men, so our church sanctuary was full mostly of men and when they sang this hymn it was breathtaking to hear all those booming male voices praise God. As a result, I always associate this hymn with male voices, even though I love to sing it too.

It is not a common hymn and seems to only appear in a couple of hymnals, both from the Reformed tradition. And lo and behold, when looking for a video one of the only ones I could find was also from a Synod meeting, although not from the same denomination.

My favorite movie of all time is The Sound of Music and we watch it as a family for my birthday every year. But we do love to poke fun at some of the faulty doctrine in the movie, for example when Julie Andrews sings, "I have confidence in confidence alone!" You just sang those words, didn't you? ; ) This hymn reminds us that confidence placed in anything other than God Himself is useless. God is our Creator, Provider, and King. And that is why we offer up to Him our joyful hallelujahs.



Hallelujah, Praise Jehovah, O My Soul
Psalm 146
The Psalter, 1912

Hallelujah, praise Jehovah,
O my soul Jehovah praise;
I will sing the glorious praises
Of my God through all my days.
Put no confidence in princes,
Nor for help on man depend;
He shall die, to dust returning,
And his purposes shall end.

Happy is the man that chooses
Israel's God to be his aid;
He is blessed whose hope of blessing
On the Lord his God is stayed.
Heav'n and earth the Lord created,
Seas and all that they contain;
He delivers from oppression,
Righteousness he will maintain.

Food he daily gives the hungry,
Sets the mourning pris'ner free,
Raises those bowed down with anguish,
Makes the sightless eye to see.
Well Jehovah loves the righteous,
And the strangers he befriends,
Helps the fatherless and widow,
Judgement on the wicked sends.

Hallelujah, praise Jehovah,
O my soul, Jehovah praise;
I will sing the glorious praises
Of my God through all my days.
Over all God reigns forever,
Through all ages he is King;
Unto him, your God, O Zion,
Joyful hallelujahs sing.

1 comment:

  1. One of my favorites since I was very little!!! : ) I was hoping it would make your "list"

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