Raise!Sample

Raise a hallelujah!

‘Raise it like a banner, raise it like a flag, raise it in the middle of the storm’ [1]

Voices join to sing these words in worship. But what is ‘it’? What are the lyrics inviting us to raise? The first line of the song, not written above, says, ‘Raise a hallelujah.’

On that first Palm Sunday, disciples were raising palm branches as their hallelujah. Hallelujah means ‘God be praised!’ Because they thought Jesus was to be their earthly king, their actions could not be stilled, and their voices could not be silenced. They raised their hallelujah by joining a parade and shouting ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord’ (Luke 13:35).

Raising our hallelujah, ‘God be praised,’ is a response to what we know to be true. In Knowing God, theologian J.I. Packer asks, ‘How can we turn our knowledge about God into knowledge of God?’ [2] He then answers: ‘The rule for doing this is simple but demanding. It is that we turn each Truth that we learn about God into matter for meditation before God, leading to prayer and praise to God.’

Truths do help us raise our hallelujah. What truth are you learning about God that helps you raise your hallelujah, ‘God be praised!’?

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[1] ‘Raise A Hallelujah’, written by Jonathan David Helser, Melissa Helser, Molly Skaggs and Jake Stevens, © Copyright 2018 Bethel Music Publishing (ASCAP). All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission.

[2] J.I. Packer, Knowing God, © 1973, InterVarsity Press, UK.