WORSHIP. Day 12 of Lent. How to Hallelujah.

WORSHIP. Day 12 of Lent. How to Hallelujah.

I’ve often wondered what it must sound like in heaven on Sunday mornings when corporate worship is lifted up, rippling through time zones for hours.  Today 48 of the United States had precipitation of some kind-we were iced over in North Texas and church was cancelled. And I wondered, what must it sound like this morning as I sang a little Francis of Assisi. “All creatures of our God and King, Lift up your voice and with us sing, Alleluia! Alleluia! Thou burning sun with watermelon, Thou silver moon with watermelon! O praise Him! O praise Him! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!” Yes. I did sing the infamous “Watermelon” -a word Nicole Peters taught me you can sing that substitutes for any song  lyric and even looks like you know the words while you keep tempo. Great if you ever have to lip sync. Alone I can sing it out, adding in the watermelons wherever necessary to keep me from getting hung up on the perfection.  And writing this, I think Hallelujah would also be a great filler for unknown words.

I remember being at a service once at Woodmen Valley Chapel in Colorado Springs.  I don’t remember the song but the worship and the worshipers around me I will never forget. There was harmony echoing back to the praise team. A rippling of improvisation to the praise chorus. People just softly speaking out truth,
“God you are good.”
“Forgiving.”
“My provider.”
“Love.”
People claiming, “Yes Lord, you alone are worthy” as worship was sung. Hands were lifted or held over hearts as people swayed. Some might think it sounds distracting, showy and self-centered instead of respectful worship.  I tell you it was spirit and truth and a holy experience.  Blind worship.

Corporately I learned I worship best when I also come blind.  I close my eyes and enter into the worship with spirit and truth. It’s just God, lifted up. Not words, not even music, they are just tools to communicate what is often so hard to express, to arrange God’s attributes and sing what we know of Him or sing our petitions, what we agree with Him up and out. It’s never about how we look or sound or sing- that’s ego and pride. And if that is what we are worrying about, should we sing?  And if we come heavy burdened or heavy-hearted, guilt-ridden or grudge holding, should we not sing and remind our hearts of a great overcoming God? And if we cry, is that the overflow of pure worship? And if all stop judging if this is our comfortable style and decide to participate whether the beat is free-flowing contemporary or incense burning Latin, whether worshipers stand in rank or clap or shout or dance, hold hands high or keep them folded tight, close eyes or track each word in perfect respectful pitch as breath forms words-in spirit and in truth– song words that turn to scent, incense that lifts up, up, up and fills the hallowed heavens with a single word. It is all the great gathered hallelujah of worship.

Hallelujah: a thankful cry to express praise or thanks to God

If you were to spell hallelujah in Hebrew, you see four Hebrew letters that escort you into the realm of worship and praise.  Hallelujah is really two words. Hal-lu means praise, and yah is a shortened form for the most common name for God in the Old Testament that we pronounce as Yahweh or Jehovah.

The first two letters are:

Hebrew is written from right to left. So in Hebrew, the letters for yah appear in reverse order and look like this:

Yah is spelled with a yod and a heh from right to left and we have Yah which is God.
Hal-lu the Hebrew word for praise looks like this:

Put together the Hebrew word for praise and the short form for the most common name for God in the Old Testament, and we have hallelujah.

Enjoy this 5 minute improvisation by CLOVERTON of one of my favorite songs: Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah