Caulfield Evangelical Methodist Church
- Weekly Pastoral Message -

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"Continuing steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine" Acts 2:42

Weekly Pastoral Message prepared by Rev. Murray Adamthwaite
for Sunday 9th March 1997

From the Pastor: Hallelujah!

One word which is well-known in both Christian and non-christian circles is "Hallelujah". It is in fact a combination of two Hebrew words, hallelu: "praise", and Yah: the LORD, and appears in the Psalms 111-118 (the Great Hallel), and Psalms 146-150. As such it is a sacred word, especially as it contains the ancient name of God which the Jews always considered too sacred to pronounce.

In the psalms this word is always a call to worship, whether for Israel (Psalm 118:3-4); God's saints (Psalm 149:1); all nations (Psalm 117:1-2); and all creation (Psalm 148:1-5). Quite often that worship is to be expressed in song with instruments (Psalm 149:1; 150), albeit in both joy and reverence. How often the sanctity of that word is besmirched by say a certain commercial using it in a jingle to promote dog food, or by well-meaning Christians for whom at times it is little more than verbal punctuation.

Let us then heed the call of this oft-repeated word, and worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness, in spirit and truth, according to His character and works. Come to Him by Jesus Christ, His Beloved Son, and thereby praise Him for what He has done for your soul (Psalm 66:19).

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Caulfield Evangelical Methodist Church
Please email comments to: cemc@genesis.net.au
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