#WordForTodayDevotional
Sunday September 4, 2022
PRAISE DEFINED (2)
Praise ye the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power.
Psalms 150:1 (KJV)
We continue from yesterday and we are beginning today from the third Hebrew word for praise and the third dimension.
3. Halal (Strong’s, H1984; Vine’s, “To Praise”), the third dimension of praise, is derived from a primitive root that means, among other things, “to be clear,” “to shine,” “to make a show,” “to boast,” “to be (clamorously) foolish,” “to rave.” It suggests a sense of foolishness or abandonment in praise. Therefore, some people won’t praise Yahweh with halal because they are too dignified. They refuse to look even a little bit foolish in their celebration of Yahweh. Whenever I think of halal, II Samuel 6:21-22 comes to mind. David said “… therefore, will I play before the Lord.” “and I will yet be more vile than thus, and will be base in mine own sight …” Wow! This is halal in demonstration. It means to play before the Lord, to be clamorously foolish in giving adoration; to be vile and base in one’s sight just to show Yahweh how much one loves Him. In the Scriptures, in addition to “praise,” halal is translated as “commend” (see Genesis 12:15; Proverbs 12:8), “boast” (see 1 Kings 20:11; Psalms 10:3; 34:2; 97:7), “celebrate” (see Isaiah 38:18), “glory” (see 1 Chronicles 16:10; Psalms 105:3; Isaiah 41:16), “exult” (see Isaiah 45:25), “sing praises” (see 2 Chronicles 23:13), and “shine” (see Job 31:26; 41:18). Since halal is also translated “insane” (see 1 Samuel 21:13), or “fools” and “foolish” (see Job 12:17; Psalms 5:5; 73:3; Ecclesiastes 2:2). Found in the Old Testament more than 160 times, halal may also be used in the praise of people, but the more common usage is in praise of Yahweh—hence, the word Halleluyah, a Hebrew word from the same root, which is usually translated “Praise the LORD!”