All around the nation they are singing Hallelujah which means "praise the Lord." In kitchens, at the bus stop, in the night clubs the word rings out, Hallelujah. Yes it this year's Christmas number one sung by X factor winner Alexandra Burke. In fact Jeff Buckley's version is in number two spot also. If you want to hear the orginal 1984 Leonard Cohen version you can find it on the web. In fact it is his own song. I suppose it is not surprising that someone with a name like Cohen knows some Hebrew and some details of King David and Samson who appear in the song. Apparantly he wrote some 80 verses before settling on the ones he published.
No one in their right mind would say that they know what Cohen is getting at in the song, it seems such a mixture, confusion and searching. Cohen writes, again showing some Biblical knowledge, "you said I took the name in vain, I didn't even know the name." In these lines Cohen is spot on - he has taken the name in vain and millions with him.
Praise the Lord. What a statement. It is what we were designed for - to bring the Lord of heaven and earth praise. Sadly we have all messed up, we don't praise him, we don't acknowledge Him, we have rebelled. For this rebellion God said there would be death, separation from Him, the only one who can make us whole to be what we were meant to be. The message of the Bible is that God sent His unique Son to die, as a substitute for many. That is exactly what happened, Jesus died on a cross, separated from His Father for a little while. On Him the holy wrath of God burnt itself out. And the wonderful good news is that as we turn from our sin and trust in Christ finished work, the Lord is praised and we can truly say Hallelujah.
Sorry if the article is a little incoherent. Been in bed with the Brisbane flu for the past three days and write this with laptop propped up on knees in bed.
