Post by Lee on Mar 7, 2014 1:13:22 GMT
It has been already pointed out that the Law contains no directions for musical affairs in either the Temple services or the annual feasts. From the time of David this was changed, and then, or subsequently, as was suggested in the previous paper, certain Psalms became associated with the Passover, and others with the Feast of Tabernacles. In later times, however, the Jewish feasts, including the Passover, were closely associated with the Hallel. So far as the Passover was concerned, these Psalms were usually sung during the progress of the meal. Speaking on this matter, Dr. Smith’s Bible Dictionary says:
“The service of praise sung at the Passover is not mentioned in the Law. The name is contracted from Hallelujah. It consisted of the series of Psalms from 113. to 118. The first portion, comprising Psalms 113. and 114., was sung in the early part of the meal, and the second part after the fourth cup of wine. This is supposed to have been the hymn sung by our Lord and his apostles.”
Now if this last statement can be accepted, it opens up some exceedingly interesting thoughts, which will be best appreciated by first of all refreshing the mind as to the circumstances of that last meal which Christ partook with his disciples before his death. Judas had already made his fatal bargain with the chief priests, and agreed to betray his Master for the price of a slave (Exod. 21:32). With the knowledge of this, and all that awaited him, Jesus sat down in the upper room, saying, as recorded by Luke, “With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer, for I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof until it be fulfilled in the Kingdom of God” (Lu. 22:15–16).
Assuming that the usual custom of the Jews had been followed, it would be at the earlier stages of the meal that the first portions of the Hallel would be sung. How incongruous the opening words of Psalm 113. appear! His death already determined, the plotting which was to result in that death now going on, the very traitor at the table, can we fully realise the entire subjection of self to which Jesus had attained, that he could have joined in a Psalm whose opening words were “Hallelu Jah”—Praise ye Yah! It is explicable only when we remember the spirit in which Christ approached the great crisis of his life, “Not my will, but Thine be done.”
Praise ye Yah.
Praise O ye servants of Yahweh,
Praise the name of Yahweh.
Blessed be the name of Yahweh
From this time forth and for evermore.
As the Psalm proceeded we cannot doubt but that it would come with soothing effect upon the Man of Sorrows, now knowingly drawing near his final hours.
Yahweh “raiseth up the poor out of the dust,
Lifteth the needy out of the dunghill,
That he may set him with princes
With princes of his people.”
Such words as these could not fail to act as a reminder of the joy set before him, telling of the great results to be accomplished on the basis of the obedience he was manifesting, and thus cheering and sustaining him during the test that was to follow.
The next Psalm (114.) with its recollections of the original passover, “When Israel went out of Egypt” (verse 1) would likewise suggest the parallel of the great passover to be effected through him—“Christ our passover, sacrificed for us.”
The well remembered incidents of the institution of the memorial feast would follow. First the words “Verily I say unto you that one of you shall betray me” and the identification of Judas by the sop. Then to quote the account given by Matthew, “And as they were eating Jesus took bread and blessed and brake, and gave to his disciples, and said, Take eat, this is my body. And he took the cup and gave thanks and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it, for this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (chap. 26:26–28). One would like to dwell upon the scene, and the sayings which we find recorded in John 13. to 16., and the prayer of John 17., all of which belong to this occasion. They are, however, outside the scope of the present purpose. We rather go back to Matthew, and read, “And when they had sung an hymn, they went out unto the Mount of Olives.”
Taking this hymn to be the second portion of the Hallel, it is impossible to think other than that the words struck those disciples as they had never done before. They commence in Psalm 115. most appropriately with the ascription of glory to God, who was in the heavens, and had done whatsoever He had pleased. Yes, even in the approaching events “it pleased the Lord to bruise him.” The gods of the nations were but idols of silver and gold, just as helpless as those who trusted in them. Then an appeal to trust in the Lord, closing with the words:
The dead praise not Yah
Neither any that go down into silence,
But we will bless Yahweh from this time forth and for evermore.
Hallelujah!
True even of the Lord’s Anointed, who was about to die, but who should, after his brief sleep, bless Yahweh for evermore.
The commencement of Psalm 116., striking a different note, would harmonise with their Master’s warnings concerning his approaching death. At the same time it contained clear recognition of that which was to follow. He had told them that he should be scourged and put to death, but he had added that on the third day he should rise again. This, however, they had not fully realised yet, hence the comfort of the opening words would be lost to them. “I love the Lord because he hath heard my voice and my supplications. Because he hath inclined his ear unto me therefore will I call upon him as long as I live.” To Christ himself, no doubt, these words appealed with all their meaning. Passing to the following verses, they must have been somewhat reminded of their Master’s predictions of his death—
Sorrows of death compassed me,
And pains of sheol gat hold of me,
I found trouble and sorrow.
Truly sorrows were to be found by him, but in those troubles he could find solace in his prayer to his Father.
Then called I upon the name of the Lord,
O Lord, I beseech thee, deliver my soul.
It is no idle prayer, but such an one as was in the mind of the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews when he represents Christ as one “who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death.” Moreover, it was clearly a prayer of faith, for in the Psalm the recognition immediately follows:
“Thou hast delivered my soul from death,
“Mine eye from tears, my feet from falling.
“I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living.”
Then comes a very striking reference, the depth of which must have seemed infinitely greater than ever it had seemed before to those disciples gathered around the table. It was, as has been remarked, usual to sing these psalms after partaking of certain cups of wine. To such an incident they had had a new and impressive meaning attached. Had he not said “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is shed for you”? How deep then, if strange, would be their feelings as they sang—
What shall I render unto Yahweh for all his benefits towards me?
I will take the CUP OF SALVATION
And call upon the name of Yahweh.
I will pay my vows unto Yahweh
Now in the presence of his people.
Precious in the sight of Yahweh is the death of his saints.
The Psalm closes with the words eminently applicable to “the saint” who was about to taste of death, the cup which the Father had given him to drink. He was “the Lord’s servant,” “the son of his handmaid,” whose bonds were already, in purpose, loosed. Wherefore he sings
I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving,
And will call upon the name of the Lord
Now in the presence of his people,
In the courts of the Lord’s house,
In the midst of thee, O Jerusalem.
Hallelujah.
The short Psalm which comes next (117.) also has a beautiful appropriateness to the occasion, setting forth the loving kindness of the Lord, Whose truth endureth for ever.
The series closes with Psalm 118., which has already been commented upon in these articles, although not in this particular connection. Praise is again the foremost note—
O give thanks unto Yahweh for he is good
Because his mercy endureth for ever!
It is the praise of one who has experienced that mercy. He had called upon the Lord in his distress, and had been answered. Yah was on his side, “What can man do unto me”? Then in the spirit of prophecy he views the future—
All nations compassed me about
But in the name of the Lord will I destroy them.
Yah is my strength and song,
And is become my salvation.
With the conviction thus expressed he continues—
I shall not die, but live
And declare the works of Yah.
Yah hath chastened me sore
But he hath not give me over to death.
Open to me the gates of righteousness.
I will go into them, and will praise the name of the Lord.
This gate of Yahweh into which the righteous shall enter.
Following this burst of praise come the words with which only a short time before he had confounded the Pharisees, “The stone which the builders refused” had become the head of the corner. “Save now (hosanna), I beseech thee, O Lord, O Lord, I beseech thee, send now prosperity. Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord.” And then with another reference to sacrifice, bound with cords to the horns of the altar, the Psalm closes:
Thou art my El, and I will praise thee,
My Elohim, I will exalt thee.
O give thanks unto Yahweh, for he is good,
For his mercy endureth for ever!
These are but a few passing reflections upon the six psalms, but I feel sure that a consideration of them in the light of this probable connection with the institution of the “ordinance” whereby we remember the one great sacrifice, cannot but bring fresh interest to them, and cause suggestive thoughts which will help us in our endeavours to present ourselves as “living sacrifices” upon the altar of service.
W. H. BOULTON.
1904 Christadelphian p 441–443
“The service of praise sung at the Passover is not mentioned in the Law. The name is contracted from Hallelujah. It consisted of the series of Psalms from 113. to 118. The first portion, comprising Psalms 113. and 114., was sung in the early part of the meal, and the second part after the fourth cup of wine. This is supposed to have been the hymn sung by our Lord and his apostles.”
Now if this last statement can be accepted, it opens up some exceedingly interesting thoughts, which will be best appreciated by first of all refreshing the mind as to the circumstances of that last meal which Christ partook with his disciples before his death. Judas had already made his fatal bargain with the chief priests, and agreed to betray his Master for the price of a slave (Exod. 21:32). With the knowledge of this, and all that awaited him, Jesus sat down in the upper room, saying, as recorded by Luke, “With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer, for I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof until it be fulfilled in the Kingdom of God” (Lu. 22:15–16).
Assuming that the usual custom of the Jews had been followed, it would be at the earlier stages of the meal that the first portions of the Hallel would be sung. How incongruous the opening words of Psalm 113. appear! His death already determined, the plotting which was to result in that death now going on, the very traitor at the table, can we fully realise the entire subjection of self to which Jesus had attained, that he could have joined in a Psalm whose opening words were “Hallelu Jah”—Praise ye Yah! It is explicable only when we remember the spirit in which Christ approached the great crisis of his life, “Not my will, but Thine be done.”
Praise ye Yah.
Praise O ye servants of Yahweh,
Praise the name of Yahweh.
Blessed be the name of Yahweh
From this time forth and for evermore.
As the Psalm proceeded we cannot doubt but that it would come with soothing effect upon the Man of Sorrows, now knowingly drawing near his final hours.
Yahweh “raiseth up the poor out of the dust,
Lifteth the needy out of the dunghill,
That he may set him with princes
With princes of his people.”
Such words as these could not fail to act as a reminder of the joy set before him, telling of the great results to be accomplished on the basis of the obedience he was manifesting, and thus cheering and sustaining him during the test that was to follow.
The next Psalm (114.) with its recollections of the original passover, “When Israel went out of Egypt” (verse 1) would likewise suggest the parallel of the great passover to be effected through him—“Christ our passover, sacrificed for us.”
The well remembered incidents of the institution of the memorial feast would follow. First the words “Verily I say unto you that one of you shall betray me” and the identification of Judas by the sop. Then to quote the account given by Matthew, “And as they were eating Jesus took bread and blessed and brake, and gave to his disciples, and said, Take eat, this is my body. And he took the cup and gave thanks and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it, for this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (chap. 26:26–28). One would like to dwell upon the scene, and the sayings which we find recorded in John 13. to 16., and the prayer of John 17., all of which belong to this occasion. They are, however, outside the scope of the present purpose. We rather go back to Matthew, and read, “And when they had sung an hymn, they went out unto the Mount of Olives.”
Taking this hymn to be the second portion of the Hallel, it is impossible to think other than that the words struck those disciples as they had never done before. They commence in Psalm 115. most appropriately with the ascription of glory to God, who was in the heavens, and had done whatsoever He had pleased. Yes, even in the approaching events “it pleased the Lord to bruise him.” The gods of the nations were but idols of silver and gold, just as helpless as those who trusted in them. Then an appeal to trust in the Lord, closing with the words:
The dead praise not Yah
Neither any that go down into silence,
But we will bless Yahweh from this time forth and for evermore.
Hallelujah!
True even of the Lord’s Anointed, who was about to die, but who should, after his brief sleep, bless Yahweh for evermore.
The commencement of Psalm 116., striking a different note, would harmonise with their Master’s warnings concerning his approaching death. At the same time it contained clear recognition of that which was to follow. He had told them that he should be scourged and put to death, but he had added that on the third day he should rise again. This, however, they had not fully realised yet, hence the comfort of the opening words would be lost to them. “I love the Lord because he hath heard my voice and my supplications. Because he hath inclined his ear unto me therefore will I call upon him as long as I live.” To Christ himself, no doubt, these words appealed with all their meaning. Passing to the following verses, they must have been somewhat reminded of their Master’s predictions of his death—
Sorrows of death compassed me,
And pains of sheol gat hold of me,
I found trouble and sorrow.
Truly sorrows were to be found by him, but in those troubles he could find solace in his prayer to his Father.
Then called I upon the name of the Lord,
O Lord, I beseech thee, deliver my soul.
It is no idle prayer, but such an one as was in the mind of the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews when he represents Christ as one “who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death.” Moreover, it was clearly a prayer of faith, for in the Psalm the recognition immediately follows:
“Thou hast delivered my soul from death,
“Mine eye from tears, my feet from falling.
“I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living.”
Then comes a very striking reference, the depth of which must have seemed infinitely greater than ever it had seemed before to those disciples gathered around the table. It was, as has been remarked, usual to sing these psalms after partaking of certain cups of wine. To such an incident they had had a new and impressive meaning attached. Had he not said “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is shed for you”? How deep then, if strange, would be their feelings as they sang—
What shall I render unto Yahweh for all his benefits towards me?
I will take the CUP OF SALVATION
And call upon the name of Yahweh.
I will pay my vows unto Yahweh
Now in the presence of his people.
Precious in the sight of Yahweh is the death of his saints.
The Psalm closes with the words eminently applicable to “the saint” who was about to taste of death, the cup which the Father had given him to drink. He was “the Lord’s servant,” “the son of his handmaid,” whose bonds were already, in purpose, loosed. Wherefore he sings
I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving,
And will call upon the name of the Lord
Now in the presence of his people,
In the courts of the Lord’s house,
In the midst of thee, O Jerusalem.
Hallelujah.
The short Psalm which comes next (117.) also has a beautiful appropriateness to the occasion, setting forth the loving kindness of the Lord, Whose truth endureth for ever.
The series closes with Psalm 118., which has already been commented upon in these articles, although not in this particular connection. Praise is again the foremost note—
O give thanks unto Yahweh for he is good
Because his mercy endureth for ever!
It is the praise of one who has experienced that mercy. He had called upon the Lord in his distress, and had been answered. Yah was on his side, “What can man do unto me”? Then in the spirit of prophecy he views the future—
All nations compassed me about
But in the name of the Lord will I destroy them.
Yah is my strength and song,
And is become my salvation.
With the conviction thus expressed he continues—
I shall not die, but live
And declare the works of Yah.
Yah hath chastened me sore
But he hath not give me over to death.
Open to me the gates of righteousness.
I will go into them, and will praise the name of the Lord.
This gate of Yahweh into which the righteous shall enter.
Following this burst of praise come the words with which only a short time before he had confounded the Pharisees, “The stone which the builders refused” had become the head of the corner. “Save now (hosanna), I beseech thee, O Lord, O Lord, I beseech thee, send now prosperity. Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord.” And then with another reference to sacrifice, bound with cords to the horns of the altar, the Psalm closes:
Thou art my El, and I will praise thee,
My Elohim, I will exalt thee.
O give thanks unto Yahweh, for he is good,
For his mercy endureth for ever!
These are but a few passing reflections upon the six psalms, but I feel sure that a consideration of them in the light of this probable connection with the institution of the “ordinance” whereby we remember the one great sacrifice, cannot but bring fresh interest to them, and cause suggestive thoughts which will help us in our endeavours to present ourselves as “living sacrifices” upon the altar of service.
W. H. BOULTON.
1904 Christadelphian p 441–443