Revelation 19:1-8. Hallelujah.
From the early morning sermon today I learned that there are only four Hallelujahs in the New Testament, and theyamprsquore all in todayamprsquos reading, the 19th chapter of Revelation. Because Iamprsquove heard Hallelujah all my life and I use it frequently, it was a big surprise for me to learn that neither Jesus, Matthew, Mark, Luke, Paul, Peter, nor James uses the word.
In todayamprsquos passage the first Hallelujah praises Godamprsquos salvation, glory, and power, and then his judgement, condemnation, and vengeance on Babylon and her corrupting adulteries (1, 2). The second Hallelujah glories in the eternal smoke going up from Babylon burning (3).
The third Hallelujah is a conclusion to the first two praises for God destroying Babylon (4).
The fourth Hallelujah is praise for the coming wedding of the Lamb and all of us who are the church of true believers (5-8).
So, it seems there are three Hallelujahs for salvation and the destruction of sin by God and one Hallelujah for the wedding of Christ and his church. Without the first three there would be no fourth.
Meditating on todayamprsquos passage made me realize that Iamprsquove never praised God for guiding me to see my sin through suffering. The suffering, trials, and hardships Iamprsquove endured so far have not been fun. It was in the midst of my sufferings, however, that I saw my sin and received the blessing of understanding.
My best example of that is my adultery. When my first wife died, I not only saw that my affair was adultery but that I had committed adultery with her soon after we met because she was married at the time.
I saw that I had begun and ended my first marriage in adultery. That realization triggered a memory of another act of adultery before I had even met my first wife. I was shocked at myself because I thought I was a pretty decent fellow, a good guy.
But I was still so far from God that I didnamprsquot praise him for showing me my sin. I didnamprsquot even thank him. In fact, I kept on sinning until the Lord intervened and took me out of my environment of sin.
Now I can praise him for showing me my sins because seeing them lets me see myself more objectively and see his power and glory through the salvation he has given me in Jesus Christ.
When I first see my sins, Iamprsquom downcast because I donamprsquot like my view of myself as a decent fellow thrown down yet again. But itamprsquos in seeing my sins and repenting that I get to wear white linen and follow Jesus, which is the best reason of all for shouting Hallelujah!
Application: Praise God for showing me how careless I am of caring for my wife in the little things.
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
